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A buzz of his phone startles Yoongi. He looks up from his laptop, squinting at the window. The last time he checked, it was still dark. He takes his phone, noting that it is actually almost 11 AM, and checks the notification. It’s a chat from his neighbor next door.
Jungkook (502): neighbor hyung
Jungkook (502): r u home?
Yoongi likes Jungkook. He thinks of the boy as the nice university kid that he can actually tolerate. They hang out a few times, mostly to get late-night lamb skewers when both of them pull an all-nighter. However, he doesn’t recall anything that might lead Jungkook into texting him so early in the day. Usually, Jungkook just walks over if he needs anything or shouts loud enough if he’s lazy.
Min Yoongi: Yeah. Why?
The reply comes fast enough.
Jungkook (502): need ur help
Jungkook (502): there’s a cockroach in my unit
Yoongi furrows his brows. Jungkook doesn’t have any problems with bugs before.
Min Yoongi: And?
Jungkook (502): im not home
Jungkook (502): my brother is there now
Jungkook (502): he’s scared of bugs and he might be crying in the bathroom now because the cockroach is on the bathroom door and he can’t get past it
Yoongi doesn’t know Jungkook has a brother. The idea feels weird in his head. He has always thought of Jungkook as a kid, it’s weird to imagine that a kid is a hyung to someone else.
Min Yoongi: God
Min Yoongi: Ok omw
Jungkook (502): thanks, hyung!!!!
Jungkook (502): pass is 0613
Yoongi sighs. He gets up, stretches his spine, and gets a can of insecticide he keeps on his balcony. He takes a slipper with him too, just in case he has to go in hand-to-hand combat with the bug. Then, he considers if he needs to change out of his ratty t-shirt and shorts, but he decides against it since it’s an emergency and he’s only going to meet a kid and a bug anyway. He gets out of his apartment unit, turns sharp left, and knocks once before inputting the passcode.
Entering the neighbor’s apartment unit, Yoongi shouts, “Hello?”
There’s a distressed whine coming from the direction of the bathroom. The door is slightly ajar—only a few centimeters that give Yoongi nothing—and Yoongi can’t see the bug. It must be inside.
“It’s the neighbor,” Yoongi announces, “Jungkook told me about the cockroach.”
“O— okay. Help? Pl— please?”
So the voice is definitely not of a small child, though shaky and whimpering. Maybe Jungkook has a high-schooler brother? Could be. Still, a kid in Yoongi’s book. As gentle as possible, Yoongi asks, “Could you tell me where the cockroach is?”
“It’s on the door,” the boy says. “It’s staring at me.”
Alright, Yoongi thinks, so the cockroach is literally between them. The boy has no way to get out without disturbing the bug and Yoongi has no way to get in. Moreover, it’s a goddamn cockroach. It will fly and a flying cockroach combined with a terrified kid is never a good idea.
Yoongi considers his options and there’s none. He sighs and carefully says, “I’m gonna open the door, you get ready to get out from there, okay?”
“No!” is the immediate response. “It— it will run!”
Run? Yoongi snorts internally. It will fly. He gets closer to the door and places his palm gently on it, ready to push it open, “And so will you. Just run out of there to the room and close the door. I will handle the bug, okay?”
“What if it gets to me?!” the voice is pitiful and hopeless.
“Then I will take care of it. Promise nothing bad will happen. I got you.” Yoongi hopes his voice is as assuring as he thinks it is. He steps forward and brings up his insecticide. “I will open the door now, okay?”
There’s a whine. Deep and sorrowful. “Okay,” the boy says finally.
“On the count of three,” Yoongi says, his palm gets firmer on the door, “One… two… three!!”
In the next second, the door is opened with Yoongi’s forceful push. The door hits the wall and the bug somersaults to the air, spreading its wings in the next second. The boy—which turns out to be not a boy at all—screams and crashes into Yoongi, purchasing for his dear life. Like some kind of a cruel slapstick episode, the bug, of course, lands on the terrified man’s shoulder, triggering the man to run around the cramped unit while flapping his arms around.
“Hey, hey,” Yoongi stretches his arms out, trying to catch the man and stop the mini hurricane happening inside the space, “Calm down, I’ll take care of it.”
The man goes around and runs straight to Yoongi. He crashes to Yoongi once again and holds him tight in his shivering hug. He hides his face in the crook of Yoongi’s neck, mumbling, “Please, take it away,” over and over again.
“Alright, alright,” Yoongi says, matching the man’s urgency. He grips the can of insecticide tighter; he can’t use it without getting a risk of poisoning them both. He peers to the lone slipper being jammed just under his armpit. No, he can’t just hit his neighbor with a slipper. He briefly maps out their surroundings and decides that throwing the cockroach inside the bathroom and attacking it with the insecticide might be the best option. He just hopes he is fast enough to do so before the bug starts droning around again.
Yoongi pivots the both of them so he’s facing the bathroom area. The man’s grip gets tighter and tighter, Yoongi starts to think that he might get squeezed into nothingness anytime soon. He readies his weapon and warns, “I will swat it away towards the bathroom. Don’t panic, okay? Stay put.”
The man nods to Yoongi’s shoulder.
“Alright, here we go,” Yoongi says. He flicks his hand in a swift movement, sending the bug to the bathroom floor. Yoongi loops the now free arm around the man to keep him from making sudden movements, then sprays the insecticide abundantly until it creates a hazy fog inside the tiny room. Still holding the man close, Yoongi pivots quickly and closes the bathroom door, trapping the bug inside, waiting for its end.
For a moment, they both just stand still right there, trying to regulate their breathings. As the adrenaline rush simmers down, Yoongi starts to become aware of the position they are in. He is still holding the obviously-not-a-kid person and the man is still clutching to him. They are so, so close. Flush to each other. Yoongi can smell a sweet vanilla shampoo from the man’s damp hair. The skin smells like tangerine. Yoongi estimates that the man couldn’t be too far away from him in age. And, oh, he is only wearing a very short shorts and no shirt.
“Is it gone?” the man asks, relaxing only by a bit but not releasing Yoongi yet.
“Yeah, it should be,” Yoongi answers.
The man gingerly backs away, finally letting go of Yoongi. He looks around to make sure there’s no evil bug running around, then runs an arm across his bare chest, looking down to his feet. “T— thank you,” he says quietly, “and sorry.”
Now that there’s a gap between them, Yoongi is finally able to actually see the man. Under the damp hair, a set of enticing, brown eyes is averting their gazes. Yoongi isn’t all that surprised that the man is handsome—he’s Jungkook’s brother after all—rather, he’s surprised that he is still dazed. The man’s nose and cheekbones look like they are sculpted to perfection. The jaws? The lips? The mole on his upper lip?
Yoongi is attracted. And he is painfully aware of it.
“Uh,” Yoongi starts, clearing his throat, “It’s okay. Cockroaches are the spawns of the devil.”
“Uh, yeah,” the man says. Both of his arms are now draped awkwardly around his body.
“I’m Min Yoongi,” Yoongi introduces himself, immediately regretting offering his hand because the man in front of him gets even more flustered at the idea of uncovering himself. Yoongi retracts his hand quickly and pockets it instead. “Jungkook’s neighbor.”
The man smiles tightly. “Ah, yes. Kookie’s Yoongi-hyung from 501, right?”
Yoongi nods.
“I’m Hoseok. Kookie’s brother.”
“Older brother?” Yoongi inquires, trying to confirm what is already obvious.
The man—Hoseok—looks taken aback but then giggles. “Yes, yes, of course. Older brother.”
“Oh,” Yoongi looks away, trying to conceal his burning face. He needs to escape. Fast. But, at the same time, he doesn’t want to move an inch away. “Never seen you around,” he says instead.
“Ah, yeah. I live in Gwangju, so… yeah,” Hoseok says. “Went to an event in town and missed my train last night, so I decided to crash.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
A thick silence drops around them. Yoongi is still nailed to the floor and Hoseok fidgets awkwardly, slightly shivering due to the lack of the garments.
“Got the 7:30 PM ticket for today,” Hoseok adds.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Another thick blanket of silence. Yoongi knows it’s his cue to leave. The man is still half-naked, for God’s sake, it’s just common sense to just end it here and retreat to his own unit. As much as he doesn’t want to leave, he has to.
“Alright.” Yoongi feels his tongue getting heavy. He really, really doesn’t want to leave. “I guess I need to go back. If there’s another bug, just shout, okay?”
Hoseok giggles nervously. “Okay. Thanks again, Yoongi-ssi.”
Yoongi cringes internally. The honorific doesn’t sound right. He gives a small nod and turns around, starting for the door. As he inches away from Hoseok, his heart thrums uncomfortably. Hoseok is leaving tonight and he might not see him again until God knows when. He should do something—anything—but he doesn’t seem to have the guts to do so.
Who says cockroaches are scary?
Yoongi reaches for the door’s handle. Last chance, Yoongi, he thinks to himself, last chance.
“Uh, wait!” Hoseok calls out, startling Yoongi that is internally battling with the voices inside his head.
Yoongi slowly turns around.
“Have you— have you had lunch yet? Do you happen to know a good Jjajangmyeon place?” Hoseok asks.
There’s a wave spreading from Yoongi’s chest to the tips of his body.
“Or— or coffee? Or anything, really. I’d like to thank— thank you for saving me.”
Yoongi feels another wave. A smile blooms on his face. “I know a good Jjajangmyeon place. I’ll pick you up here after I shower and you… uh… get dressed?”
Hoseok instinctively looks down on his own body and laughs. “Yes, yes, sure,” he says, offering the widest, brightest smile Yoongi has ever seen. Then, the laughter simmers down and Hoseok looks up to Yoongi’s eyes, “It’s a date, then?”
Yoongi feels the heat creeping up his neck, to his cheeks, to his whole face. There’s a butterfly in his stomach, tickling his insides. Trying to beat Hoseok’s smile with his own, he nods, “A date. Sure.”