Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hoseok has lost count of the shots of soju that have been delivered to the table. He has promised himself that he wouldn’t drink much today since there’s a game tomorrow, but his teammates keep chugging, and he keeps drinking out of peer pressure. 

He doesn’t feel particularly bad in this environment. He enjoys hanging out with his football teammates because they share similar interests, and Hoseok doesn’t really go out of his way to befriend students in other departments. He might not always be on the same page with his colleagues, but he prefers having company than not having them around at all. 

“Hobi-yah, let’s ask for another round!” Seokmin says, raising his glass in the air with a smirk. He is Hoseok’s closest friend on the field since they play in the same position as midfielders. 

Hoseok sighs. “Aren’t you drunk enough already?” he replies in a playful tone, just so he doesn’t take it the wrong way. Hoseok knows that they’re here to celebrate one of his teammate’s birthdays, so they have the right to have some fun, but that doesn't mean they should exaggerate. 

“Come on, Hobi-yah,” Seokmin pleads, the words coming out languidly in his dazed state. 

Hoseok looks around, searching for the waiter closest to them. He spots one taking an order on the table next to theirs, a small man with a black apron. He calls him as soon as he leaves the other table. 

“Another round, please,” Hoseok asks in a quiet voice, trying not to disturb the loud conversation taking place among his teammates. 

The waiter nods and writes something on his notepad before turning around to leave. However, before he can take a step towards the back of the pub, he’s stopped by the calls of Hoseok’s teammates. 

“Hey, it’s Min Yoongi!” one exclaims with a grin. 

Hoseok looks at him with an eyebrow raised. Is he supposed to know the bartender?

“Min Yoongi!” another one calls. His smile makes Hoseok feel worried. It looks too condescending for it to not be concerning. 

“Woah, Min Yoongi works at the pub!” a third one says, elbowing the teammate on his right side to look at the waiter too. 

Hoseok stares back at the waiter and tries to see if he knows him. His face seems familiar, but Hoseok can’t quite pinpoint where he has seen him. It’s likely that they have crossed paths in the university at some point before, but other than that, Hoseok doesn’t know why he’s receiving so much attention. He is also visibly disturbed by the comments Hoseok’s teammates are throwing at him, but he does nothing to stop them except for showing them a polite smile and trying to excuse himself.

“Hey, do we know him?” Hoseok asks, trying to get the attention off the poor man, who takes the opportunity to bow at them and turn around once again to leave. 

Seokmin chuckles and takes another sip of his drink to empty the glass before the next round. “He’s in our university. The guy’s a nerd pretending to be edgy. Turns out he works at this place too,” he adds, shaking his head. 

Hoseok still doesn’t understand why they would bother him at his workplace. “Why do we know him?”

Seokmin looks around and laughs with the rest of the teammates. Hoseok is starting to get annoyed too. He knows they’re all drunk — Hoseok himself can’t take his alcohol very well; he always gets moody and meaner — and that they’re probably just joking around, but it almost looks like they forgot how to behave. 

“He was at Heechul’s birthday party at the start of the year,” Seokmin answers with a smirk. “A nerd at Heechul’s party. He drank and all, but then he left when a girl from the second year was trying to flirt with him. Did you know he’s a virgin ?”

Hoseok feels like he has lost the point. “What does that have to do with anything?” he asks. 

Seokmin laughs again and Hoseok thinks he should probably drink more or he won’t understand anything for the rest of the evening. “It’s just funny. He has a motorbike, did you know that? And tattoos. I’ve never seen them, but that’s what people say. But he’s still a virgin.”

Hoseok looks at his other teammates. They’re all looking at him now, waiting for a reaction, any kind of it. Hoseok doesn’t know what to say. 

“I still don’t know what that has to do with anything,” Hoseok simply replies.

“Here are your drinks,” Hoseok hears from his left side, making him jump a little in surprise, as if he was caught speaking badly of someone. Which he kind of was. 

Hoseok leans back on his chair and makes sure that the table has space to put down one more round of shots before he lets Min Yoongi hand them the drinks. Half of the table takes the shots almost immediately. Hoseok stares at Min Yoongi with curiosity. 

“Do you need anything else?” the waiter asks him, one hand on his waist. 

Hoseok shakes his head and then fakes a tiny smile to break the tension. “No, thank you.”

Min Yoongi nods and goes back to the counter. Hoseok then looks back at the table and decides to take the shot right away too. He has no time to regret it before Seokmin is bumping his shoulder. 

“You know what, I bet Hobi could take the guy’s virginity!”

Hoseok chokes on his drink and widens his eyes. He quickly looks around and fortunately Min Yoongi is out of his sight. 

“What the actual fuck did you say?”

Hoseok realizes it is too late for him to even refute whatever Seokmin is insinuating when he sees all of the table staring at him with creepy smirks and whispering excited chants. 

“Jung Hoseok, the university’s fuckboy and breaker of hearts, can for sure take Min Yoongi’s v-card, isn’t that right?”

Hoseok huffs. He’s used to the reputation people associate with him. Hoseok is not the type to settle down, he never has been, and he likes casual hook-ups. If the people he spends a night with catch feelings, it’s not his fault, or so he likes to tell himself to feel better. He didn’t know he was famous for being a heartbreaker until Seokmin told him he saw a girl he had slept with telling everyone in her department not to trust Jung Hoseok. 

“I can’t just do that ,” Hoseok answers, rolling his eyes. 

“You kinda can,” Seokmin replies with a giggle. “Every time you tell me someone is hot, you get in their pants the next day. Everyone falls for you and you always get what you want.”

“Well, I don’t want Min Yoongi.”

Seokmin laughs and shakes his head, the shot in his hand. He takes it in one go and then puts it down loudly. “But wouldn’t it be fun ? Imagine getting to say that you took Min Yoongi’s virginity. You’d be a literal legend.”

Hoseok can smell the alcohol and the sweat from Seokmin’s body. He’s so close to him, his arm around his shoulders and their legs bumping into each other, that Hoseok feels uncomfortable. He tries to take Seokmin’s arm away from his body, but his teammate is heavy and drowning in drunkenness. His other teammates are still staring at him like hawks, delighted to have a topic of discussion for the next month if Hoseok really takes the challenge. Hoseok can definitely feel the pressure on his side. He doesn’t want to give in to his teammates' drunken antics, but he also doesn’t want to say no and have them annoying him for the next century. Hoseok is not a coward. 

In the middle of the booze and the heat inside the pub, surrounded by chants and weird smirks and an awful lot of testosterone, Hoseok opens his mouth. 

“Okay.” His brain can’t control his actions anymore, and he just feels like he’s floating with the alcohol running in his veins. “Fine. Whatever. Just stop bothering me.”

“Hobi’s gonna fuck Min Yoongi!” Seokmin shouts into the air. 

Hoseok wants to hide forever. He wants to punch Seokmin in the face and drown in the deepest sea. He feels so tired and so moody that he doesn’t even feel like reacting. He grabs a random full shot and takes it all. It feels cold and fuzzy in his throat, but he doesn’t flinch. 

This is going to be a long week.

.

Hoseok feels awkward. He leans against the lockers, puts his hands on his pockets, takes them out again, crosses his leg in front of the other, pulls his hair back, uncrosses his legs, sighs. He decides to just stand there, in the middle of the hallway. His hands are sweaty.

He knows his teammates are watching him from afar. Honestly, he’s being ridiculous. He’s Jung Hoseok, the talented football player who would do anything for his team. He’s Jung Hoseok, the campus heartthrob, the guy everyone wants to have sex with. He’s Jung Hoseok, the guy who gets whoever he wants on any day of the week. Yet, this situation is making him more nervous than ever. He didn’t ask to be in this position, he doesn’t know how Min Yoongi will react. He feels like a stalker -- he shouldn’t even know that Yoongi is having an Art History class right now, behind the door he’s facing, and that his locker is in this hallway. His teammates have weird connections all across campus. Hoseok didn’t even need to ask to know where he could find Yoongi. 

When Hoseok hears the noise of people walking inside the classroom and sees them start to head out, his stomach twists. He feels like throwing up. He takes a glance at his teammates and sees their smirks and thumbs-up of encouragement. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

He’s Jung Hoseok. He can do this. 

“Excuse me, that’s my locker.”

Hoseok opens his eyes again and almost jumps at the sight of Min Yoongi staring at him with annoyed eyes, trying to walk past him to access his locker. Hoseok gulps and then steps to the side a little bit. 

“Sorry,” he murmurs, scratching the back of his head. He waits for Yoongi to take out his books and leave others behind in his locker.

“What do you want?” Yoongi asks, seemingly bothered, closing the locker’s door right in front of Hoseok’s face. 

“I, um—” Hoseok starts, feeling more unsure than ever. “I wanna ask you something?”

Yoongi tilts his head, annoyed. “What?”

“Do you, um—” Hoseok bites his lip, to keep himself from saying something too stupid. Think first, please. Hoseok, think . “I wanna ask you out on a date.”

Even Hoseok knows that was bad. That was really bad. Yoongi is staring at him puzzled, his eyebrows narrowed and his eyes squinting. 

“What did you say?”

Hoseok stutters in his words and then clears his throat. “Do you wanna go on a date with me?”

Yoongi puts his bag over his shoulder and then clicks his tongue. “Okay,” he simply replies. 

Hoseok halts. He shouldn’t be this surprised, right? He did it. He asked Yoongi out. He’s halfway done with his bet. So why does he feel such unease?

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Yoongi turns around and starts walking away. Hoseok hesitates for a moment, but then he follows him. 

“When and where?” Yoongi asks, once he realizes that Hoseok is right behind him. 

Hoseok almost trips, from how distracted he is in his own embarrassment. “Oh, um, the college bar? Tomorrow?”

Yoongi chuckles with contempt. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

Hoseok just feels like Yoongi is playing with him. But then again, he shouldn't be complaining. Hoseok was the one to start this, either way. He is the one playing with Yoongi. 

“Cool,” Hoseok replies, ready to disappear from Yoongi’s sight, and from the whole universe. 

Right then, Yoongi turns his face around a bit and smirks. “You pay,” is the last thing he says, in a playful voice, before he steps into the main auditorium, leaving Hoseok behind in the hallway. 

That could have gone worse , Hoseok thinks, a bittersweet feeling in his mouth. After a few seconds, he shrugs and walks away. His teammates will be thrilled with the update. And if Hoseok switches the story a little bit when he’s telling it to them to draw a slightly better picture of himself, then no one needs to know. 

.

Hoseok can see Min Yoongi’s motorbike from the corner of his eye. He turns his head to the bar’s window and sees him parking in front of the building. He watches him as he takes off his helmet and gloves and walks to the bar. Once he steps in, Hoseok looks back at his table. 

“Hi,” Min Yoongi says, now closer to him, pulling a chair for himself. “What a gentleman you are, pulling the chair for me and giving me flowers,” he adds sarcastically with a smirk.

Hoseok huffs. “Hi.” He hands him the bar’s menu. “The ciders are good here.”

Yoongi chuckles. Hoseok doesn’t understand what this guy’s problem is. “I know. I’ll have a Margarita.”

Hoseok gulps. The way Yoongi acts so confidently and with mischief glinting on his eyes is something he has never seen in anyone else before. “I’ll have what you’re having,” Hoseok says, straightening his back and putting the menu aside.

Yoongi smiles. “Fun.”

Hoseok opens his mouth to speak, but the waiter arrives at their table, and Yoongi orders for the both of them. Once the waiter goes back to the counter, Hoseok crosses his arms against his chest. 

“So, why am I here?” Yoongi asks nonchalantly. 

Hoseok is at a loss for words. “We’re on a date.”

“Why?”

Hoseok swallows dry. Why is Yoongi like this? Why does he raise his eyebrow in such an unbothered manner, why does he flick his tongue on his mouth with such indifference? Why is he controlling this whole thing, when Hoseok should be the one trying to win him over to win the dare? Why is he doubting himself so much?

“Because, um- I want to,” Hoseok answers with the bit of confidence he has left in himself. 

Yoongi chuckles. Again . Each time feels like a knife to his heart. Yoongi leans on the table, his elbow on top of it and his hand supporting his face. Hoseok forgets how to breathe.

“What do you like about me, Hoseok-ah?” Yoongi asks with a fake pout, batting his eyes super fast. 

Right when Hoseok is about to dig a hole for himself, the waiter comes back with both their drinks. Yoongi leans back against his chair and grabs his glass. Hoseok watches as he takes a sip of it and hums in satisfaction. 

“You’re staring,” Yoongi says with a hint of a smile on his lips. Hoseok immediately looks away and focuses on his drink too. “And you didn’t answer me.”

Hoseok sighs. He can’t lie to save his life, and he knows that better than anyone else. He bites his lip to keep himself from saying anything, but that’s just even more awkward. Yoongi is clearly expecting an answer and Hoseok doesn’t have any. 

“I was dared to take your v-card,” Hoseok says in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut and regretting his decision right away. He chugs down half of his glass to try to forget that this ever happened. 

When Hoseok opens his eyes again, Yoongi is simply smiling. “My virginity?” he asks, his eyebrow raised. He whistles quietly and takes a sip of his Margarita. “Did you think that all you needed to do was go on a couple of dates with me to win my naive heart and take me to bed?”

Hoseok doesn’t answer; he just frowns and looks down at his hands. “I had to try or the boys wouldn’t shut up about it.”

Hoseok can feel Yoongi’s eyes on him. “Who cares about them, honestly? Just do whatever the fuck you want.”

Hoseok looks at him with sad eyes. “I can’t just do that. We’re a team. I can’t lose my position there.”

Yoongi spins the glass between his long fingers. Hoseok is hypnotized by them. He didn’t know Yoongi had such pretty hands. 

“Why not? If they’re always joking around and daring you to do things you don’t want to do, then I don’t see the point in hanging out with them.”

Hoseok sighs. He talks with his voice low and hesitant. “I can’t just, like, leave the team. I like playing with them. And I didn’t get a sports scholarship for nothing. Maybe hanging out with them isn’t the best thing in the world, but I like football and I won’t give up just because they make me do dares or something. Plus, the parties are fun.”

“I imagine,” Yoongi says with an amused smile, not as vile and sarcastic as his previous remarks. Hoseok likes this smile better. “You know what?”

Hoseok tilts his head in question. Yoongi has a mischievous look in his eyes. “What?”

“I don’t care about your friends nor your bet,” he starts, “but it’s kinda sad that you’re doing all of this just to shut them up. So I suggest we fake stuff for a bit. You know, we hang out sometimes, you take me to your house or something, you introduce me to your friends. Eventually, they’ll believe it and you can tell them you fucked me and they’ll throw you a party or something and everything is right in the universe. Your friends don’t hate you for killing the fun, people stop assuming I’m a virgin for once, and this problem of yours is solved. Sounds like a win-win.”

Hoseok stares at him for a while, speechless. Min Yoongi not only seems to be willing to take the bet, but he also has a whole plan inside his head to make it work without actually having to fall for Hoseok’s teammates’ dumb dares. He’s a genius. 

“Sounds like a win-win,” Hoseok repeats after Yoongi, a smile forming on his lips. 

Yoongi smirks into his glass, now seemingly more flustered than ever before. 

"Where do you wanna go for the first date?" Hoseok asks, already excited to see his friends' faces when they see that he is actually pulling this out. 

Yoongi laughs and puts the glass back on the table. "Isn't this the first date?"

Hoseok feels a tint of pink covering his cheeks, but it laughs it off. "It is."

"And you're paying."

Hoseok nods with a grin. "And I'm paying."

"Good boy."

Hoseok can feel his cheeks burning hot. That was supposed to be casual banter, but what is it about Yoongi's voice that makes him feel weak?

"Next date is in my dorm," Yoongi says. "I need to work on an assignment for the start of the next week."

Hoseok nods. "Okay. Can we pass by my teammates on the way there, though? So they know I'm with you."

"Sure."

Hoseok smiles. He didn't know it would be this easy to talk with Yoongi and he thought his plan had gone down the drain once Yoongi found out about the bet. Somehow, things look better for him now. He wasn't fond of the idea of getting into Yoongi's pants just because he could, but now he's looking forward to fooling his teammates right in front of their faces. Knowing that he won already feels very good.

They don't leave the bar just yet. They finish their drinks and talk about random stuff, like the model of Yoongi's motorbike (and why, according to Yoongi, it is the best ever) or how dumb the group of drunk people by the table at the back look with their cheap drinks and passed out expressions at 7pm. Hoseok finds it amusing how Yoongi passionately talks about the rock music playing on the bar's radio, and he is intrigued by the way Yoongi listens to him talking about football and match strategies. They get lost in conversation and they barely even notice the sun going down to give place to the darkness of the night.

"Hey, it's getting late," Hoseok says once he notices it. "I'll walk you to your dorm, so next time I’ll know where it is."

Yoongi nods as he wears his jacket. He seems a bit taken aback by the offer, but he doesn't seem to mind it. "Sure. It's a bit far, I'll give you a ride on the motorbike."

"Oh," Hoseok says, hesitant. He's never ridden a motorbike before. No way he'll let that show to Yoongi, though. "Okay."

"Come on."

They exit the bar and Yoongi walks them to his motorbike. He has a spare helmet on the back and he hands it to Hoseok. Then, he steps on the motorbike and puts on his helmet. Hoseok struggles to find the right way to wear it, but he's determined to make it work. Until he hears Yoongi's giggle. 

"Here, let me help you."

Hoseok sighs, frustrated, and lets Yoongi handle the complexity of the equipment. Yoongi's hands are warm when he accidentally rubs his fingers on his neck, even though the night is cold.

"All done. Sit behind me."

Hoseok does as he's told. His feet can't touch the ground anymore. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit scared. The motorbike looks way bigger from where he's sitting. He hopes Yoongi can't feel his fear. 

"Hold onto me so you don't fall," Yoongi tells him, getting ready to start the motorbike. "Not on my shoulders, please, or I’ll fall back."

Hoseok stares at Yoongi's back. So, not his shoulders. His waist then? Hoseok has seen people riding motorbikes before, he shouldn't be this surprised. He takes a deep breath and puts his hands around Yoongi's waist, over his leather jacket. Yoongi starts the motorbike and drags it a bit backwards with his feet so he can position it to leave. 

"Everything alright back there?" Yoongi asks. 

"Yeah."

Hoseok holds onto him tighter and then they're moving. He can tell Yoongi is not going at very high speeds so Hoseok can get used to it. He finds the most comfortable position, in which he doesn't have to look at the ground and jump every time he realizes that his feet are not touching the ground . He tries his best to close his eyes and trust Yoongi, but there's always that thrilling feeling in his stomach that doesn't let him enjoy the ride. He knows it's ridiculous, that there are a lot of people riding motorbikes and that there's nothing to be afraid of. Besides, he's Jung Hoeeok, resident fuckboy and midfielder for the football team. He has gone through worse things.

"We're here," Yoongi says, as the motorbike slows down and then comes to a stop. Hoseok is glad that at least the ride was not too long.

Once Yoongi parks the motorbike in front of the dormitories, he tells Hoseok to jump out of it, so then he can leave it too. Hoseok has no problem taking off his helmet; he hates that he made such a big deal out of it when he was trying to put it on. 

"We're at my dormitory," Yoongi says, waiting for Hoseok to join him by the sidewalk. "Is yours on this side too?"

Hoseok looks around. He was too focused on not being afraid on the motorbike to even notice where they were going. "Yes. Mine is just a couple of blocks away."

Yoongi smiles with the corners of his lips turning in small dimples. "Cool. See you tomorrow?"

"Oh, tomorrow?"

Yoongi laughs. He's always so amazed by something that's beyond Hoseok's comprehension. He wishes he could understand him better. Hoseok is just trying to not freak out. He might have the reputation he does, but that doesn't mean that he's any good at making friendships or talking to strangers, as much as everyone may think he is.

"Yes, tomorrow," Yoongi answers with a small smile. "Where can I meet you?"

"Um, the football field maybe? I have a practice session in the middle of the afternoon and then I'm free."

Yoongi nods. He has his hands on the pockets of his leather jacket. "Cool."

"Cool."

Hoseok keeps standing still, not really sure of what to do now. He still has to process everything that has happened in the last few hours, but only after he walks the last few meters to his dorm.

Yoongi giggles. "Goodbye, Jung Hoseok."

Hoseok watches as he turns around and leaves. Only then he realizes just how much of an impression Min Yoongi has left on him. 

.

Hoseok grabs his bottle of water as soon as the coach calls for a break. Even though the weather is windy, he can still feel the heat from the high sun. He and his team have been practicing for two hours already. Hoseok has always had little to no stamina at all, especially compared to his peers that also do sports. Hoseok has his methods to save his energy, but hot weather is never easy to escape. Nor is the coach’s love for push-ups as punishment and as a way to make the players focus. 

“Jung Hoseok, get down and do twenty!” he says once he catches Hoseok drinking water. Hoseok barely has time to put the bottle down before his coach blows his whistle and points at Seokmin. “You too! You’re way too distracted today, we can’t play like this at regionals!”

Hoseok sighs and gets to the ground. Seokmin does his push-ups right in front of him, in a quicker rhythm than Hoseok, probably just to brag about his better physical condition after a long training session. 

“How are things with Min Yoongi?” he asks with one of his annoying smirks. 

Hoseok can barely breathe when he’s doing push-ups, let alone talk, but Seokmin is staring at him with too much curiosity. “We’re gonna meet today. At his dorm.”

Seokmin gasps as he comes to the end of his twentieth push-up. He sits up and stretches his arm to his water bottle to take a sip of it. Meanwhile, Hoseok finishes his punishment too and sits in front of him. The coach has given the whole team a break before the final thirty minutes of training. 

“Are you gonna-- you know. Get to it?” Seokmin asks with a glint in his eyes and a grin. 

Hoseok rolls his eyes. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know when it happens if you’re that eager to know.”

“Of course I am! You’re a legend, Jung Hoseok,” Soekmin says with his chest puffed out. 

Hoseok sighs and stands up. He can’t afford to rest now if he wants to keep his energy on a high to do well for the rest of the training. He starts running slow laps around the field to keep himself distracted and to keep his teammates from asking him any more questions about Min Yoongi. 

After practice, the coach talks to the team one last time today to lift up their mood for the next game. They join together in a circle for a final cheer and then they’re sent to the locker rooms to shower. Hoseok feels so tired that he almost has to get dragged inside to get there alive. 

Then, just as Hoseok is passing by the bleachers, he sees him. Min Yoongi is there, on one of the seats in the middle rows, with a book and a black cap blocking his eyes from the sun. 

“Yoongi!” Hoseok calls, while waving at him. 

His teammates halt and turn to look at him, suddenly interested in him. Hoseok tries to put on his most confident smile and walks to the bleachers. 

“You came to pick me up!” he says then, just to add a bit of spice to the situation. His teammates will surely be impressed if they think that being there is Yoongi’s surprise to Hoseok. He hopes Yoongi doesn’t mind too much. 

Yoongi nods and Hoseok can tell that he’s faking his best enamored smile. "Yes! I’ll take you on the motorbike to my dorm."

Hoseok looks around to look at his teammates’ reactions. Are they buying into this or are they still skeptical? 

“Okay! Let me just go change my clothes, if you don’t mind,” he replies. He can feel Seokmin right behind him, giving his back a proud pat, before turning around to join the rest of the boys on their way to the locker room. 

Yoongi puts his book in his bag and his hands in his pockets. “I’ll wait by the bike.”

“Okay!” 

Hoseok watches as Yoongi leaves the bleachers and then sprints to the locker rooms, with a renewed energy. He is quick to take a shower and to change his clothes. Before he leaves the room, he waves goodbye at his teammates. All of them seem to know what’s going on, probably because Seokmin updated them on the Hoseok-Yoongi topic. They all have smug smiles on their faces and they all pat Hoseok’s back as a good luck wish, or something similar. 

Hoseok walks outside and then to the parking lot close to the sports field. He sees Yoongi right beside his motorbike, staring at nothing in particular as he waits with his arms crossed against his chest. The sun hits his face softly, not bright enough to bother him. He hasn’t noticed him yet, so Hoseok takes his time staring at him. He’s very handsome, is what he concludes. Not the kind of handsome that people are used to, but maybe a softer and more intriguing kind of beauty. Hoseok likes it a lot -- the way Yoongi presents himself, the way he dresses, the way his round nose fits perfectly in his small face and how his cute lips and his tiny eyes make him look like an adorable cat.

“Yoongi-ssi!” Hoseok calls when he’s close enough, to keep himself from staring and having weird thoughts any longer. He waves at him as soon as Yoongi lifts his head and then quickly walks in his direction. 

Yoongi chuckles. “Call me hyung,” he says, once Hoseok is closer to him. “In front of your friends too.”

Hoseok widens his eyes and bows almost ninety degrees down. “I’m so sorry! I wasn't sure if you were older than me! And sometimes I panic when I'm around them. I’m sorry if it bothered you! I shouldn’t have addressed you so casually back at the bleachers.”

Yoongi giggles and taps on the bike. "Don't worry about it now. Get on the motorbike."

Hoseok smiles and puts his bag on the back of the bike. He lets Yoongi get on first and then he jumps on it. He was able to put on the helmet himself today. Yoongi smiles amusingly. It must be very funny to him how Hoseok often fails to do the simplest things. Yoongi puts his helmet on and then starts the bike. Hoseok puts his hands firmly on his waist, but keeping it gentle in order not to hurt or disturb Yoongi too much. 

The ride to the dorm is a quick one. They are quick to arrive at Yoongi's room, too. Once Yoongi closes the door behind them, he throws himself to his bed and closes his eyes, barely giving Hoseok the time to get used to the space. He decides to move around and to look at the things Yoongi has laying on the shelves. He has a lot of stuff in his room -- from books to albums, technological equipment that is foreign to Hoseok, cute enamel pins in boxes, and pieces of clothing. Hoseok wonders what Yoongi studies. He never got to ask. 

“Don’t touch anything,” Yoongi says from the bed, his eyes still closed. 

Hoseok puts his hands in his pockets to defy the temptation to touch every single object in Yoongi’s room. Yoongi giggles when he notices the sudden lack of noise from Hoseok’s steps. 

“I have a Switch. You can play something on that, if you want.”

Hoseok turns to him and Yoongi opens his eyes to point at the place where he has his Nintendo Switch and his games stored. When Hoseok walks to the right place to grab the console, he notices the pile of board games. There are a lot of them and they all catch Hoseok’s attention from how interesting they seem just from the covers. 

“Do you play board games often?” Hoseok asks, turning around to face Yoongi.

Yoongi sits up on the bed and scratches the back of his neck. "I have a regular group of friends that I play with, mostly on weekends or breaks." He stands up and walks to his desk. 

"That's cool," Hoseok mumbles before grabbing the Switch and choosing a game.

"Do you like board games?" Yoongi asks.

Hoseok tilts his head and frowns. From the amount of board games that Yoongi owns, he must be an expert. Hoseok only knows how to play Yut Nori, and badly. "A few. But I like puzzles and Legos a lot too."

Yoongi smiles and stretches his arms above his head. "We do those sometimes too. Usually during summer breaks when we're really bored. There's a games store close to campus. They have a lot of puzzles and Legos too. You should visit sometime."

Hoseok nods. "Maybe I'll pass by there one day." He puts Mario Kart inside the Switch and then steps closer to the bed. He wants to sit somewhere, otherwise it’ll be awkward for him to just stand there. After looking at Yoongi and getting his silent permission, Hoseok sits at the edge of his bed. 

Yoongi gets into his own world almost immediately. He starts moving notes and papers around, getting ready to study.

"Do you mind if I listen to some music while I do this?" Yoongi asks. Hoseok nods a "sure", and watches as Yoongi grabs his headphones from under his desk. For that, he needs to disconnect them from his keyboard.

"You have music stuff," Hoseok notes from his place on the bed, now switching his position to lean against the wall, so he’s more comfortable. 

Yoongi nods. "I'm into music production. It's kind of a hobby.”

Hoseok raises his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't expecting this sudden connection. "That's really cool," he comments.

Yoongi chuckles and then turns his attention back to the work at hand.

"What's your major?" Hoseok asks before Yoongi has time to plug in his headphones.

"Marketing and Broadcasting."

Hoseok gasps. He truly doesn’t know a thing about Min Yoongi. However, if they are going through with their plan to fake a relationship between them, they should at least know the basics. 

"What's your major?" Yoongi asks in return. 

"Sports,” Hoseok replies with a smile.

"Of fucking course."

Hoseok frowns. Aren’t sports interesting enough?

"Can I start working now, sports boy?" Yoongi asks with a teasing smile. 

Hoseok shrugs and gets back to the game on the Switch. They can get to know each other, but he admits that he is taking it too fast with no need. "Yes, sorry. I won't talk from now on."

Hoseok tries his best to keep his word. He focuses on winning against all the CPUs and gets distracted by the game. A few minutes turn into an hour and Hoseok starts to feel his belly rumbling. He turns off the console and stretches his arms. Yoongi seems to be focused on his studies too. Hoseok watches him and his tiny movements -- the way he moves his feet on top of each other, how his leg shakes when he is thinking hard, how he nibbles the top of his pen in concentration. When he takes out his headphones all of a sudden, Hoseok stands up and walks to his desk. 

Hoseok clears his throat and Yoongi looks at him. “I'm gonna go grab a coffee, do you want something?"

Yoongi takes a glance at his laptop screen and then nods. "I'll go with you."

Hoseok nods and puts on his jacket. He waits for Yoongi by the hallway, so he can give him privacy and time to save his things and wear a warm jacket too. Once he’s ready to leave, he steps into the hallway and closes the door. He and Hoseok then walk side by side to the small cafe closest to them on campus. Yoongi chooses a table and Hoseok takes the initiative to go to the counter to ask for both their orders. On his way there, he sees a couple of acquaintances who don’t fail to give Yoongi a glance with inquisitive expressions. Hoseok simply greets them and moves on. 

“Hi,” he greets the man behind the counter. 

The barista takes the two orders and starts to prepare them. While he waits, Hoseok turns around and leans on the counter, looking at Yoongi from where he stands. Yoongi is scrolling on his phone and biting the nail on his thumb. The jacket he chose to bring looks way too big on him, but Hoseok finds it quite charming. Yoongi is pretty adorable when he’s not throwing sarcastic remarks at Hoseok. And even then, Hoseok finds him rather appealing.  

“Here you are,” the barista says. 

Hoseok turns back to the counter and thanks him for the drinks. He then walks to the table and puts the cups down. 

"Black sugary coffee to the sweet edgy boy," Hoseok says with a teasing smile. 

Hoseok wanted it to come off as a funny insult, but Yoongi doesn’t seem to mind the sudden nickname. “Thank you.” Yoongi gives him the money for the coffee and Hoseok takes it with politeness. “What are you drinking?”

"Caramel latte," Hoseok answers with a grin. "It's super good."

"Sorry, I'm edgy, I can't be seen drinking a caramel latte," Yoongi replies with a smirk. 

Hoseok is surprised by the sudden shift to a playful mood, but he doesn’t mind it. He giggles.

" Sweet edgy boy. Not just edgy. I never ever ordered a coffee with five teaspoons of sugar.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "I have a sweet tooth."

Hoseok chuckles and takes a sip of his drink. It is very sugary too. "I love your sweet edgy boy reputation, don't worry."

Yoongi sighs. He seems to be abruptly lost in thoughts, as he looks at his drink. "What's up with popular people and their obsession with a reputation? Like, that is literally the reason why we're here now. Just so your fuckboy reputation doesn't get destroyed if you're not able to get into one person's pants in the whole campus.” He pauses to look at Hoseok then. “You also act very differently when you're with your friends. Is that a reputation thing too?"

Hoseok stares at him. That was unexpected. He didn’t know that Yoongi had all of that bottled up in him. Hoseok thinks about his words for a moment. He takes a sip of his latte and then leans back on his chair. 

"I guess that our reputation is what other people see first,” he starts, trying to put his thoughts into words in the best way possible. “It's a perceived overview of your personality. They call me a fuckboy, but I haven't hooked up with anyone in a few months. And it's not even that I enjoy one night stands every week. I'm just a noncommittal type of guy, I guess. Or maybe I just haven't found someone for me yet."

Yoongi stares at him with a curious expression. He seems surprised by the sudden confession, but now that Hoseok has opened up, he won’t stop.

"And I act differently around my teammates because I think I’ve created this bubble around myself where I never showed who I truly am to them just so they don't ask me too many questions and let me stay on the team. Football is something that I really enjoy doing, and I don't want to lose that just because I may not fit the football player stereotype." 

He tries to smile. That sounded heavier than it did in his head. He doesn’t want to bother Yoongi with this kind of talk all of a sudden. 

"I think most of them do the same thing too,” Hoseok adds with a shrug. “They act the way people expect them to. No one would expect me to turn down a bet to take your virginity, so I said yes. It turned out good, because you agreed to fake the bet."

Hoseok doesn’t miss the way Yoongi seems to blush before looking back at his drink and taking a sip of it. He clears his throat. "That makes sense. You don't have to act like people want you to, though. Sometimes, breaking the mold can be  what makes you special and respectable too."

"Easier said than done, huh? Sweet edgy boy," Hoseok says with a giggle. Yoongi laughs too. "You're the cliche of a virgin punk boy with a soft side."

Yoongi sighs with a soft smile. "Where do people even get that information? I don't remember ever saying it out loud."

Hoseok giggles. "Rumors spread. Most of them aren’t  real either way." Hoseok glances at Yoongi as he drinks his latte and raises his eyebrows with a smirk. "Are you a virgin?"

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "I don't know why that's such a big deal, honestly."

Hoseok grins. "So you are."

Yoongi huffs. "I'm not. But I don't know why I owe you any kind of clarification. It doesn't matter."

Hoseok nods. It is definitely not something he should be asking to know, but his curiosity is getting the better of him. "So you're not a virgin."

Yoongi rolls his eyes yet again and lets out a big sigh. "You're so annoying."

Hoseok laughs. "Sorry! Sorry, I mean it. I didn't mean to bother you, I'm just joking around. I don't care if you're a virgin or not. That's a really intimate and weird thing to ask someone about. I'll shut up now. Sorry."

Yoongi fights back a smile. Hoseok hopes he didn’t push the subject too much. He should learn when to shut up. 

"Well, it doesn't even matter, because after you tell your friends you fucked me, apparently my reputation will be ruined."

"Everyone will forget all about it in a few days, don't worry."

They chuckle together. They're both in such a weird situation that neither of them knows exactly what's going on. But, if their strategy goes as planned, they don't have to worry about each other or themselves anymore, and everyone will have another gossip topic to talk about in a few weeks. 

"Let me pay for the drinks today," Yoongi says, already grabbing his wallet and taking out enough money to pay for Hoseok's latte too. Hoseok opens his mouth to object, but he’s interrupted even before he lets out a word. "Don't even try to complain, you paid for me on date zero. Since this one is the first."

Hoseok smiles and accepts the money. "Thank you, hyung. I'll take you somewhere prettier next time." He drinks the rest of his latte and hums quietly. "We could have a picnic by the river! Unless you need to finish other projects too, I don't mind staying at yours either."

Yoongi shrugs. "I like picnics."

Hoseok smiles wider, excited. "I'll pick you up tomorrow. We can walk there."

Yoongi chuckles. "I know you don't like riding motorbikes, you don't need to find excuses."

Hoseok laughs. He didn’t know he had been this obvious about his stand on motorbike rides. Maybe Yoongi is just too good at reading people. "Hyung, you're so mean,” he whines jokingly. 

"That’s my reputation," Yoongi says with a chuckle before finishing his coffee too. The sun is setting in the background, reflecting its beautiful orange colors on Yoongi’s pale face. He looks the best at this time of the day.

.

It turns out that Yoongi really does enjoy picnics. He brought his music keyboard with him, as well as his laptop. Hoseok has tried to take a peek at what he was doing, but Yoongi is very secretive about everything. Eventually, Hoseok gives up and lays back on the towel underneath them, closes his eyes and lets the pure air refresh his mind.

"We could have brought card games," Yoongi says as he leans against a tree, laptop on his lap and a focused expression on his face.

Hoseok lifts his head a bit from his position so he can look at him better. "Do you want me to go grab one and bring it here?"

Yoongi chuckles. "You're annoying."

"You already said that," Hoseok replies with a giggle, before closing his eyes again and resting his face on his crossed arms underneath it.

Yoongi doesn't mention card games again throughout the afternoon. He focuses on his music and the sounds he's making with the keyboard. Hoseok enjoys listening to him; he may not understand much about music, but he knows how to appreciate it. 

 He’s also noticed that Yoongi has delicate fingers. The notes he plays are always soft and well thought out, as if Yoongi already has the entire melody in his head and he's just transferring it to his laptop so other people can listen to it too.

After a while, Hoseok gets bored. He's been staring at the same sky for hours now, and Yoongi is still deep into his hobby. 

“Can we go buy soda?” he asks, his throat feeling dry. They ate the food they brought a couple of hours ago and Hoseok is feeling thirsty. He also needs to stretch his legs. 

Yoongi looks at him and nods. “Sure. Let me put my stuff in the bag.”

Hoseok smiles widely and helps him put everything inside. After packing the towel and the picnic baskets, Hoseok looks around and tries to think of a place nearby with good fresh drinks. 

“It’s gonna rain,” Yoongi says by his side. 

Hoseok turns his face to look at him and tilts his head. What does he mean, it’s going to rain? The sky seemed fantastic just a few minutes ago. Hoseok lifts his head to look to the sky as Yoongi is doing too. Then, he sees them too -- the gray clouds in the horizon, threatening to fall at any moment. 

“We still have time for a walk, I think,” Hoseok comments with a shrug. 

Yoongi looks at him with worry. “Let’s go quickly, then.”

Hoseok nods firmly and leads the way. He knows that there’s a convenience store close to where they are, so they just need to fast walk for a little bit and nothing bad will happen. Neither of them brought umbrellas or thick jackets with them, since the weather looked perfectly fine in the early afternoon, so Hoseok really hopes that Yoongi is wrong. 

The walk to the store is quick. While Yoongi goes straight to the aisle where his favorite drink is and then waits for Hoseok by the tables at the entrance, Hoseok takes his time scanning through almost the entire store. He rarely can make up his mind right away; he likes a lot of different things, and every time he looks at another product he thinks about just how much he wants it right now. However, since Yoongi is waiting for him, Hoseok tries to speed up. He ends up taking a strawberry soda and a box of kimbap, in case Yoongi wants to share some food. 

“Shall we go?” Hoseok asks Yoongi as soon as he has paid for his stuff. 

Yoongi nods and leads the way to the closest bus stop. Once they get there, they realize that they just missed a bus by no more than two minutes. They’ll have to wait half an hour for the next one. 

“Good thing I bought food,” Hoseok says playfully. He opens the box of kimbap and offers Yoongi some of it. 

“Sure,” Yoongi replies with a shrug, trying his best to be polite, which Hoseok finds adorable.

They sit inside the bus stop. There are not many people walking around in this part of the city at these hours, so Hoseok and Yoongi get to enjoy the little free time they have now alone. 

As Yoongi predicted, it starts to rain five minutes later. It is not the heavy type of rain, but it is still raining and it is still annoying. Hoseok finishes his soda in no time and then he’s bored again. 

“Can I take the paper under the kimbap?” Yoongi asks suddenly, pointing at the box in Hoseok’s hands. 

Hoseok looks at the box and sees a bit of clean paper at the bottom of it to keep the kimbap secure. He shrugs and takes it out to hand it to Yoongi. “Sure.”

Yoongi thanks him and starts moving the paper between his fingers. Hoseok still has no idea why he wants it. Then, Yoongi folds the top half of the paper in a triangle and cuts out the remaining of it. He starts folding it neatly right after, in quick and weird patterns. That’s when Hoseok gets it -- he’s folding an origami. 

His hands move quickly. He has a ring on his right hand and a couple of thin bracelets on the left. His fingers are long and bony. Hoseok doesn’t think he ever spent this much time staring at someone’s hands, but Yoongi’s movements are hypnotizing. He folds every crease with ease and turns the model around rapidly. Hoseok assumes that he has been doing this for years, maybe since he was a child, because he seems to know exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t hesitate and, in no time, the piece is done. 

Yoongi puts the paper down on the bench between him and Hoseok. He then presses down gently on the back of the model. Hoseok watches in awe as the little piece of paper resembling a frog jumps to his leg. 

“Woah, this is awesome!” Hoseok comments with a wide smile, handling the little frog with care. “It’s so cute!”

Yoongi giggles quietly. He puts his hands between his legs and lets Hoseok play with the frog. Hoseok keeps making it jump around, failing at the task more often than succeeding. Yoongi must have noticed his struggle, because after a few seconds he sighs and offers him help. Yoongi teaches him where to press down for it to jump. Their hands touch each other so many times, but each time it is so gentle that Hoseok barely feels it. Yoongi’s fingers are very delicate and tender while he explains his methods to Hoseok. 

“I suppose you don’t know how to make one,” Yoongi says as he lets Hoseok play with it on his own for a little while. 

Hoseok shakes his head. “I only know how to make paper planes,” he replies with a chuckle. Hoseok never thought he had a particular aptitude for crafts, so he never had an interest in learning origami. 

“Give me that piece of paper that is left,” Yoongi asks, pointing at the paper remaining from his own square. 

Hoseok gives it to him, skeptical. “Isn’t it going to be too small?”

Yoongi chuckles. “We still have a lot of paper. Plus, small frogs jump better. Mine turned out a little bit heavy.”

Hoseok shrugs and watches Yoongi turn the piece of paper into a square. Then, he opens it straight and hands it to him. 

“Okay, fold in half vertically,” Yoongi starts, leaning forward a bit to see if Hoseok is doing it right. 

Hoseok does the best he can. He doesn’t want to disappoint Yoongi — when he made the frog, everything looked so easy, so Hoseok is sure that he can make it too. After a few basic starting folds, Hoseok starts to get confused.

“A triangle?”

Yoongi stares at him and then smiles. “Yes, a triangle. You need to push it down to make a triangle. Have you ever made a paper boat?”

Hoseok almost feels guilty as he shakes his head in a silent “no”. Yoongi tilts his head and then sits closer to him so he can reach the paper while also letting Hoseok see what he’s doing. 

“Keep your hands here at the middle part,” Yoongi says and he puts his fingers at the top of the paper. In one move, he is able to push it all down and create the triangle. 

Hoseok is speechless. “How did you do that?” he asks, Yoongi’s hands still on top of his, making creases along the previous folds. 

When he’s finished making sure everything is in place, Yoongi lifts his head and looks at Hoseok. As soon as he realizes his hands are still on top of Hoseok’s own, he pulls them away quickly. He sits back again, putting distance between the two of them. Hoseok feels a sudden pit of emptiness in his heart. 

“You’re only in the beginning, just focus,” Yoongi says, crossing his legs and scratching the back of his head.

From then on, Yoongi guides Hoseok through the rest of the steps without having to step in to help. Hoseok is concentrating on making his frog look as good as possible. As he folds more and more, the frog becomes smaller and smaller, but it still is workable. After a few more steps, Hoseok starts to find it hard to fold it more. Yoongi says it is because this type of paper is not good for origami, so he asks Hoseok to pass him the frog to press it down better. 

After just a couple more moves, Hoseok’s frog is finished. It is almost half the size of Yoongi’s, but it is lighter, which means it’ll be easier to make it jump. Hoseok’s eyes light up when he figures out that he can make this one jump high. He and Yoongi end up making a race between the two frogs. Yoongi’s hands are more agile, but Hoseok’s will is greater. They put the frogs on the floor and make a finish line with their cans of soda. As soon as the race starts, Hoseok focuses on his task. He finds the perfect method to make his little frog jump not only higher, but also farther. 

“I won!” Hoseok exclaims proudly when his frog jumps to the finish line in first place. 

Yoongi makes his frog jump twice more and he’s finished too. He grabs his frog and sits back on the bench. “You did,” he says with an equally proud, yet shy, smile on his lips. 

Hoseok stands up with his frog and grins. “I’m an origami expert now.”

“You still can’t make a boat .”

Hoseok rolls his eyes softly and sits next to Yoongi, their knees bumping on accident. Yoongi flinches slightly. Hoseok tries not to touch him any further. “Boats are no fun, anyway. They don’t jump. What more things can you make by memory?”

Yoongi shrugs shyly. “A few different flowers.. Cranes, cats, foxes. Boxes. Once you know the simplest bases, you know how to make a lot of other similar things too.”

Hoseok nods. “You should teach me another one someday.”

Yoongi tries to hide his smile. Then, he lifts his head and looks at the road to the left. “Our bus is here.”

Hoseok looks at the road too, and sees the bus coming closer. It is still raining, more than it was before. Hoseok puts his small frog in his pocket and grabs his bag. Yoongi gets ready too — he calls the bus with his hand and puts his bag over his shoulder. 

“Aren’t you taking the frog?” Hoseok asks when he notices that Yoongi has left it on the bench. 

“I can do one whenever I want. I’ll leave it as a gift to the next person who sees it.”

Hoseok looks at it. “It looks lonely like that. Can I take it?”

Yoongi shrugs. “Sure.”

Hoseok picks up the frog as the bus stops in front of them. Yoongi goes in first and Hoseok follows him right behind. They choose the back seats so they can sit more comfortably and stretch their legs. Yoongi spends the short ride back to campus staring through the window. Hoseok looks at him from time to time. He appears to be deep in thought, his lips parted and his eyebrows furrowed cutely as his face is gently illuminated by overcast sky.

“We’re almost there and it’s still raining a lot,” Hoseok comments one stop before theirs. “We’re gonna get wet.”

Yoongi blinks to get back to reality and turns to Hoseok. “The dorms aren’t too far away.”

Hoseok giggles. “Still. If I knew it would rain this much I would have brought an umbrella.”

“I guess we’ll have to run,” Yoongi says casually. 

Hoseok chuckles. Yoongi is so accidentally funny. It is impossible not to like him after some time, Hoseok has noticed. 

“We’re here,” Yoongi says as the bus stops. 

He stands up first and puts on his hoodie. Hoseok doesn’t even have a hoodie. Once they step outside of the bus, they wait a little bit under the bus stop to get ready. When Yoongi finishes zipping up his jacket, he looks at Hoseok, who nods. He’s ready. 

From then on, Hoseok only remembers to run. They run and run, they try not to stay under trees, so the thicker drops won’t fall over them. Hoseok feels his clothes getting wet, yet he keeps his hand inside his pocket to take care of his little frogs. When Yoongi notices it, he laughs. Hoseok laughs too. He’s so tired already, but there’s only one more corner to turn to reach the main building and he can’t focus on anything else. 

When they arrive at the first dorms’ building, they stop to catch their breaths. Hoseok’s dorm is in that building, and Yoongi’s is in the one nearby, so he won’t have to worry about the rain too much. 

“I feel like I took a shower,” Hoseok says with a chuckle. His throat feels cold and his hair is wet. 

Yoongi looks at him and giggles. He brings his hand up to Hoseok’s forehead and helps him wiping away some of his hair so the water coming from it doesn’t go to his eyes. “Make sure to drink something warm when you get to your room. And take a warm shower too. I don’t want to see you sick.”

Hoseok smiles as his body warms up already just from Yoongi’s tender words. “I will. Thank you, Sweet Boy.”

“Where’s the ‘edgy’?”

Hoseok chuckles. “You can make frog origami, you’re no longer edgy by my standards.”

Yoongi shrugs. “Are the frogs safe?”

Hoseok takes them out of his pocket and then laughs. “I tried my best!” 

The frogs are humid and falling apart. They still look like frogs, but Hoseok doesn’t know how much longer they will last. 

“You did,” Yoongi acknowledges. He puts his hands back in his pockets and looks at his feet. “When’s the next date?”

"My teammates are really falling for it, you know?” he replies. His teammates have been quite annoying around him, but that only means that their plan is working. “Actually, they asked if I would bring you to a triple date with two of them and their girlfriends. I don't know the details yet, but they usually go to pubs or clubs. I know it might not be your thing, so we don't have to go if you don't want to."

Yoongi sighs. "It's definitely not my thing, but the sooner we convince them we had sex, the sooner we can stop this, right?"

Yoongi's words sound bittersweet. But Hoseok knows that he's right. 

He nods. "That's true. We don't even have to stay there for the entirety of the date, we can even leave early to make them think something happened." Hoseok wiggles his eyebrows and makes Yoongi laugh.

"Sounds fair."

Hoseok grins. "I'll text you when they tell me something. You can always decline if you don't want to go, okay? Clubs can be very uncomfortable when you're not in the mood."

Yoongi nods with an adorable smile. Sweet Boy is living up to his nickname.

"See you tomorrow in the hallways?" Hoseok asks, feeling like it's too soon to say goodbye yet.

Yoongi scratches the back of his neck and nods. "Sure. I'll make sure to smile at your friends like I’ve never been more in love with anyone before but you."

Hoseok feels his cheeks reddening, but he tries to hide it with a chuckle. "Your gentle smile is enough, I think."

"What gentle smile?" Yoongi asks, puzzled.

Hoseok laughs. "The one you give me when you're flustered."

Yoongi's cheeks tint in a shade of soft pink. Hoseok coos and chuckles.

"You've been doing a great job, hyung, don't worry. My teammates are easy to fool, anyway. They see what they want to see."

Yoongi chuckles too. He stares at Hoseok for a little longer and then bites his lip. "I hope this works. The fake stuff, I mean."

Hoseok can't completely see through Yoongi's words yet, even though Yoongi usually does a good job at reading Hoseok like an open book, but he notices how there's something that Yoongi isn’t saying. It's like he’s using his words to cover his real thoughts, the things that he wants to say. Min Yoongi is a mysterious man, but there is something deep inside him that makes Hoseok want to know more . 

"See you tomorrow, hyung."

"Have a good night, Seok-ah."

Yoongi turns around and walks away. Hoseok feels his heart strangely warming to the sweet nickname. Seok-ah. It sounds good.

.

Hoseok’s teammates truly seem to be falling for the trap. Not once during the triple date have they shown any kind of doubt towards Yoongi and Hoseok. The environment helps too — as Hoseok has predicted, his friends have chosen a club in the center of the city for the date. The music is loud, the lights are dark, and the drinks are good. Hoseok and Yoongi have the advantage of being able to hide themselves in the crowd. 

After another round of drinks, Hoseok is feeling pretty fuzzy. Yoongi doesn’t feel comfortable drinking alcohol in this place, but they still have to convince Hoseok’s friends that Yoongi doesn’t mind the company, so Hoseok has been drinking for him. However,  he’s starting to regret it. 

As his teammates and their partners talk vividly at the table, joking around and laughing together, Hoseok gets distracted by Yoongi’s hands fidgeting on his lap. Without thinking much, Hoseok takes his hands in his own. Yoongi looks at him with wide eyes. At the start of the evening, Yoongi had seemed to be bored and annoyed, but now he looks more distressed. His leg is shaking and his hands are cold. 

Hoseok feels bad. He’s the reason why Yoongi is here in the first place and he doesn’t want him to do something that makes him so uneasy. He stares back at him and gives him a small smile while his fingers stroke the palm of his hands in slow circles.

"We'll go back to the dorms soon, okay?" Hoseok whispers next to his ear.

Yoongi nods slightly and then looks back at the table. Hoseok looks around too and he finds the stares of his teammates on them. Yoongi leans back to him and puts his hand on Hoseok’s shoulder. 

"Can I kiss your cheek?"

Yoongi’s hand is cold, but soft. His lips barely move right next to Hoseok’s ear. When Hoseok nods, Yoongi closes the distance between them and presses a soft kiss on Hoseok’s skin. Then, Yoongi turns his face just a few millimeters to look at Hoseok’s teammates. Hoseok does it too. Their reactions are priceless. 

"Let's dance," Hoseok says after just a few minutes with a smirk. Yoongi nods against his shoulder as he lets Hoseok take his hand again and take him to the center of the dance floor.

Hoseok tries to find a less crowded spot where he and Yoongi can stay. Yoongi seems to trust him enough to let him take them to the best place. Hoseok stops in a corner, next to the private booths. 

“What now?” Yoongi asks, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a hint of a smile. He must be waiting to hear Hoseok’s plan to convince his friends further, knowing full well that Hoseok doesn’t have one.

Hoseok chuckles. "Can we dance? Please? I can make it seem like we're getting into it and find an excuse to take you out of here. They'll fall for it."

Yoongi sighs, yet steps closer. Hoseok tries to read his expression, to see if he’s letting him do this because he truly doesn’t mind or because he feels like he has to. When Yoongi puts his arms around his shoulder, Hoseok takes it as a sign that he may go on. 

"Can I hold your waist?" Hoseok asks in a whisper.

Yoongi lays his head on his shoulder and nods. Hoseok is careful with his hands, trying to touch Yoongi as little as possible. Yoongi gives in to the touch and even takes Hoseok’s hand and puts it higher up on his waist. 

After just a few seconds, Hoseok sees his friends, who have also taken their partners to the dance floor. 

“They’re here,” he whispers close to Yoongi’s ear. He turns them around so he can see them too. 

"Do they think I'm dumb? For falling for the bet?" Yoongi asks, suddenly.

Hoseok can feel his fists closing at the top of his back. He didn’t know Yoongi had thought about that. Hoseok simply thought he didn’t care. He shouldn’t have assumed that. Yoongi is just a human being too. He is allowed to feel everything he needs to feel. 

Hoseok squeezes his fingers lightly on Yoongi’s waist and drags them a bit further away from his teammates. 

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, hyung. I won't let them speak low of you," he says.

Yoongi nods with a chuckle. "They probably already thought I was dumb before this, either way."

Hoseok moves his head and lifts Yoongi’s own up with his fingers so they're staring at each other. 

"Well, they're wrong, you're not dumb. They're the dumb ones," Hoseok adds with a playful giggle. 

Yoongi laughs with him and tries to hide his face in Hoseok's chest. Hoseok finds it funny. The more Hoseok gets to know him, the more flustered Yoongi gets.

"Hey, they're looking again,” he states when he sees them out of the corner of his eye. “Can I kiss your forehead? I promise we'll get out of here right after."

Yoongi shrugs, surrendering to Hoseok’s nonexistent plan. Hoseok brings his head towards him a little bit and then closes his eyes. He kisses him as tenderly as he can. Yoongi’s skin feels like it is made of porcelain — it is so soft, yet so cold. 

After just a few minutes of slow dancing, because Yoongi keeps insisting that he has two left feet and can’t dance for life, Hoseok notices that his friends are not looking at them anymore. Instead, they’re enjoying the center of attention in the middle of the dance floor. Hoseok taps Yoongi’s shoulder and breaks them apart for a moment. 

“Let’s go back to campus,” Hoseok says quietly. 

Yoongi nods and grabs Hoseok’s hand too. “Thank you,” he replies with a small smile. 

Hoseok leads them to the front door. They pass by his teammates on the way out. Hoseok tells them he’s leaving with Yoongi and they all bump his shoulders and send winks in his direction. Hoseok plays along and then walks to the outside, where Yoongi is waiting for him by his motorbike. Yoongi looks exhausted — there are dark circles under his eyes and his hand is massaging his forehead, most likely because of a headache. 

"Is everything okay?" Hoseok asks as soon as he stops in front of Yoongi's bike and grabs a helmet. "I can take a ride from someone else if you want. We don't have to go to your dorm tonight."

Yoongi shakes his head and jumps to his seat. "No, let's make this quick. I'll feel better once we're there, don't worry."

Hoseok nods and gets on his seat too. He doesn’t talk any longer — he wants to give Yoongi’s head a break from social interaction. 

Once they get to the dorm, Yoongi goes straight to the bathroom with a box of pills that he grabbed from his bedside table. Hoseok stays behind, standing beside Yoongi’s bed, not really knowing what to do next. Yoongi has agreed to Hoseok staying in his room for a bit longer just to mislead his friends. After a few seconds, Yoongi leaves the bathroom and turns down the lights in the room, leaving on only the ones that are essential to see, likely because of his head. Then, Yoongi lands on his bed with a sigh, back on the mattress, his eyes closed.

Since he’s staying, Hoseok decides to pull a chair for himself and he sits close to the bed, trying to make as little noise as possible. 

"Have you gone to clubs before today?" Hoseok asks as quietly as he can. He hopes that Yoongi doesn’t mind talking for a little bit.

"A few," Yoongi says, just as quietly. "Mostly because my friends make me go with them. It's not like I hate it, I just think there are way better ways to get drunk, you know?"

Hoseok giggles. "It's not my favorite thing in the world to do either."

Yoongi chuckles. "Who would have thought?"

Hoseok laughs softly. He starts spinning his chair, looking for ways to keep the conversation going. Talking with Yoongi is nice, Hoseok has learned. He likes to listen to his voice and he likes the way he says things. 

"Is your head better?"

Yoongi opens his eyes for a moment, seemingly surprised. He probably didn’t know that Hoseok knew about his headache. “It’s getting better.”

Hoseok nods and then looks around. "Can I see the board games?" he asks. Yoongi’s shelf looks too tempting to explore. If he entertains himself, he can give Yoongi the time that he needs to heal.

“Sure,” Yoongi answers, looking at Hoseok from the bed. 

Hoseok stands up and walks to the shelf. He doesn’t know where to start. Every single board game looks interesting. Hoseok decides to start from the top, then. The first game on the pile looks like an epic roleplay story. Hoseok sits on the floor and opens the box to look at its contents, always making sure that he knows where to put everything back inside once he’s finished exploring it. He has always been good at cleaning and leaving things neat, but he takes extra care with Yoongi’s games.

As he reads through the instructions book of the first game, Hoseok realizes that he was right — it is a roleplay game with a story set in the Middle Ages. It doesn’t seem to be very complex and the missions sound fun; still, Hoseok finishes reading the book without fully understanding how to actually play. He’s fine with that — he wasn’t planning on playing it either way. He focuses on the little playing characters instead, so small, yet so detailed. The die also looks pretty cool, colored and decorated according to the game’s theme. 

After looking at everything he wanted to in the first game, he moves on to the next one. He puts the first one back on the shelf just as he found it, and takes out the second. This one is also a roleplay game, but more on the criminology side, focused on deciphering riddles to find a culprit. 

Hoseok keeps going through the games, following the order of the stack. He sees a few more roleplay games, but also a few strategic ones and, Hoseok’s favorites, party games. By the time he reaches the middle of the stack, Hoseok is no longer interested in any instructions or rules, and he finds himself getting distracted by the visuals of the games, the cool character designs, and the creative boards. 

There is one game in particular, though, that catches his attention for how cute it looks right from the cover. It is called Sushi Go! and there are little sushi-related characters with big eyes and round shapes on the cover. When Hoseok opens the game, he is mesmerized by the bright colors and the cute designs all over the contents. Starting with the character cards, Hoseok takes his time exploring the game. He is addicted already — he wants to know how to play with such an adorable set of cards. 

He finds the instructions pamphlet and starts to read it. Hoseok thinks he has understood the overall idea of the game, but would have to play it to truly understand it. 

"Hyung, I don't know how to play this," Hoseok says after reading it all, "but the sushi cards are so cute!"

Yoongi smiles. The same smile of controlled excitement and joy that Hoseok had seen on him when he was trying to teach him how to make paper frogs. Yoongi then stands up and walks to Hoseok’s spot on the floor. He sits in front of him and takes the cards to shuffle them. 

"I'll teach you."

Hoseok smiles widely and gets ready to absorb the information.

"It's a pick and pass card game. You keep the cards you want and discard the rest,” Yoongi starts, putting the box aside for them to have more space. 

Yoongi explains the mechanics as they play the first round. Most of the time, Hoseok is more interested in the cute drawings than winning, but Yoongi doesn't complain. Eventually, Yoongi gets distracted from the main game too and they end up discussing which of the characters is the most adorable. Hoseok's personal favorites are the pudding and the urakami, but he also likes the dumpling because he feels like it looks like Yoongi, with its round cheeks and small, pretty nose. When he says it, Hoseok can see the hint of a blush on Yoongi’s face before he lowers his head. 

As they start to drift away from the game even further, they end up sitting on the floor against the bed, their legs stretched forward and their feet touching from time to time. Their conversation drifts to everything and anything — they talk about college, about expectations, about the future. Hoseok tells Yoongi that he doesn't see himself doing sports for the rest of his life, but that he would love to teach little kids football, something that he never told anyone because that is not exactly what is expected of him. He finds comfort in telling it to someone, though, especially to Yoongi, who listens to him attentively and supports his opinions and decisions. 

"What about you, hyung? Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Hoseok asks with a playful smile.

Yoongi sighs and then smiles softly. "I want to work in music production, I think. Maybe I can be part of a touring staff or work for a music broadcast. You know, to keep myself in the shadows, while still doing what I love to do."

Hoseok nods. He thinks that it fits Yoongi pretty well. "Would you be doing that here in Seoul, or would you like to travel somewhere else?"

Yoongi thinks about it for a moment before shrugging. "There's nothing keeping me here, so I guess I would travel if the opportunity came about."

"Don't you have family here?" Hoseok asks, just to see if Yoongi has thought this through. Hoseok would never have the bravery to leave his family behind, but he knows that Yoongi may think the other way around.

Yoongi smiles. "Last time I checked, I left them in Daegu,” he replies.

Hoseok chuckles. "What about your friends?" he asks. Yoongi must have someone here in the city to have his back. He has mentioned a group of friends before, but maybe he has a special someone too. 

"What about them?"

"Would you leave Seoul knowing they would stay here?"

Yoongi looks at him. Hoseok tries to smile, even though he’s unsure if he’s crossing any line.

"Skype exists, you know?" Yoongi answers with a chuckle. "Get to the point, Seok-ah."

Hoseok sighs and then giggles. Yoongi has caught him. As always. "I was just trying to ask you if you had a partner or something. Sorry, it's dumb, you don't have to tell me."

Yoongi seems a bit taken aback. "Why do you want to know?"

Hoseok shrugs. He feels like his main reasons are selfish and ridiculous, but he also wants to know if this plan of theirs is affecting someone else too. 

"Well, it would be weird if you had, and then people started talking about how Min Yoongi has lost his virginity to a jock, wouldn't it?" Hoseok replies, looking at his hands on his lap.

"I’ve never dated anyone before," Yoongi says in a quiet voice, looking away from Hoseok. 

Hoseok is surprised, but thankful for his honesty. "Someone as handsome as you hasn't dated anyone before, huh?" Hoseok blurts out without thinking much. He’s not lying, anyway.

Yoongi laughs, seemingly embarrassed. Hoseok loves it. "Go tell the whole campus about it, maybe they'll forget about their obsession with my sex life."

Hoseok lifts his head to look at him. "If it makes you feel any better, I’ve only dated, like, three people in my entire life, and none of them lasted for more than a couple of months."

"They don't call you a fuckboy for nothing, right?" Yoongi looks at him too. "The typical fuckboy who is scared of commitment and finds random hook-ups around the campus," he teases with playful eyes.

Hoseok laughs, throwing his head forward. Yoongi giggles with him. 

"What did you say, fake virgin guy who has had sex before but hasn't dated anyone?"

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "Once. I had sex once to see how it feels."

Hoseok bumps their shoulders together. "Oh, with a friend, perhaps?"

Yoongi sighs. He doesn't answer, but he also doesn’t seem too angry from Hoseok’s playful remark. He gets up and starts putting the board games back in their place. Hoseok’s eyes follow him.

"Sorry, I never know when to stop talking," Hoseok mumbles in a frustrated tone. Frustrated at himself for crossing too many lines, not frustrated at Yoongi for having his limits.

Yoongi giggles. "It's okay. It's getting late," he comments. "Will your friends really believe we fucked?"

Hoseok chuckles. "They'll believe what they want to believe," he says with a shrug.

Yoongi stares at him. Is this over now? Can they stop pretending, or should they keep this going until everyone forgets about it? Will they go back to being strangers in different social circles? Will Yoongi keep teaching Hoseok all about board games and origami?

Their goodbye waves that night are bittersweet. Hoseok falls asleep with Yoongi’s gummy smile in his mind. 

.

"When will you shut up about this?" Hoseok asks, in a voice meaner than he ever intended to, while he closes his locker and walks to the field, with his teammates right behind.

They all have been a real nightmare for the past few weeks. Hoseok knew that as soon as he told them his bet was done, the rumors would spread and the whole campus would talk about it non-stop. He just didn't add into the equation the way his friends would still tease him about it for the next month. Hoseok is scared to see Yoongi passing by in the hallways because, as much as he likes to see him and his kind smile, his friends will always start giggling and smirking like idiots.

Hoseok knows that Yoongi tries not to show it, but he notices the way he gets uncomfortable with those encounters. Hoseok also knows that he doesn't have to suffer the embarrassment and the mocking from his teammates only — the entire campus is still talking about it. Hoseok can handle it, because he's used to this kind of reputation, but he really doesn't want Yoongi to be the center of attention too. Hoseok should be the one getting the stares and the comments and the teasing, not Yoongi. Yoongi wasn't even in on the bet in the first place.

Overall, Hoseok is starting to think that this was a bad idea, which is a shame, because Hoseok would love for this madness to pass and to be able to interact with Yoongi normally, to talk with him like they used to, to try to create a friendship from the chaos. However, Hoseok thinks that the best thing to do, for now, is to keep some space between them. That way, he hopes that the chaos will pass and that Yoongi will be able to keep his life on campus just like it used to be.

Hoseok is not able to even focus on his training today. He just looks around and does whatever his other teammates are doing, because he can't concentrate on what the coach is saying. He knows he's getting reprimanded a few times for missing out on defenses or goal opportunities during the practice round of a match, but his mind is not even processing the words, so he simply apologizes and keeps doing whatever he's doing.

He only realizes that something is off when his teammates start tapping on his shoulder when they pass by, with the dumb smirks and childish giggles. He doesn't understand what's happening until one of his teammates points at the bleachers. Hoseok stops his run for a moment and sees him.

Yoongi is sitting on the last row, with a book on his lap and earphones on his ears. He's wearing a hat, so the sun doesn't bother his eyes. His legs are crossed and his hands turn around the pages of the book slowly, with care.

Hoseok doesn't realize that he's been staring at him, until his coach blows on the whistle right next to him. Hoseok shakes his head and quickly apologizes, before starting to run again.

For the rest of the training time, Hoseok gets even more distracted than he already was. He can't help but glance at Yoongi from time to time hoping that, at any moment, he would stare at him too. When it happens, Hoseok almost trips and falls. Yoongi casually closes his book and stares at the field, the earphones still on. From that point on, Yoongi doesn't stop staring either. It becomes even more difficult for Hoseok to focus on the training.

As soon as the practice session is over, Hoseok runs to the locker rooms and tries to change clothes as quickly as possible, hoping that Yoongi is still there once he leaves. He ignores the sarcastic remarks of his teammates, which they think are so funny, and takes a quick cold shower. When he leaves the room, he doesn't even say goodbye — Yoongi is the only thing on his mind.

However, when Hoseok gets back to the field, Yoongi is not there anymore. He searches for him near the place, tries to follow his path back to his dormitory, but he doesn't find him. It's like Hoseok has only seen a ghost of him and now he's gone.

With a sad smile and his thoughts racing around his mind, Hoseok decides that they need to do something about this. About them. And he's determined to make up a plan to fix everything and to be able to hang out with Yoongi once more.

.

Hoseok starts following through with his plan the week after. Yoongi has been showing up more frequently at the sports field, but he never stays after Hoseok’s training sessions. He always carries a book or a notebook and a pen to the bleachers. Hoseok supposes that he might find the quietness and the good weather on the field to be safe and good for studying. Hoseok definitely doesn’t mind him being there — after a while, he has become used to it and he doesn’t get distracted by Yoongi as much. Perhaps, he even feels comforted by Yoongi’s presence. It means that Yoongi hasn’t given up on them either.

It is on a Saturday afternoon that Hoseok goes looking for Yoongi. The last time he saw him, he was around the dorms, leaving for the center of the campus with friends. Hoseok knows from their conversations that Yoongi goes to the main cafe on campus when he wants to eat something with his friends before they leave to hang out somewhere else. 

That is the first place Hoseok goes to. When he steps into the cafe, he is surprised. Yoongi is right there, right in front of his eyes, his back turned to the door. He is with two of his friends, in the middle of a lively talk and giggles. He appears to be having a good time. 

Hoseok doesn’t want to interrupt him. He still doesn’t know how Yoongi will react to Hoseok’s suggestion. He doesn’t know if he will regret this or not. Either way, Hoseok decides that he doesn’t want to stay behind to see Yoongi’s reaction to Hoseok’s plan. He will let Yoongi decide for himself if hanging out with Hoseok is something that he wants to keep doing, if he and Hoseok are thinking and feeling the same thing. 

For that reason, Hoseok walks to the counter and greets one of the waitresses, who welcomes him with a smile. Hoseok asks if she has a pen and a piece of paper and if she wouldn’t mind delivering a message from him to Yoongi. Thankfully, she agrees to it and gives Hoseok the paper and pen. 

Hoseok writes Yoongi the message.

Hello, hyung! It's Hoseok! I was wondering if you would like to go with me to the board game store you told me about the other day. I am curious about it, but I'll need help from an expert to tell me all about the best games... I'm at the campus's front door. I'll be waiting for you!

He doesn’t have the courage to read it back, or else he will chicken out. He decides to fold the paper neatly before handing it over. However, he has a better idea. Using his memory to its full capacity, Hoseok folds the paper into a frog origami. At the end, it looks a bit ugly and awkward, but it is cute, nevertheless. After writing a big “open me!” at the front of the frog’s head, Hoseok gives the paper to the waitress. He asks her to wait until he has left the cafe to give the origami to Yoongi. He thanks her a million times before walking outside and running to the campus’s main entrance. 

Hoseok waits for a few minutes, anxious about his plan. What if Yoongi really doesn’t want to see him from now on? What if he doesn’t feel the same about their bond? Hoseok thinks he and Yoongi have developed something between them that at least feels like a friendship, but he never talked to Yoongi about it. He might have read the mood all wrong and he’s more afraid than ever to lose someone. 

Hoseok almost jumps when he sees Yoongi walking to him, after getting off his bike. It worked. This is actually happening. Messages on a paper frog are not a bad idea, after all.

"You know, if you wanted to ask me out on a date, you could’ve just said that," Yoongi says as a greeting.

Hoseok feels hot all over. His brain can't even function properly. "I, um— this is not a date. I- I want to buy a- um, a game."

Yoongi stares at him with those confident eyes that Hoseok has seen on him before. They intimidate him, but they also make him feel all mushy and soft inside. "Sure,” Yoongi says nonchalantly.

"Unless, you, um—" Hoseok struggles to find the words. "Unless you don't mind that this is a date. I mean—"

"This is a date," Yoongi interrupts him with a chuckle. "I'll take us on my motorbike."

Hoseok nods. He needs to focus on this, or he'll look like a clumsy teenager with a crush. That cannot happen. Not in front of Yoongi. God, why does he feel so hot ?

Hoseok lets Yoongi put on his helmet, because he's done making a fool of himself trying to do it on his own. Yoongi's hands move with care and he has an amused smile on his lips. Hoseok chuckles and shakes his head once Yoongi is done. 

"I should be able to do this myself at this point."

Yoongi laughs too. He shrugs. "It's always easier to let someone help with the helmet. Plus, your face gets all red when I'm too close, and I think that's adorable."

Hoseok doesn't know what happened or when Yoongi started to act so bold around him, but he finds out that he doesn't mind. He likes sassy and confident Yoongi, the one he had met the first time they talked. He also likes to know that confident Yoongi likes to read and to play board games, and that confident Yoongi likes to write music on his little keyboard. Hoseok likes the many layers of Yoongi that he knows and he wants to find out about even more of them. He can never get enough of Yoongi.

Once they're right in front of the board games shop, Yoongi lets Hoseok go in first. He's mesmerized by everything he's seeing. He had never been to a store like this before, and it's the diversity in games that surprises him the most. Right on the second aisle he walks by, he sees Sushi Go! , the game he and Yoongi have played together. He grabs a copy of it, because, now that he's here, he doesn't want to miss a chance to buy the cute sushi game. He doesn't even know if he will have someone to play with, but the cute characters on the cards make it all worth it. Maybe he'll convince his sister to play with him over summer break.

"Here, I wanna show you something," Yoongi says right by his side, taking his arm and walking them to the side of the store where the counter is.

"Oh, hello, Yoongi-ssi!" the girl behind the counter greets with a smile, as they pass by her. "I see you brought a new friend with you," she adds with a grin.

Yoongi smiles back and then looks at Hoseok. "I'm showing him around."

The girl nods. "Here, I'll save your card game with me while you take a look around," she tells Hoseok, offering help with Sushi Go! . Hoseok hands her the game and thanks her for her kindness.

"I see you're a regular here," Hoseok says as he and Yoongi walk to a small door next to the counter that Hoseok didn't notice was there before, when he got inside the store.

Yoongi chuckles and opens the curtain for Hoseok to go in. "The staff members here are all really nice. I like to hang out here with my friends sometimes."

Hoseok scans the room they just got in. It's about half the size of the store and Hoseok's first impression of it is how cozy and comfortable it looks. There are couches and pillowed chairs all around the room, big round tables in each corner, and a small bar against one of the walls. Sitting on a high bench in front of the bar is a woman, actively talking with the man who's making a coffee.

"There are regular groups of people who come here to play board games together on a planned schedule," Yoongi explains, walking them to one of the tables. They both sit on a couch, in front of the bar. "Me and my friends mostly play party games and quick rounds with whoever is here when we come. I've made some friends here too, but I wish I had more time for long-term games with the same group of people. It must be fun."

Hoseok nods along as Yoongi passionately talks about the kind of games he usually plays. Even though this is not within Hoseok's area of interest, he loves to hear Yoongi's excited voice and the way he gets all shy when he realizes that he's been talking for a long time. Yoongi has trusted Hoseok enough to show him his own world, after Hoseok has shown him his, and Hoseok couldn’t feel more honored. Yoongi buys Hoseok a drink from the bar and they stay there for a little longer. Hoseok realizes that it doesn't matter what they're talking about; they can easily fall into comfortable conversation.

Yoongi is the one to suggest they get going, because he can tell that Hoseok is not as into board games as he is. Hoseok wouldn't mind staying for all eternity, though, as long as he could see Yoongi happy.

Once they get back to the campus, they walk around the building, without really knowing what to do or where to go. Hoseok suggests they watch a movie or a series in his dorm. Yoongi shrugs, but Hoseok hasn't failed to notice his soft smile.

"I have never been to your dorm before," Yoongi comments as they step in it. 

Hoseok cringes at the way he left his desk that morning, with three empty coffee mugs from the previous week and a pile of school work he still has to do. He should have put his football uniform in the laundry that morning, but he had left his dorm in a rush and forgot to do it.

"It's a bit messy, sorry."

Yoongi giggles and turns to look at him. "It's perfect, don't worry."

Hoseok smiles. "So, movie?"

Yoongi nods, while Hoseok grabs his laptop and creates a comfy sitting area on his bed, with pillows against the wall and two bags of chips in one corner, in case they get hungry for a snack. He invites Yoongi to sit next to him, with a comfortable distance between them.

"What do you wanna watch?" Hoseok asks as he logs into his Netflix account.

Yoongi shrugs and moves around to find a comfortable position. His feet touch Hoseok's on accident and he giggles. "Sorry. Just put on whatever you want to watch. I don't have anything in mind."

Hoseok nods and browses through his 'to watch' list. "Any hard no's?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "I trust your taste."

Hoseok smiles to himself and chooses a drama movie he's been meaning to watch for a while now. He puts the laptop on his legs, turned a bit to Yoongi's side so he can see it too.

They watch the movie in silence. Hoseok gets so absorbed in it that he doesn't even notice when Yoongi shifts closer to him and bumps their shoulders together. Hoseok can feel his warmth on his body and suddenly he's not as focused on the movie anymore. Instead, his attention drifts to the way Yoongi's eyes glint while staring at the screen, or the way his lips part slightly in concentration. His nose is so round and small that Hoseok just wants to boop it. Or kiss it. Maybe he wants to kiss it. Kiss him . He wonders what it feels like to kiss Yoongi's perfect lips. 

"You're staring," Yoongi says quietly, his lips moving the bare minimum, his voice cracking from not being used for a while. He looks at Hoseok too.

Hoseok feels his heart beating faster. He doesn't want to blink, he doesn't want to miss a moment of looking into Yoongi's eyes. He feels like time has stopped for the both of them. When Yoongi looks back at his own hands with a chuckle, Hoseok releases a sigh of relief. 

Yoongi moves his fingers to Hoseok's lap, the sound of the movie playing in the background. Hoseok looks at his lap too and moves his fingers on top of Yoongi's. His hands are cold and Hoseok wonders if he should have grabbed a blanket for the both of them. Hoseok plays with his fingers for a bit, not daring to stare back into Yoongi's eyes just in case he gets lost in them by accident. 

"You have a pretty ring," Hoseok says, because it's the truth, and because he doesn't want to focus on anything else just yet, only Yoongi's fingers and the way his heart accelerates when he's touching them. 

Yoongi looks at his hands too and lets Hoseok intertwine their fingers together. "Do you know why some people wear black rings in the middle finger of their right hand?"

Hoseok looks at him. It's easier to stare when Yoongi is not staring back. "No."

Yoongi smiles, this time shyly, and lifts his head to look into Hoseok's eyes once again. Hoseok knows that he won't be able to look away any time soon. 

"It's not, like, a mandatory or universal thing. But it usually means that the person who wears it is asexual."

Hoseok shifts his position so his neck doesn't hurt when he's facing Yoongi. The movie playing in the background has been long forgotten by the both of them. "Are you asexual?"

Yoongi giggles and puts his free hand on top of Hoseok's. It feels great. "Yes. Do you know what that is?"

Hoseok thinks about it. He definitely heard the term before, but he’s never had anyone explain it to him, let alone met someone who is asexual.

"I think it has to do with not liking to have sex?"

Yoongi shifts his position too and their crossed legs bump into each other. "It's not necessarily that. Ace people are not always sex repulsed. Asexuality just means that you don't feel sexual attraction. Within the spectrum, there are people who feel it for certain people with whom they share a strong connection, or just in certain situations and settings."

Hoseok nods. He doesn't exactly know how that must feel, but the concept is not hard to understand. "Have you ever felt sexual attraction?"

"I don't think so. I wouldn't be able to describe it either," Yoongi replies with a small shrug.

Hoseok squeezes his fingers on his hand. It takes a lot of courage to come out like that, and Hoseok appreciates the trust Yoongi has put in him. 

"Can you feel other types of attraction?" he asks, because Youngi hasn't really mentioned anything else and Hoseok knows that there are people who don't love other people romantically too. He might not have very LGBT-friendly friends, but he has the internet. He has browsed through very interesting forums before when he was still exploring his own identity. 

"I experience romantic love. I'm not aromantic, I'm pretty sure of that. I might be biromantic," Yoongi answers with a smile. 

Hoseok can tell that Yoongi is becoming more and more comfortable with talking about it. He doesn't want him to ever feel unsafe next to him, even though he knows he was close to breaking that bond when he almost lied to him and went forward with his friends' bet. 

"I've had crushes before, even though I’ve never dated anyone,” Yoongi adds. 

"But you've had sex before, haven't you?" Hoseok suddenly asks, not meaning to sound as confused as he did. Yoongi doesn't seem to take offense, he just chuckles. "Or did you say that just to shut me up?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "I did have sex before. Once. But I didn't find out I was ace from it. Gay people don't have to have sex to know they're gay either, right?"

Hoseok nods. It makes sense. Sexuality is not a choice, it's just something that exists within oneself. "So why did you have sex? If you don't mind me asking."

Yoongi giggles. He looks at the laptop on the bed and pauses the movie. Hoseok wasn’t even listening to the background noise anymore because he was too focused on Yoongi.

"My friend, Namjoon, and I came out as ace at around the same time, two years ago, maybe three? Back then, we thought that we might have feelings for each other and we talked about it. We had sex just to see what it felt like. It wasn't bad, but neither of us enjoyed it that much. I thought the whole situation would ruin our friendship, but then we realized that we didn't like each other romantically either and moved on. He's still one of my closest friends."

“So you never had sex after that,” Hoseok says with a hint of a question mark at the end of his sentence. 

Yoongi smiles. He looks so amused, yet relieved to be able to talk about this so freely. Hoseok hopes he is giving him enough space for Yoongi to feel safe. 

“No. And I really don’t want to.”

Hoseok nods once again and smiles back. “Sounds good to me.”

Yoongi giggles and then bumps their shoulders together. “You’re nice.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Hoseok replies with a chuckle. 

Yoongi shrugs. “Do you have more questions before we stop talking about me?”

Hoseok thinks about it. Yoongi is letting him talk about this, so he knows that he’s not bothered. This is the first time Hoseok has talked about the LGBT+ community so openly. He doesn’t have many LGBT+ friends in his life, apart from the occasional talks in online forums. Hoseok tries not to be very vocal about his sexuality either. Everyone knows that he dates anyone he wants, regardless of gender, but he knows his popularity comes from being a football player and a fuckboy, and barely anyone mentions him being bisexual, so Hoseok tries not to mention it either. 

“Do you have a lot of LGBT+ friends?” Hoseok asks. Yoongi has mentioned his asexual friend already, but he wonders if he’s in touch with more people in the community. 

“Besides Namjoonie, most of my friends are not straight. I guess growing up with this kind of accepting and understanding group of people has been really important for me to come to terms with myself and the ones around me.” Yoongi looks at Hoseok’s eyes and tilts his head slightly. “You don’t have friends in the community, do you?”

Hoseok chuckles. "I don't even know how I would find them. Ever since I was a child, I've only known my house, school and the football field. I never made friends outside of these. And if any of my friends weren’t straight, they didn't tell me," he adds with a sad smile. 

Yoongi appears to be interested in his own story too now. He keeps nodding along and raising his eyebrows when Hoseok gives him new information. Hoseok thinks it's cute, how Yoongi looks so casual and focused, yet so adorable.

"How did you find out you were bi? If you don't mind me asking."

Hoseok sighs and tries to think of a single moment. "Hm, I don’t think there was any, like, breakthrough moment, you know? I just kinda knew. And I did have a few male crushes back in middle and high school. It never bothered me too much because no one knew about it. When my college friends found out, they only really cared about me being a fuckboy and spending the night with whoever I wanted. I mean, I know my teammates aren’t actually okay with me liking men because they never talk about  it, and then the men I go to bed with are the subject of awful jokes for the next couple of weeks."

Hoseok feels Yoongi's fingers moving on his skin and playing with Hoseok's own. In the middle of his conflicted thoughts, Yoongi is definitely a source of comfort. Hoseok has never talked about these things with anyone else and he realizes now just how fucked up it is to let his so-called friends have that image of him and the men he hooks up with. And even the women. Anyone Hoseok spends the night with is just an object in the eyes of his friends. Maybe Hoseok has gotten used to thinking about it the same way as they do, but he likes to believe that he's still a good person, capable of making things right.

"I feel guilty every time I sleep with anyone," he continues. Yoongi nods and keeps staring at Hoseok's eyes. "I know most of the people are there for the one-night stands too, and I'm not very good with commitment either. But I hate the way other people perceive me. I don't do anything to stop them because I feel like this is a label that’s going to stay with me forever, but maybe I shouldn't think like that. I'm part of the problem too, probably."

Hoseok looks at his hands on top of Yoongi's own and plays with Yoongi's black ring. He feels overwhelmed by how much he just shared. He doesn't regret it — quite the opposite. He is relieved that he can finally talk with someone about this. He's glad that Yoongi is here. 

"Hoseok-ah," Yoongi calls in a soft voice. Hoseok feels his fingers leaving his hand to go to his chin to carefully lift Hoseok's face to him. Their eyes meet. Hoseok holds his breath. 

"Please, don't beat yourself up over it," Yoongi starts, his eyes glistening. He lets his hand fall back to Hoseok's lap and runs his fingers tenderly on his thigh to calm him down. "It's a great thing that you recognize where your prejudice may lie too. For someone who has never talked with anyone in the community like this before, you seem to be pretty chill with your identity, and that's an amazing first step. But let me tell you that ever since I met you and even when I talked to you about my sexuality, I felt nothing but support and understanding from you. I think you might be led to do and agree with certain things when you're with your teammates, but, deep down, you're a genuinely good person, Hoseok-ah."

Hoseok chuckles quietly and then shrugs. "I still feel bad, though. I'm friends with them because I want to stay on the team and I don't wanna feel left out all the time. It's selfish."

Yoongi smiles softly and squeezes Hoseok's hand. "If anything, I think they're the stupid ones. They should never make you feel like you'd be left out if you're not exactly like them. Secondly, they really don't deserve your sympathy, Seok-ah. They say and do vile things, but you're not like them. You have a kind heart."

"Do I really?" Hoseok asks, still struggling to see himself the way Yoongi is describing him. He looks back at his lap.

Yoongi giggles and lays his head on Hoseok's shoulder. "I like hanging out with you," he says as he makes little circles with his finger on Hoseok's pants. 

Hoseok smiles too and leans his head against Yoongi's. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Yoongi is incredible at giving people the space to calm down and think more consciously. Feeling his head on his shoulder also gives Hoseok a type of warmth that he hasn't felt in a long time. 

"Let's go somewhere together tomorrow," Yoongi says absent-mindedly. "It's Sunday and I have nothing to do."

"Where do you wanna go?"

Yoongi shrugs. "Surprise me."

"No pressure, right?"

Yoongi is smiling when Hoseok turns his face to take a look at him. "Anything but a strip club."

"Hyung!" Hoseok bumps against Yoongi's arm and they both laugh. "I've never even been to a strip club."

"Good. Let's not go to a strip club."

"Of course not!"

Yoongi giggles harder and lifts his face slightly. "Let's watch the movie?"

Hoseok stares into his eyes. Yoongi licks his lips for a split second and Hoseok can’t help but to let his eyes drop to them. 

“The movie, Seok-ah,” Yoongi whispers in a teasing tone and a hint of a smirk. He is staring at Hoseok’s lips too, but it seems like he has more will than Hoseok, because he quickly sits back up and puts the laptop back between them. 

When the film starts playing from where they left it, Hoseok is no longer focused on it. He finds it fascinating to stare into Yoongi’s bright eyes for the rest of it. They end up spending the night in Hoseok’s room, the both of them on the same bed, Yoongi with an arm around Hoseok’s waist and the moon peeking through the curtains. Hoseok hasn’t spent the night with someone with his clothes on in a long while, but falling asleep next to Yoongi feels like heaven on Earth.

.

The next couple of months are Hoseok’s favorite so far. He has found out so much about Yoongi and about his friends, and he has concluded that he loves everything that he knows about them. Their occasional dates are Hoseok’s favorite days of the week. When he’s with Yoongi, he feels like he can relax and have a good time. Yoongi’s date ideas are always the sweetest. Hoseok finds the contrast between motorbike and tattooed Yoongi and soft dates Yoongi funny, but he doesn’t mind even one bit of it. Yoongi has not yet shown him all of his tattoos, most of them on his thighs and chest, but Hoseok knows that he will do it as soon as he’s ready. 

Hoseok has also been spending much less time with his own teammates. He finds it relieving, to say the least. They aren’t bothering Yoongi anymore and they seem to have been distancing themselves from Hoseok too, whenever they’re not on the field in a training session or in a match. The team has not suffered from his distance, much to Hoseok’s relief. Their coach seems to not have even noticed. Hoseok keeps his head in the game and he limits the conversations with his teammates to the bare minimum. It sounds like a win-win situation to everyone. 

On the other hand, Hoseok has met and hung out with Yoongi’s friends frequently. Namjoon, the one Yoongi talks the most about, actually shares some interests with him. He and Hoseok have gone on a few bicycle rides together already. Their talks are not boring or forced — Namjoon tells him about his passion for art and working out (they even have a few gym meets scheduled for the near future), and Hoseok, besides sports, mostly talks about Yoongi. Namjoon doesn't seem to mind. He even finds it amusing and comments on how in love they are. Hoseok and Yoongi have mentioned the word before, during one of their dorm dates, in the intimacy of their rooms, but they still find it a little too  soon to talk about deep feelings. They’ve agreed to let things flow on their own, and they’re happy as they are for now. 

It’s on one of these dorm dates that they cross into foreign territory. Hoseok has asked Yoongi on yet another date to celebrate their hundred days together tomorrow. Yoongi has not been counting them, but he trusts Hoseok to do it for the both of them. Hoseok finds it cute how Yoongi still blushes every time he mentions dating. He’s truly charming.

“We don’t have to celebrate round numbers,” Yoongi says casually, trying not to show his excitement. “We can go on random dates whenever we want to.”

“Well, where’s the fun in that?” Hoseok asks with a giggle. 

"Is there no fun in going on random dates with me?" Yoongi asks with a fake pout.

Hoseok pouts too and holds Yoongi's hands on his lap. "That's not what I meant, hyung..."

"I know," Yoongi replies with a giggle, intertwining his fingers with Hoseok's.

"I love to see you smile."

Yoongi rolls his eyes softly. 

"I wish I could kiss all your pouts away," Hoseok adds a playful laugh. 

Yoongi smiles. They have never kissed on the lips, not because they don't want to, but because neither of them have felt a big need to. They know they like each other, they like to hang out together, so they can take things as slow as they want. 

"Do it," Yoongi says after a moment, pouting again. "Kiss my pouts away."

Hoseok freezes. This is happening. He doesn’t even know what to do. Yoongi ends up being the one to lean forward with an entertained smile. He keeps his movements slow, making sure that Hoseok is okay with it too. Hoseok doesn’t move, he lets it happen. In no time, his lips are on Yoongi’s own and Hoseok feels like he’s going to faint. Yoongi’s lips are so gentle, as soft as a comfy pillow. They are warm too, a very different sensation from the rest of Yoongi’s usually cool skin. When Hoseok moves his own lips too, parting them easily, Yoongi wastes no time to play with Hoseok’s lips with his tongue. For someone who hasn’t dated anyone before, Yoongi does move like an expert. 

“Fuck,” Hoseok mumbles in the middle of their kiss, his lips moving against Yoongi’s own, their breaths mixing together. “You’re fucking good at this.”

Yoongi giggles. Their noses bump against each other, which only makes them laugh harder together. “Thank you,” Yoongi replies with a contagious smile.

“Hey, baby,” Hoseok calls, his fingers on Yoongi’s chin to lift his head up. “I love kissing you, but please tell me when to stop, okay? If I ever go past your limits, tell me. Anytime. And I’ll stop immediately, okay?”

Yoongi nods. Their faces step away from each other for a moment, just so they can look into each other’s eyes. “Okay, I will. Thank you. I like kissing you too.”

Hoseok smiles. “Good. Because I will do it again right now.”

Yoongi chuckles and puts his hands on Hoseok’s back of the neck. When their lips touch again, Hoseok doesn’t want this moment to ever end.