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the first time yoongi meets jeongguk, he really doesn't like him. 

he doesn't have anything against korean-americans. in fact, he doesn't even have anything against americans, but jeongguk really pisses him off. yoongi isn't sure if it's his stupidly wide smile or the way he embraces jimin with so much familiarity, or something else he can't put his finger on. 

jeongguk isn't what yoongi was expecting when jimin said his younger cousin was staying with him for the summer. he was more expecting a teenager, maybe someone with a childish face—not a muscular twenty-one year old. taehyung greets him happily, the way he does with anyone, and gives jeongguk a big hug. yoongi doesn't move from his spot on the couch and drinks more of his whiskey. 

"yoongi-hyung, this is jeonggukie," jimin says, leading jeongguk to stand in front of yoongi.

jeongguk smiles shyly and bows his head, saying, "hi. i'm jeongguk."

yoongi huffs in response, not looking up to meet his eyes. jimin kicks him in the shin and he glares at his friend, gritting out, "i'm yoongi." another kick has him saying, "it's nice to meet you, jeongguk-ssi."

jimin steers jeongguk away, saying something about how yoongi is the grumpy type. he huffs again, arms crossed after his finishes his drink. taehyung drops onto the couch, kicking his feet into yoongi's lap. tired, yoongi doesn't make an effort to move him. "you really don't like him?" taehyung asks, resting his head on the couch pillows.

"he has an annoying face," he mumbles in response and picks up the remote, turning on the tv. he scrolls through netflix, watching the previews until taehyung plucks the remote out of his hands. "seriously. who just looks like that?"

"jimin's gonna throttle you when he finds out," taehyung sings, and presses play on a drama that he's been watching. which yoongi knows, because unfortunately, he lives with this fool. either way, he settles into the couch with responding, listening to the drama and jimin's echoing laugh from the hallway. 

jeongguk and jimin appear in the living room again. "food, anyone?" jimin asks.

"i'm good," yoongi replies and turns his head to the taehyung, half-asleep with the remote on his chest. "i think we're just gonna go home. we both have work in the morning." he turns off the tv and moves taehyung's legs, hauling the other to sit up. "let's go."

taehyung whines about being tired, but does get up and gives jimin a bear hug. yoongi just puts on his shoes and opens the door, waiting for taehyung to join him. he gives jimin a head nod and ignores jeongguk's very curious expression as he walks out with taehyung. 

"hyung, you seriously don't like jeongguk-ssi? you didn't even talk to him," taehyung says as they sit in the car to drive home. yoongi rolls his eyes and doesn't answer the question, pulling away from the curb. "he seems nice, despite your weird vendetta against him."

yoongi scoffs, unamused. "he's american."

taehyung laughs and pushes yoongi's shoulder, who winces and rubs it with his eyes still on the road. "who cares? korean-americans know how to have fun too."

"do we have to talk about him? i think i'd rather jump off a cliff," he mutters and taehyung just rolls his eyes and turns up the music. they don't exchange words the rest of the drive, or when they arrive at their apartment, or even as they stand side by side brushing their teeth in their bathroom. 

"you gonna try to cuddle me in your sleep again, hyung?" taehyung teases as he lies down on his side of their shared bed. 

the two of them live in a studio apartment. it's unlucky, really, that yoongi has to share his space with someone. he hates it sometimes, but he likes taehyung's company too. yoongi has known taehyung for years, anyway, every since the younger knocked on his front door and asked yoongi if he wanted to try a cookie. to which, ten year old yoongi indulged in and then slammed to door in nine year old taehyung's face. they've been friends since yoongi's mother forced him to apologize.

the apartment isn't big enough for two separate beds, but they're used to sharing anyways. even through their teenager years they stayed close and yoongi is grateful that more than ten years later, he still has taehyung as his best friend. sure, taehyung is goofy, but he’s good emotional support for yoongi and always knows when he needs to be pulled out of his workaholic routines. 

yoongi lies down beside him and shoves a stuffed animal in his face. (it's taehyung's, but yoongi tends to be the one to hold it in his sleep.) "is cuddling so bad, taehyung-ah? you act like i don't wake up to you clinging to me like a koala."

taehyung shoves the stuffed animal back into yoongi's chest, turning his back towards him. "whatever," he mumbles. "goodnight hyung."

"goodnight taehyung," he says back and turns away too after putting the stuffed animal between their pillows. yoongi tosses and turns, feeling unbelievably hot in the apartment, even with the air conditioning on blast. he puts in earbuds and listens to music after taking off his shirt, using that as his tool to help him sleep. 

yoongi wakes abruptly to his alarm blaring. he groans and rolls over into taehyung, saying, "i'll die if i have to get up for work."

"get off," taehyung says back and shoves yoongi aside, climbing out of bed. yoongi watches him stretch and go into the bathroom, kicking the door shut. through the door, he calls out, "if you get up now, i'll make you coffee!"

that has yoongi sitting up and lazily getting out of bed, walking over to the closet and stares at their clothes. he takes out something comfortable and gets dressed tiredly, trying to fix his hair in the mirror. he pounds on the bathroom door and says, "hurry the fuck up," before returning to his mess of hair. in the thirty seconds taehyung takes to open the door, yoongi has already considered shaving it off. 

yoongi keeps the door open as he washes up, humming something has he does his morning skincare routine. when he walks out to the kitchen, he sees a mug of coffee waiting for him, just as taehyung promised. "leaving already?" he asks, seeing taehyung pulling on his shoes. 

"yeah, earlier shift today," taehyung replies, slipping his wallet and phone into his pocket, frowning as he looks around for his keys. yoongi tosses them from where they're resting on the counter. "thanks. we're meeting everyone for dinner tonight, by the way. don't pretend to be dead. i can see you're alive and well."

"is this bribe coffee so i'll go out tonight?" he asks and frowns into his mug for a moment, taking a long sip. 

"maybe. i'm planning on sending you lunch too, to bribe you to be nice to jeongguk-ssi."

yoongi doesn't have a chance to answer because taehyung is already out the door, walls shaking from the slam. "brat," he mutters and downs the rest of his coffee. he gathers his things for work and leaves the apartment as well. 

most of the day, yoongi is distracted by the excruciatingly awful xylophone playing of eight year olds. he teaches music at a local elementary school and the kids have terrible attention spans and no affinity for music. occasionally, yoongi will get lucky with a mildly interested student, but otherwise he finds his job extremely difficult. 

taehyung does end up sending him lunch and because it's from his favorite restaurant, he caves and joins his friends for dinner. everyone except for jimin and jeongguk are already there and yoongi slides into an empty seat beside taehyung, the chairs beside and across from him empty. seokjin and namjoon are deep into an argument, while taehyung and hoseok talk about the fashion they've been into lately. yoongi takes to his phone and texts jimin to see how far he is. 

jimin arrives five minutes later, lost puppy jeongguk trailing behind him curiously. they have introductions and jeongguk sits across from yoongi, jimin at the head of the table. yoongi wants to die, or leave, because he doesn't want to look at jeongguk's stupid american face the whole evening. 

he keeps quiet mostly, but that proves useless after a handful of soju shots. yoongi grows talkative and loud, contributing to the noise of their group and participating in arguments over stupid things like what kind of chocolate is better. it's nice, almost enjoyable, until he remembers jeongguk is sitting there and laughing too. 

it's more quiet and confused chuckles than anything. yoongi assumes he feels left out, probably because he doesn't know anyone except for jimin. hoseok and taehyung make him feel welcome, but yoongi understands the guarded expression on his face. but when jeongguk talks, he speaks fast like a native korean and even has the heavy busan accent that everyone else has too. yoongi doesn’t really like it. 

yoongi steps out of the restaurant when his face starts to feel hot and the room gets too stuffy. he stands outside in just his t-shirt and shorts, the weather still warm even at nighttime. he shuts his eyes and inhales the salty air, the taste of ocean on his tongue just along with the alcohol. he opens his eyes when he hears the restaurant door shut, then turns away when he sees jeongguk. 

jeongguk doesn't say anything, but yoongi can hear the sound of a lighter flicking. when he glances over, it's just a box lighter being clicked on and off, jeongguk's eyes on the flame. there's no cigarette in sight, or anything else you can light. "you're not a pyromaniac, are you?" yoongi asks with his eyes narrowed. 

"no, i'm not," jeongguk replies and offers an awkward smile, softly laughing. 

"i'm surprised you know that word," yoongi mutters and crosses his arms. he leans against the wall, chin tilted upwards and away from jeongguk. a breeze blows against them, yoongi shivering slightly. he runs his fingers through his hair and pushes past jeongguk with a hard shoulder shove on his way back inside. "can you take us home?" he asks taehyung, tugging on his sleeve. 

taehyung sighs and nods, standing quietly. he waves at the others, yoongi doing the same before tiredly leaning on taehyung's arm. "what's up with you? you're never this affectionate. drunk or sober," taehyung says when yoongi wraps his arms around him, face nuzzled into his neck. they pass jeongguk, but yoongi only catches the way his feet shuffle to the side.

"i'm exploring my boundaries," yoongi says and lets go, pushing taehyung aside. "i still hate it. especially with you."

"and he's back! like flipping a switch," he says and laughs, getting into the driver's seat. as taehyung drives, yoongi finds that he can't get jeongguk's face out of his mind. 

++

yoongi grows to tolerate jeongguk's presence. it isn’t “tolerating” as it’s more that yoongi just pretends that jeongguk doesn’t exist. they say hello to each other, and then yoongi will ignore him throughout the evening unless jeongguk directly asks him a question—when he does, it’s usually “what time is it?” or “do you know where jimin went?” yoongi still gets annoyed when jeongguk speaks. he realizes it’s half because he doesn’t use honorifics, and half because he’s actually very fluent in korean. he definitely had a misconception that korean-americans don’t speak well. 

when yoongi arrives at jimin’s apartment, he lets himself in with the spare key because he knows it’s empty. or, it’s supposed to be empty, but when he walks in, he can hear the shower running. cursing to himself, he kicks off his shoes and whips out his phone to call jimin. it rings a few times before he answers. “hey hyung, i’m like, fifteen minutes away,” jimin says. “bad traffic. what’s up?”

“you said no one was home,” yoongi hisses into the receiver, and keeps his voice low. “you failed to mention that your cousin was here.”

jimin laughs a little. “you really need to loosen up about him, yoongi-hyung. he isn’t as bad as you think.”

“his—his literal everything annoys me,” yoongi says in exasperation and drops his body on the couch, stretching himself across it. he stifles a yawn, putting a pillow under his head and gets comfortable. “like, why is he that good at speaking korean? why does he have a busan accent like the rest of us? he talks like he knows everything. i don’t know, he gets on my nerves jimin-ah.”

“his parents are from busan,” jimin replies and laughs louder, hitting the wheel loud enough that yoongi can hear it. “and he went to korean school in america, as most korean immigrants do. sure, some don’t, but jeongguk-ah did. and he’s a bit of a brat, that’s why he sounds full of himself. i’m hanging up now, by the way.”

“park jimin, don’t you—“ he starts, but is cut off by the call ending. he groans and throws his phone onto the coffee table, pushing his head into the pillows. from the shower, yoongi hears jeongguk singing something in english, he doesn’t know it; but with his ear for music, he sort of stops and listens to his voice. it’s nice, he thinks, then burns the thought because he doesn't want to like anything about jeongguk. 

the shower turns off and the singing continues, softer now. it’s replaced by humming when the door opens and yoongi really doesn’t expect him to walk to the kitchen with a towel around his waist. there’s water dripping from his dark hair, and down his chest and yoongi makes the unfortunate mistake of looking at his six-pack. jeongguk doesn’t even notice him. panicked, he grabs the nearest pillow and throws it in jeongguk’s direction before shielding his eyes. “jeez, pu—put on some clothes,” he says, flustered.

“sorry! oh my god, i’m so sorry,” jeongguk says, shaking voice and his footsteps sound down the hallway. 

yoongi opens his eyes when he hears a door shutting and rubs his face, trying to erase the image from his mind. he shudders and thinks, why the hell is jeongguk that attractive? he doesn’t like it, in fact, he hates it. really, really hates it.

jeongguk returns dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, sheepishly smiling at yoongi. yoongi wants to punch him in the face for looking like that, for looking pretty. “i had no idea you were going to be here,” jeongguk says. “i’m really sorry, again.” 

“whatever.”

yoongi turns his head away, seeing jeongguk get something from the fridge from the corner of his eye. he can’t even look at him properly without thinking of what he saw. jeongguk’s voice snaps him out of zoning out. “where’s jimin?”

“stuck in traffic. you should call him jimin-hyung , by the way.”

jeongguk laughs and sits on the floor since yoongi is taking up the couch room. not that yoongi wants to sit beside jeongguk. “i always forget to. i didn’t grow up around a lot of other fluent korean speakers, so we didn’t really use honorifics. i only used them when talking to my teachers,” he says, and yoongi watches him for a moment as he takes a sip of the banana milk he’s holding. he doesn’t answer and only shuts his eyes again, folding his legs to find a comfortable position. “should i call you hyung too?”

yoongi almost laughs—but stops himself because he really doesn’t want jeongguk to think that he’s a complete asshole. “you can,” he ends up saying, then follows it with, “but don’t get any ideas that we’re friends or anything. i’m jimin’s friend, not yours.”

“right,” jeongguk says and it’s kind of quiet and hesitant. yoongi doesn’t question it because he doesn’t really care enough to. 

they’re both quiet after that, yoongi occasionally shifting his position on the couch. he hears jeongguk start humming and then singing under his breath. it’s really quiet, barely being heard over the droning of the air conditioner. yoongi sits up a little and tilts his head to the side as he watches jeongguk do something on his phone. he nudges the back of jeongguk’s head with his foot, and he stops singing, looking up cautiously.

yoongi clears his throat and mutters, “you have a nice voice. or something like that.”

jeongguk opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by the door slamming open. both yoongi and jeongguk flinch from their spots, watching jimin carry in a bag of food and taehyung trailing inside behind him. “yoongi-hyung didn’t try to rip your head off, did he jeongguk-ah?” taehyung asks and plants himself on the couch, sitting over yoongi’s legs. yoongi groans and tries to move his legs to get taehyung off.

“no, but he did kick me in the head,” jeongguk replies and laughs, turning his body towards the couch. yoongi glances down at him, catching a glimpse of how his shorts ride up his tan thighs, the edge of his boxers showing. he quickly looks away and sits up to shove taehyung to the side, getting situated again while sitting upright. 

yoongi scoffs. “i didn’t kick, i pushed,” he mumbles and stands, walking over to the kitchen table. he hears taehyung and jeongguk laugh and start talking about something else that yoongi doesn’t have the energy to pay attention to.

jimin unpacks the food and yoongi finds two bowls, dishing some out for jimin and then for himself. “by the way,” yoongi starts, then drops his eyes from jimin’s face to the food in between them. “he walked out after his shower like, half naked. so, that really isn’t helping the whole i-don’t-like-him thing. in fact, i might like him even less now.”

“i really didn’t need to know that,” jimin says and passes yoongi a pair of chopsticks. “why do you always make it your mission for everyone to know when you dislike something? or in this case, someone. jeongguk-ah hasn’t even done anything to you. you just saw him and decided that you dislike him.”

“his vibe is off.” yoongi shrugs and starts to eat, taking a seat at the table. he half-heartedly listens to jimin tell him about something that happened with one of the dancer’s he works with, shoveling food into his mouth quietly. after finishing dinner, he washes it down with half a bottle of beer, wiping his mouth a little. he glances to the living room, seeing jeongguk and taehyung talking. he feels a pang of something in his chest, jealousy maybe. he doesn’t like seeing jeongguk act so familiarly with his best friend. 

but yoongi is a good friend. he sees how happy taehyung is, his mouth pulled wide in his boxy smile, laughing hard at something jeongguk said, so he stays seated and focuses back on jimin. it’s hard to with the way jeongguk and taehyung laugh every few minutes, and jimin ends up getting distracted too and joins them on the couch. yoongi just watches them from the table, drinking his beer with a scowl on his face until taehyung drags him up. 

“we’re watching a movie,” he says and pushes yoongi onto the couch before sitting on his lap.

yoongi groans and leans back, pushing against taehyung’s back. “get off, taehyung-ah! i already have to deal with this shit at home, go cuddle up to jimin instead,” he whines and pushes a little harder so taehyung slides off his thighs. from the corner of his eye, he can see jeongguk watching them curiously, bottom lip between his teeth. pretty, yoongi thinks, then nearly slaps himself for thinking it. “what? never seen best friends act affectionate?” he sort of snaps, arms crossed.

“no! i—i mean, i have!” jeongguk says frantically, eyes wide and shakes his hands in front of his body. someone shuts the light, but yoongi swears he sees jeongguk blushing. 

the four of them pile on the couch, jeongguk on one end and yoongi on the other. taehyung still ends up on top of him, sleeping on his chest and jimin is leaning on taehyung’s back, also asleep. yoongi isn’t really watching the movie, just drinks his beer and stares a little dazedly at the tv. he realizes his bottle is empty, leaning over taehyung to place it on the cluttered coffee table. he glances at jeongguk who is sitting with one earbud in, staring at his phone and sitting comfortably. the light illuminates his face; he looks tired, yoongi notices.

to get his attention, yoongi throws the bottle cap for one of the beers at him. jeongguk looks up and raises his eyebrows a little expectantly. yoongi points to the beer bottle. “i’m a little cramped. can you get me another one please?” he asks quietly, one hand gently scratching the back of taehyung’s head. taehyung stirs a little and mumbles something, but stays asleep. 

jeongguk nods and stands, walking to the kitchen and ducks behind the open fridge door. he returns with two open bottles, handing one to yoongi. he says thank you and has a big sip from it, swishing it in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. jeongguk sits down again, returning to his phone. yoongi looks back at the tv and sighs. after a couple minutes, he pauses the movie and turns off the tv. with nothing else to focus on, he suddenly feels the weight of taehyung and jimin on him more prominently. 

he pushes taehyung up by the shoulders and slips out from beneath him, positioning his friend’s head comfortably on one of the pillows. he shakes his hair out of his eyes and looks at the two sleeping, taking out his phone to snap a photo of jimin cuddling taehyung. 

“do you think they’ll date?” jeongguk asks suddenly, almost making yoongi spill his beer all over himself.

yoongi glances at jeongguk and shakes his head. “they tried, once, but they realized they’re better off as friends. and i think jimin-ssi has a thing for hoseok. actually, i think they both might have a thing for hoseok.” he frowns a little and takes a sip of his drink, finding an empty spot on the floor to sit on. “our friend group gets messy with this stuff. i think i’m the only one who hasn’t drunkenly slept with someone.”

“are you all—um, is everyone like, into guys?” he asks a little awkwardly, his voice wavering at the end of the question.

he shrugs and leans back on his palms, stretching his neck a little. “more or less. not everyone has a label on it, but we’re all really open about it. for example, i’m gay, but taehyung-ah doesn’t like to label himself. he says it’s too restricting.”

jeongguk nods slowly and opens his mouth for a moment, then shuts it, thinking for a couple of seconds. yoongi zones out for a little while, listening to the sound of the air conditioner and the tick of the clock. “i think i’m like taehyung-ssi, in that sense. that i don’t care about who i like,” jeongguk says quietly, breaking the silence he left only a couple minutes before. “sorry. uh, that’s my first time saying it in korean. or out loud. sorry—“

“it’s okay,” yoongi says and finds himself giving jeongguk a gentle smile. he knows this, understands this confusion that jeongguk is experiencing. sure, yoongi went through his realization earlier than twenty-one, but it’s still difficult regardless of who you are or where you’re from. yoongi knows that much. “don’t apologize. it’s a scary thing to admit.” he yawns, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “it’s kind of late, you should go get some rest. i’ll just crash in jimin’s room since they’re still asleep here.”

jeongguk nods and stands, so yoongi stands as well. they clean up together, keeping their footsteps and movement light so they don’t wake up jimin and taehyung. they don’t exchange any more words, just an awkward wave before jeongguk disappears into the guest bedroom. yoongi washes up in the bathroom and borrows one of jimin’s pajama pants before lying on his bed. worn out from his week, he falls asleep easily, definitely not thinking about jeongguk's voice. 

++

after his late night conversation with jeongguk, yoongi finds it easier to be around him. his shoulders feel less tense and he can have basic conversations with jeongguk without wanting to kick or punch him. sometimes if they get stuck sitting near each other, yoongi will zone out while looking at jeongguk, suddenly interested in his wide eyes and his excited smile. it’s less annoying now and the way jeongguk acts makes yoongi forget that the other is also american. 

it’s only when they’re going out as a group on a saturday night at a club that yoongi remembers. when the bouncer is checking ids, jeongguk shows a new york driver’s license, which the bouncer finds intriguing, asking question after question until he manages to escape. “can i see it?” yoongi finds himself asking once jeongguk rejoins the rest of their group. jeongguk nods and passes yoongi his wallet, and yoongi has to hold back a laugh at the cheesy, young smile on jeongguk’s face. “how old are you in this?”

“i had just turned… eighteen, i think? my parents didn’t let me get it until then even though the age to drive in america is sixteen,” he explains as he slips his wallet back into his pocket, jogging a little to catch up to the rest of the group.

they find a corner table to dump their stuff, and jimin, hoseok, and taehyung immediately go to the dance floor. the rest of them stay behind and namjoon takes everyones drink order before buying the first round for everyone. they always take turns paying, and last time they went out, namjoon had to leave before paying, so they teased him into doing first round tonight. yoongi leans back in his chair and keeps a look out for their friends, paranoid. 

“you should relax,” jeongguk says into his ear and pats his shoulder. “we’re at a club and you’re more tense than i’ve seen you for the couple weeks i’ve been here.”

“i can’t help it,” he replies and runs his fingers through his hair, effectively ruining the solid twenty minutes of work he spent styling it. “we’ve had so many bad club experiences that i always get worried that something will happen.”

“awfully pessimistic, if you ask me. look, namjoon-hyung is back with everyone’s drinks. maybe the alcohol will make you loosen up a little bit.” jeongguk slides over his own drink and yoongi’s drink, lifting it to clink their glasses together. in three big gulps, half of jeongguk’s glass is gone and yoongi only sips his drink slowly. after a minute or so, jeongguk says, “you want to dance, is that why you keep staring at the dance floor?”

“yeah, right. like yoongi-ah would willingly go dancing,” seokjin says from his right, laughing. 

“i would!”

“you like minimal movement. i have never seen you dance.”

to spite him, yoongi downs the rest of his drink and stands, grabbing jeongguk’s hand to drag him to the dance floor. jeongguk stumbles into him when they're well into the sea of people, so yoongi catches his fall quick by turning around. "sorry for dragging you with me. i wanted to prove him wrong," yoongi says into his ear, already moving slightly with the music. 

"it's fine, yoongi-hyung," jeongguk says and smiles loosely, hands hovering awkwardly between them. "kinda wanted to dance, but it's weird dancing with your cousin, even if jimin-hyung and i are close."

"understandable," yoongi laughs and nods, peering over jeongguk's shoulder to stick his tongue out at seokjin. he looks back at jeongguk, shifting closer as the crowd moves him. "you want shots, maybe?" he shouts, and jeongguk drops his head into a nod. 

taking the lead, yoongi takes jeongguk by the hand again to find the bar. he stops and orders both of them a round of shots, paying for them right then and there. jeongguk stands beside him as they do the shots together and return to the dance floor. yoongi rolls his shoulders back, dancing along even though he doesn't know the song. 

yoongi blames the alcohol for the way he presses himself against jeongguk's body, hands on his slim waist. he brings his mouth to jeongguk's ear and says, "i'm sorry it took so long for me to warm up to you. you're a lot cooler than i initially thought."

jeongguk laughs, tilting his head back a little and shakes his head. his hands are on yoongi's hips, and yoongi is hyper aware of it, even with his alcohol-altered state of mind. "you're cool too," he replies, grinning. yoongi smiles back. 

they dance for a little longer, bodies experimenting against each other, their chests and hips occasionally touching. jeongguk keeps at least one hand on the small of yoongi's back for safety, but he still looks like he's having fun. maybe too much fun because someone bumps into jeongguk, making him knock into yoongi, who stumbles out of jeongguk's grasp and into someone else. 

a drink comes splashing down on yoongi's shoulder, sticky and warm as it runs down his arm and chest. he scrambles back towards jeongguk and holds onto him before tugging him back to their seats frantically. "you okay?" jeongguk asks, his back pressed against yoongi's chest as they squish their way to the table. yoongi stumbles forward and jeongguk grabs his arm before he can fall face first into a chair. "hyung, are you good?"

"yeah, i'm fine. i just need to sit," he replies and drops into a chair at their table, slumping against the back of it. he shudders slightly, glancing up at jeongguk and now a concerned jimin, eyes a little droopy. "i have alcohol all over me."

"hyung, did you eat before this? you look like you're gonna be sick," jimin says and presses the back of his hand against yoongi's forehead. 

dizzied, yoongi shrugs. he vaguely remembers maybe having a bowl of instant ramen before meeting everyone at jimin's apartment. he blinks up at jeongguk and leans towards him, mumbling incoherently when his head hits his thigh. 

he distantly hears jeongguk say, "i'll take him outside for some air," and someone pulls him up. yoongi leans into jeongguk's chest, eyes falling shut and doing the minimal effort of walking forward. he hums softly and inhales the fresh air once they're outside, looking out at the buildings surrounding them. 

"can i sit?" he asks and pulls away, gripping jeongguk's hand as he lowers himself to the curb without letting him answer. 

jeongguk sits down beside him with a sigh, leaning back on his palms. "you want my hoodie? i think i have one in the car," he says, and yoongi looks over, just trying to breathe. 

"i'm okay. i think i might just ask taehyung-ah to go home soon," yoongi replies, rubbing his hands together, straightening his legs out. "i had fun dancing with you. but, honestly, i don't see myself doing much dancing again."

jeongguk laughs and shakes his hair out of his face, tilting his head back for a moment. he meets yoongi's eyes and smiles. "i had fun too. with the way you moved, i'm sure you proved jin-hyung wrong," he says and sits up, reaching into his pocket. he pulls out a lighter, but lets it rest there in his palm for a moment before flicking it open. 

yoongi doesn't respond and pulls his legs back towards himself, tucking his chin over his knees. he listens to the click of jeongguk's lighter, the faint beating of music inside the club, the sound of cars driving by on the busier street around the corner. "jeongguk-ah," he calls quietly, meeting the other's eyes again. 

"yeah?"

"forget what i said the other week about me not being your friend, okay?" he says and pulls his gaze away. it lands on his shoes and he kicks into the concrete, tired suddenly. "we're friends now."

"what made you not want to be my friend?" jeongguk asks and sits up too, bringing himself closer to yoongi. he glances up, seeing a drunk smile on jeongguk's face, and thinks he looks pretty like that. "i mean, i could tell you didn't really want to be around me at first. slowly though, you sort of let your guard down."

"at first it was your face," yoongi says and they both laugh. he leans over and bumps his shoulder against jeongguk's. "after that, i guess it's because you were nothing like my expectations. i mean, i was kind of expecting an annoying, bratty teenager and in a way, you do act like one, but you're still an adult. i don't know. you're cute and cool and you kind of like the same stuff that i do, so i didn't expect it."

"you... think i'm cute?" jeongguk asks and his face is really close now, breathing tickling yoongi’s neck. 

yoongi's body tenses but he still manages to say, "yeah." he turns his head so his nose brushes against jeongguk's, something stuck in his throat. 

he leans closer and closer until he's giving jeongguk a gentle kiss. jeongguk doesn't kiss back at first, but then he is, one hand on yoongi's knee, trying to turn his body. yoongi tries not to get lost in it, but it's hard with how perfectly their mouths fit together. 

the door behind them creaks open. jeongguk jumps back and wipes his mouth frantically, looking away from yoongi. yoongi does the same to his mouth, scrunching his nose when he accidentally tastes the dried alcohol on the back of his hand. "gross," he mutters, spitting. 

"yoongi-hyung! i heard what happened, are you okay?" taehyung asks, worried in his tone and he sits in the gap that jeongguk made between them. 

"i'm fine. i think we should go home," he mumbles and doesn't look up. he stands and dusts his hands off, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"you too, jeongguk-ah. you should either go back inside or have jiminie take you home," taehyung says before joining yoongi, one arm around his shoulders as he uses his phone to call them a ride. 

jeongguk nods, quiet, and returns inside. yoongi releases a breath and drops his gaze to his shoes. "okay, what the fuck was that? there was some weird, crazy tension when i walked out here. explain," taehyung demands, forcing yoongi to look at him. 

he scoffs and pushes taehyung's hand away, folding his arms across his chest. still, he mumbles, "i kissed him."

"you—what? two weeks ago you hated him!"

yoongi blinks at the ground. he really doesn't want to see the look on taehyung's face. "i think i like him," he admits and then tugs his hair for saying it aloud. "i think i was just telling myself i didn't like him so i would avoid this conclusion for the rest of his trip, but—"

"but it's two weeks in and you already came to the conclusion," taehyung finishes and sighs, pulling yoongi into him. yoongi presses his cheek into taehyung's shoulder and closes his eyes. "you think you could manage something with no strings attached? your vacation is soon too, isn't it?"

"it starts next week, yeah," yoongi replies. "maybe. those kinds of flings are risky, you know? someone always ends up getting hurt. i don't want to hurt him, or to get hurt myself. but... jeongguk is nice, and something with him seems nice. casual or not."

taehyung sighs and runs his hand down yoongi's back comfortingly. yoongi finally brings his arms around taehyung, giving into the need to be held. "i can't stop you, yoongi-hyung," taehyung says. "jiminie's going to hate it because of how protective he is about jeongguk. but out of all of us, you're probably most suited for him. you should have more faith in your stability."

"i'm hardly stable."

"you're much, much more stable than you were five years ago. you've come a long way."

yoongi winces and pinches taehyung's side. "shut up. you sound like one of those self-help books."

taehyung laughs and pulls away to look at yoongi. he smiles, wide and kind and full of love. "if you like jeongguk, you should tell him. and soon, so he doesn't think you're avoiding him."

"i—" he pauses and frowns, looking away. "i don't even have him on katalk."

"easy enough to fix," taehyung replies and takes out his phone, already opening his contacts. "there. i just sent you his info."

yoongi swallows his nerves and looks up at the sky, squinting at the bright lights. "okay. i'll do it in the morning, then."

++

as it turns out, yoongi does not text jeongguk in the morning. or any other day of the following week because he busies himself with work. on thursday evening, so close to his summer freedom, taehyung sits at the table across from him. his hands are folded and resting on the table and his expression is stern. yoongi sees right through the acting and asks, "you need something, taehyungie?" without so much as another look.

"you haven't texted jeongguk!" he whines out, breaking his composure immediately. record timing, yoongi thinks. "i know because i saw jimin today for lunch and he said that jeongguk hasn't really gone out at all since saturday night."

"i'm busy with work," he mumbles and holds his hair out of his face, twisting the pen in his hand. he circles the correct answers and marks the wrong one at the bottom of the page, then writes a brief explanation. at the top of it, he asks the student to see him after class. he slides the exam over and almost starts grading the next one when taehyung plucks the pen out of his hands. 

yoongi finally looks up again and furrows his eyebrows. "what do i even say?"

"ask him to talk," taehyung insists and encouragingly pushes yoongi's phone across the table. yoongi sighs and picks it up, scrolling up in his chat with taehyung to open jeongguk's contact. he presses the button to message him and the chat opens. "tell him you want to talk tonight."

"tonight?" yoongi looks up and shakes his head. "it's like, ten pm. i have work tomorrow."

"i'm trying to do you a favor! now type the message."

yoongi sighs and gives in, because he knows taehyung will just keep nagging him until he does. 

yoongi: hi jeongguk-ah, this is yoongi

j. jeon: oh hi

yoongi: if you aren't busy, can we meet and talk about something? in like twenty minutes, i know it's really last minute but it's important

j. jeon: okay, i'll see what i can do

yoongi: i'll meet you at jimin's

"okay, i did it," he says and looks up again with a sigh. "now what?"

"now, you go," taehyung says and slides yoongi's keys across the table. yoongi snatches them up with a huff, gives taehyung the finger after putting on his shoes, and slams the door on his way out. he vaguely hears a "have fun!" from taehyung as he walks away. 

yoongi takes the bus to jimin's apartment instead of his car. there isn't anyone else on it, so he feels more anxious than he already is. he tells himself to be calm, that telling jeongguk about his feelings isn't the end of the world. it could be a good thing, he considers, but also it could be damaging. 

he climbs off the bus and walks two streets down, waiting on the street corner. he sends jeongguk a message to let him know where he is, then loiters at the corner, walking in circles until there's a tap on his shoulder. he whips around and there jeongguk is, standing in front of him. 

"hi," yoongi breathes out, voice shaking. "um—you want to, like, walk with me?"

"sure," jeongguk says and nods and they start walking together, something heavy hanging between them. "so, what did you want to talk about?"

yoongi clears his throat and straightens his posture a little, almost like that makes a difference. "about kissing you," he says, eyes focused ahead of them. he hears jeongguk's breath hitch. "about—how i like you, in that way."

"really?" jeongguk asks and he sounds surprised. 

"i didn't make it obvious because—"

"i do too," he cuts off and yoongi stops walking abruptly. jeongguk stops too, a smile twitching at his lips, looking at yoongi. "i still want to get to know you more, but i think i like you too. kissing you was really nice."

yoongi rubs the back of his neck and doesn't stop himself from asking, "am i the first guy you've kissed?"

jeongguk's eyes widen suddenly and his face starts turning pink, his ears too. "oh my god," he mutters in english, then in korean, "was it that obvious? that's so embarrassing, wow."

"stop," yoongi laughs and puts his hand on jeongguk's bicep for a moment. "it's just the way you said that about kissing me. it made me wonder if it was your first time being kissed by another guy. it wasn’t bad or anything."

jeongguk blushes harder and shuts his eyes for a moment. when he opens them, he asks, "can we—can we kiss again?"

yoongi nods and steps closer; places his hand on the back of jeongguk's neck to bring his head down. he can feel the presence of jeongguk's hands awkwardly hovering over his waist. "you can touch me, you know." jeongguk laughs nervously and nods, pressing his palms into yoongi's sides. "can you relax? you're so stiff, i can literally feel it."

jeongguk groans and his shoulders drop, about to say something when yoongi puts his mouth on his. jeongguk kisses back almost immediately and yoongi moves closer when jeongguk's arms sling tighter around his body. he has really soft lips, yoongi is thinking, until jeongguk is pulling away. 

"was that okay?" yoongi asks, worried. "was it too much?"

"no!" jeongguk widens his eyes and curses under his breath in english, not letting go of yoongi's waist. in fact, it feels like his grip got tighter. "it was good. really good, yoongi."

"hyung," he reminds teasingly, watching jeongguk blush. "i'm—"

he doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence because jeongguk is kissing him again, with a lot more force. yoongi's words are muffled and he stumbles back a little with jeongguk, hooking both arms around his neck to pull himself closer. his heart is thumping, his head spinning, body so attached to the feeling of jeongguk touching him. yoongi goes as far as thinking it feels euphoric. 

jeongguk pulls away and grins, putting his forehead against yoongi's. "good?"

"yeah. good," he promises. 

yoongi trails his fingers down jeongguk's neck and brings it to his cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. "it's probably late now," he says and sighs, finally dropping his hands and stepping back. "i have my last day of work tomorrow before i'm off for the summer. do you, um, want to do something after?"

"oh! sure." jeongguk's eyes brighten and he nods. he pauses for a moment and yoongi looks at him expectantly. "um, you mean with just me right? like, on a date?"

yoongi laughs and nods. "yes, jeongguk-ah," he says and kisses his cheek, threading their hands together. "i'll walk you back."

++

more than three dates later and yoongi feels like spending all his time with jeongguk. he feels like a teenager almost, with the way he and jeongguk go out late and kiss under the city lights, the way they take grossly romantic walks on the beach and breathe in the salt air. 

and as much as yoongi wants to, he doesn't spend all his time with jeongguk. he's smart, he's an adult who needs time alone and jeongguk is painfully understanding about it. yoongi will coop himself in his apartment, working on music or lesson plans for when school resumes. jeongguk sends him texts sometimes, asking if he's eaten or if he's gotten any proper rest. it's endearing. yoongi likes being looked after, but he won't say that. 

today, he's cuddled up to jeongguk in jimin's guest bedroom. jimin found out about them almost immediately. the night that yoongi kissed jeongguk the second time, he received paragraph text messages and plenty of angry voice texts from jimin after walking jeongguk home. he became more lenient as time went on. yoongi knows it's because he and jeongguk are happy. 

jeongguk stops humming when there's buzzing from the nightstand, peering down at his phone. he picks it up and yoongi watches him type, sitting up a little and leans his cheek on jeongguk's shoulder. "who is it?" he asks, looking at jeongguk's nervous eyes. 

"just my friends at home," he mumbles, thumbs tapping his screen with a little vigor. they're trembling, yoongi notices. "i posted a picture we took at the beach the other day and it's morning there, so everyone's asking questions."

yoongi peers down at jeongguk's screen. everything is in english, even his phone settings and he can't help but laugh a little. "i'm so glad you're not some american brat who doesn't know any korean," he says and kisses jeongguk's cheek, going back to watching his face. 

jeongguk's laugh is nervous. "thanks hyung," he says and almost drops his phone when he gets a call. "can i take this?"

"i'm not stopping you," yoongi replies and leans back against the headboard.

jeongguk answers the call, hesitant, "hello?" from his lips. yoongi feels weird listening to him speak english, not having a clue what jeongguk is saying. it makes him think, and realize that jeongguk has an entire life in new york. it reminds yoongi that jeongguk will leave at the end of the summer. he moves close to jeongguk again, pressing his face into his neck. 

when jeongguk hangs up, he's rambling annoyedly in english about someone named cameron, someone named justin and yoongi shushes him before asking, "what are you even talking about? you know that i hardly know english."

"myself," he replies, like it's obvious. "my friend cameron called me and kept demanding details about what i'm doing here."

"okay," yoongi says slowly. "then who is justin?" 

jeongguk laughs, tipping his head back as he does. his hands run down yoongi's sides. "me," he says simply. 

"no." yoongi blinks up at him, confused. "you're jeongguk."

"you're so cute," jeongguk mumbles and leans down to kiss him, but yoongi pushes him away and crosses his arms. "it's just my english name, yoongi-hyung."

"i don't get it," he replies, feeling kind of bad about it. he doesn't understand jeongguk's world. "your name is jeongguk. why do you need an english name?"

"americans can't say my korean name properly. it's a really common thing that people do. my parents figured that out when i was in preschool, so they gave me an english name," jeongguk explains and tugs on a loose thread in the sheets. "it's what i'm used to being called. it's strange being here and everyone calls me jeongguk."

"do you want me to—"

"no! no, please, don't." jeongguk shakes his head and pulls yoongi close. "i like it. i had a kind of, like, disconnect from korea and korean culture when i was in high school. it's part of why i decided to visit. being called jeongguk all the time helps me remember who i am, where i'm from."

yoongi nods and leans up to kiss him for a moment. "okay, jeongguk-ah," he says and lies down again. 

jeongguk lies behind him, pulling his back into his own chest. he presses kisses along yoongi's neck, sighing loudly after planting a big one on his cheek. "hey yoongi-hyung?" yoongi hums in response, shutting his eyes. "what's gonna happen when i have to go home?"

yoongi sighs. so he isn't the only one thinking about it. he turns, and presses his forehead against jeongguk's, before saying, "we'll worry about it later. right now, i just want to enjoy the time with you that i do have." 

jeongguk nods and kisses him softly, the way he always does. yoongi presses closer, humming softly as he brushes his hand through jeongguk's hair. he pulls away to rest his face in his neck, breathing in the smell of his cologne. "do you think jimin will let me sleep over? it's late and i'm really tired," yoongi says, pulling back to blink up at jeongguk. 

"i'll go ask," he replies and pushes himself out of the bed, walking out of the room. 

yoongi lies on his back and pulls his phone from the nightstand. he opens jeongguk's instagram, frowning a little as he looks at the profile. at the top, it doesn’t say his name—it only says j. jeon and yoongi realizes that it doesn’t only stand for jeongguk. it probably stands for justin, too. he looks at his posts, the comments, trying to read and understand the english, but can’t. he tosses his phone onto the bed after locking it, sighing as he waits for jeongguk to come back. 

jeongguk returns grinning, and flops onto the bed. “he said yes,” he says as he clings to yoongi’s body. 

yoongi nods and brushes jeongguk’s hair back, running his fingers through it slowly. he doesn’t want to lose this moment, having jeongguk in his arms like this, so he picks up his phone again and nudges his head. “pose with me,” he says and smiles for the picture, waiting for jeongguk to smile too, half his face covered by behind hidden in yoongi’s neck. he hesitates momentarily before posting it, tagging jeongguk in the picture. 

“why would you post it?” jeongguk whines, looking at yoongi’s phone screen. “we look so exhausted. at least i posted a picture of us where it’s pretty dark and you can barely see us.”

“are you calling me ugly?”

“what? no! don’t put words into my mouth.” he pushes yoongi away and rolls over, back facing him. 

yoongi laughs and scoots closer, flinging one arm over jeongguk’s body to pull him back. “stop acting like a whiny baby. you look cute in it, like you always do,” he says and climbs onto the side of jeongugk’s hip, forcing him onto his back and effectively sitting on top of him. jeongguk rolls his eyes, moving is hands to yoongi’s waist. yoongi shivers when his fingers slide under his shirt, his own hands touching jeongguk’s arms. 

“you look good like this.”

“do i?” yoongi asks and his lips turn into the smallest of smirks. he flattens his hands on jeongguk’s chest and rolls his hips, the gasp jeongguk lets out being all he needs to do it again. the hands on his waist tighten, nails in his skin and yoongi leans down, kissing him slowly for a couple seconds. he feels jeongguk’s leg wrap around his and then they’re rolling over, yoongi’s head hitting the bed with a soft thud. “don’t get any ideas. we’re not doing any shit with jimin in the next room.”

jeongguk whines, collapsing his body on top of yoongi, face buried in the pillow. “please?”

“no,” he says and runs his hand down jeongguk’s back, lifting the end of his shirt to brush his fingers on his skin. “let’s sleep.”

“i’m not tired.” 

yoongi sighs and finally pushes jeongguk off of him, sitting up. “i am,” he says and shrugs, starting to get up to use the bathroom. jeongguk’s arms are around his waist in an instant, yanking him back to the bed. unamused, he tries to pull himself out of his grasp, failing miserably with how tightly jeongguk is holding him. “come on, jeongguk-ah, let go of me before i pee on you.”

jeongguk giggles, his arms loosening a little bit. “wow, yoongi-hyung, i didn’t think you were into that.”

“you brat,” he mumbles in response and finally manages to get away and off the bed. yoongi walks to the bathroom in the hallway to wash up, rinsing his face and borrows jimin’s skin products. on his way back to the guest bedroom, he knocks on jimin’s door and peeks his head in. jimin is lying on his bed in the darkness, face illuminated by his phone screen, earbuds in. “jimin-ah,” he calls, jimin looking up and tugs one earbud out. “do you have anything i can sleep in?”

jimin nods and, like a zombie, gets out of bed to shuffle to his dresser. yoongi watches him ruffle through the drawer and throws some shorts at him. he catches them and mumbles thank you and goodnight, changing in the bathroom before returning to the guest bedroom. he shuts the lights and the door, climbing into bed beside jeongguk. he tugs off his shirt before lying down, tensing when he feels jeongguk lean his chest against him; he can feel jeongguk’s warm skin. before he can say anything, he forces his eyes shut and focuses on falling asleep. 

yoongi wakes up to jeongguk singing under his breath, so quiet even with how close his mouth is to yoongi's ear. he opens his eyes and blinks slowly, mumbling, "morning jeongguk-ah."

jeongguk doesn't answer, but stops singing. he kisses yoongi's cheek and pushes himself to sit up. yoongi notices that he's fully dressed, hair wet from a shower maybe. "going somewhere?" he asks, propping himself up on his elbow, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

"no, i went for a run and to the gym in the morning, and came back, and showered, and you've been asleep the whole time," jeongguk replies, laughing. "it's almost noon now."

"so early? back to bed," yoongi says and drops his head back onto the pillow, pulling the blankets over him. 

"hyung, no." he laughs again, pulling yoongi up and into his lap. yoongi sits there, arms crossed and legs loosely pulled against his chest. "i want you to take me to lunch."

yoongi scoffs, glaring at him lightly. "why don't you pay for it one of these days?"

"then it's not as fun."

"you really are a brat," he huffs and pushes himself out of jeongguk's lap, stretching his limbs. he pulls on his shirt and fixes his hair in the body mirror, ruffling with it until jeongguk pulls his hands away. "can we stop at my apartment?" he leans forward to press his forehead to jeongguk's. 

jeongguk nods and steals a quick kiss before pulling away. they lazily make the bed together and yoongi leaves jimin's shorts on the bed after washing up in the bathroom. he takes jeongguk's hand as they leave the apartment, yawning sleepily in the elevator. 

he drives them to his own apartment and jeongguk climbs the stairs with him. yoongi opens the door, calling out, "taehyung-ah?" as he pokes his head in. taehyung's foot sticks in the air and yoongi sighs, opening the door wider. "don't mind him. he gets one week off and doesn't move from that stupid couch."

"you're no better," jeongguk laughs and follows him inside. "if it was up to you, you'd spend all day in bed or at your desk making music."

"is working and sleeping such a crime?" he mumbles and walks over to their bed to empty his pockets. he finds clean clothes and glances at jeongguk, who's been staring at him, raising his eyebrows. "what?"

"you guys share a bed?" he asks, voice timid. he looks embarrassed to ask, his face tinged with pink. 

yoongi shrugs, and taehyung says, "yeah, is that a problem?"

"no! not a problem. i just noticed, that's all," jeongguk mutters and continues to stand awkwardly in the middle of the apartment. his expression is easy to read, arms crossed and lips turned into a pout.

yoongi walks over, kissing him for a moment. "nothing to be jealous about, okay? i'm gonna shower, then we can go," he says and jeongguk nods, so he steps into the bathroom. he spends his time in the shower thinking about jeongguk, and their relationship. they haven't talked about specifics or labels—yoongi only knows that they're exclusive to each other. whether that will end when jeongguk leaves is still an unknown variable. 

he's afraid of getting too physically attached. it's a bad habit he has; he always gets way too attached to people and then they leave. and with jeongguk, yoongi knows that he’s leaving in almost only a couple of weeks. he's just trying to make the most of it before it happens. jeongguk is someone so caring, and so precious, and yoongi doesn't dare consider hurting him, but some things hurt even without the intention to. 

it's going to hurt in the end, yoongi realizes. 

he climbs out of the shower and gets dressed, drying his hair with a blow dryer. he takes a deep breath in the mirror and tells himself to forget everything he just thought in the shower. with a brave face, yoongi goes on his date with jeongguk. 

++

the wind is particularly different today. yoongi likes it, the gentle breeze on the back of his neck as he sits on the beach, feet sunken deep into the sand. jeongguk tugs on his arm, trying to get him to move. "yoongi, come on," he whines, pulling harder. yoongi shifts a little, but ultimately, stays in his spot. 

"i don't like the water," he says and pulls his arm from jeongguk's hand. "and you've been forgetting honorifics again recently."

jeongguk rolls his eyes and drops onto the towel, pulling yoongi by the ankles. yoongi kicks his hands away, pressing his foot to his chest to keep him back. "i do it to piss you off, yoongi-hyung . i know much it gets on your nerves," he says and finally manages to get yoongi to move into his lap. 

yoongi's a little flustered, not used to any sort of pda—in general, and certainly not in front of his friends. it's painfully obvious how embarrassed he is when taehyung says, "hyung, you're turning red. like, your whole face. you look like a tomato." then, he laughs, like he made the funniest joke ever. "i bet if we could see the rest of your body, it would be all red too."

"asshole. i'm going to dump sand down your shirt," yoongi says and starts to get up, but jeongguk pulls him back down. "let me throttle him, jeongguk-ah."

yoongi huffs when jeongguk shakes his head. "i have a better idea," he says and yoongi nearly yelps when jeongguk manhandles him onto his back. 

"what the fuck are you doing?" yoongi asks, eyes wide as he watches jeongguk take off his shirt. he's about to say something else when jeongguk kisses him, and yoongi sinks into it, kissing him back just as hard. he finally understands what jeongguk was getting at and pulls jeongguk closer, threading one hand into his hair. he hears taehyung gag and the pop of a soda can, and some very aggressive gulping. 

someone yells and jeongguk pulls away as he's being kicked aside by jimin. yoongi laughs at jimin's horrified expression and the way he shields his eyes. "i never want to see that again! oh god, tae-ah, save me," he says dramatically and drops to the ground beside them. 

"let's find somewhere else to be, then," jeongguk says and pushes himself up, holding out his hand for yoongi to take. 

this time, yoongi grasps onto his forearm, pulling himself up. they walk away after grabbing a bottle of beer each, sipping on their drinks, shoulders pressed together. it's a quiet walk, comfortable silence as they enjoy the breeze, the sound of the waves crashing, the sound of children playing. yoongi finishes his beer with ease and tosses the bottle into a trash can as he passes. 

jeongguk pulls him aside, under an overhang on the backside of a building that sells ice cream. he finishes his beer too and sets it on the ground before pulling yoongi close. "you should've brought your shirt," yoongi says and brings his mouth to meet jeongguk's for a second. "you might get super tan. it's really sunny out."

he shrugs and kisses yoongi again, harder this time. jeongguk turns and yoongi follows, letting the other push him against the wall of the building. yoongi pulls jeongguk's hips closer, chests touching and he angles his head so their mouths fit together. they don't get very far like this, because when the owner comes out to see them making out, he starts yelling at them. 

giggling, jeongguk pulls him away and yoongi doesn't really know where they're going, stumbling after him with a stupid smile on his face. "we can't even kiss in peace," he says once they're far away enough to have stopped needing to run a little. they're back on the actual beach, his feet sinking into the sand. he reaches up to brush some hair out of his eyes, and then covers a yawn. 

"can i ask you something?" jeongguk asks suddenly, a few minutes after they've just been walking side by side, holding hands. "it's... i've been thinking about it for a few weeks."

"sure," he replies and squeezes jeongguk's hand. "you can talk to me about anything."

jeongguk laughs nervously and nods, then looks ahead. there's a thin layer of sweat one his face and it's flushed a little red, maybe from kissing, maybe from running from the building owner. he looks so handsome, yoongi thinks, watching the way jeongguk's hair sticks every which way when the wind blows. 

"i know—that when i asked last time, you said we'd worry about it later," jeongguk starts and yoongi immediately deflates because he remembers that conversation. it was only a couple weeks ago. he glances away and almost lets go of jeongguk's hand—but doesn’t, because he wants jeongguk to know that he’s there. "but i can't stop thinking about what will happen. i don't want this to end. i really like you, yoongi-hyung. i know you like me too, but i live in goddamn new york and i’m only here for two more weeks. it’s a thirteen hour difference, how will we manage that?"

yoongi rubs his thumb over the back of jeongguk’s hand, sighing softly. “i don’t know… but, i’m honestly determined to make it work. yes, thirteen hours is a big difference, but after these last few weeks, i know i want to be with you. and things won’t be the same without the physical aspect of our relationship. which sucks because i really like kissing you—besides the point. it just means we’ll have more of an emotional relationship.”

“we’re both busy people.”

“it almost sounds like you’re making excuses to not make us work.”

jeongguk groans and pushes yoongi a little while he laughs. “i’m not, i’m not. i’m just stating a fact, yoongi-hyung. you’ll be teaching and i’ll be in my last year of school,” he says a little more seriously. “is it—is it practical?”

“it is if we make it,” yoongi insists, turning his head to look at jeongguk. the sun has begun to set and it hits jeongguk’s face just right. there’s a soft glow to his tan skin, and his eyes turn to the color of honey. he almost looks like an angel, yoongi thinks. “please.”

jeongguk stops walking and wraps his arms around yoongi, hugging him tightly. “okay, yoongi-hyung,” he mumbles quietly. “i’ll try.”

++

yoongi makes the most of the rest of jeongguk’s trip. despite his usual desire to stay home and do next to nothing, he goes out with jeongguk and does everything he wants to do. the beach, the mall, out for dinner, a night under the stars. he doesn’t mind—he gets to see jeongguk happy, and that makes him happy. it’s all that matters.

it’s the end of jeongguk’s trip that hurts. yoongi, jimin, taehyung, and of course, jeongguk, are all piled into jimin’s car to go to the airport. yoongi thinks he might cry; later, probably, in the shower or in his car when no one is watching. he hasn’t let go of jeongguk’s hand the whole car ride, keeping their thighs pressed together. jeongguk is dozing off, head against the window, and yoongi watches and tries not to wonder too much about when he’ll next see him. 

jimin slows the car into park at the departure gate. jeongguk gets out, and yoongi follows, carrying jeongguk’s bag. “hyung, you have to let go of me.”

“no,” he says firmly, frowning. “i won’t.”

“yoongi—“

“don’t go,” he whispers and pulls jeongguk’s shoulders close, close, close. letting go of him seems so daunting, letting him leave is terrifying. “please, i—i don’t want you to go.” he can’t believe it, but he has tears welling up in his eyes and he kisses jeongguk’s lips briefly. “baby, please.”

jeongguk puts his hands on his waist, rubbing circles into yoongi’s sides. “i have to,” he whispers back. “we talked about this. we’ll save up, okay? to be able to visit each other. there’s facetime and skype and we can text each other and send voice messages and pictures, hyung, please. you have to let me go.”

yoongi sort of breaks when he hears that, and he starts to cry softly. his fingers run through jeongguk’s hair for a moment, then lifts his chin to kiss him. it’s a little gross, with the taste of salt on both their tongues—jeongguk is crying too—but it also feels like the perfect goodbye kiss. he pulls away and wipes his cheeks, laughing quietly at the fact that he’s crying over jeongguk leaving. 

he steps back to allow the others to say goodbye and makes sure jeongguk has everything he needs. he lingers, wiping his cheeks every time a tear falls and sniffles slightly. jeongguk smiles sadly at him and quickly engulfs him in another hug. “i’ll miss you,” he says.

“text me when you land, okay?” yoongi asks, pulling away for a moment to press their foreheads together. 

jeongguk nods, giving yoongi one last peck on the mouth before pulling away. he waves a little from where his bags are and just like that, he’s gone and lost in the crowd of people. 

yoongi already misses him.