Archive of Our Own

He woke up dreading the day before it even began, not wanting to get out of bed. But he had to, or else he’d never hear the end of it from either of his parents. He took a minute to glare at the sunshine coming through his window. He was usually a morning person, and always loved the sun, but today was different. Today, the sun reminded him of new beginnings, something he wasn’t too fond of. He didn’t like change. He liked stability, he liked routine. He wasn’t the most organized person in the world, but he had his systems, and knowing that his systems were going to change made him anxious. Reluctantly, he got out of bed and got ready, barely reaching his bus before it had to leave. 

On his morning commute, Jungkook could only think about what was to come, barely hearing the loud music playing through his headphones because his thoughts were somehow louder. He thought about whether his choice of joining the Fine Arts College was the right one for him. He loved art, and he might have also been talented, otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten accepted into the program to begin with, but it wasn’t what he was passionate about.

‘Pro-gaming isn’t a real thing!’, people, including his dad, would tell him whenever he mentioned the possibility of becoming a professional gamer. He would curse at them in his mind while smiling and nodding, it was all he could do, really, when talking to his elders. He had thought about studying game development and programming, which must have been perfect for him, but then again, he heard that people tended to hate their majors due to the stress that accompanied it, and he didn’t want to hate the thing he loved the most. The thought made him sad, but what came next was worse.

Loneliness.

The realization that he was completely alone in this new place hit him hard, and as far as he knew, none of his high school friends were going to this university, except for maybe Namjoon. Well... He wasn’t sure if Namjoon was considered a friend, his parents are friends of Jungkook’s parents and they’d been forced to hang out whenever their families got together. Namjoon was cool and all, but he was older and Jungkook was always shy around him and unintentionally made things awkward for himself. He never knew how to carry out a normal conversation with him. Namjoon was smart and well-spoken. That always intimidated Jungkook. He had a lot of respect for him, and that was one of the many reasons he was afraid of speaking to him, he was afraid of looking like an idiot, of embarrassing himself in front of him.

Jungkook still felt like a complete idiot as he walked through the gates of the university all alone. It was a beautiful place, surprisingly, with greenery and landscape designs everywhere, and beautiful buildings scattered around the area in a calculated manner. Groups of students were standing all around, and Jungkook wondered if he would ever find himself in a group just like these one day. But he was completely alone, and he didn’t know where to go or what to do. 

He checked his email for the tenth time today, he had an orientation meeting in the auditorium that all freshmen needed to attend, the only problem was he had no idea where the auditorium -or anything else- was, so he stood there, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he tightened his grip around the backpack’s strap sitting on his shoulder, and prayed that someone would come out of the blue to guide him. He thought about walking up to someone and asking them where the auditorium was, but he was too shy. He felt a lump hanging in his throat and he was sure that it won’t allow him to speak either way. 

Jungkook never believed in angels, but the man he saw next surely was one. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, frozen in his place with tears that threatened to fall down his face, or how pitiful he must have looked for an actual angel to swoop down from heaven only to help him.

“You a freshman?”, the angel asked. His voice was so heavenly, Jungkook forgot how to breathe. He felt the lump getting bigger in his throat. He simply blinked, unable to do more. The angel just smirked, hinting at how dumb Jungkook must have looked. “If you’re looking for the auditorium, it’s in that building over there, turn left once you’re inside. You can’t miss it.”

Jungkook wanted to thank him, he really did, but the angel just smiled and walked away, sunshine surrounding him like a halo, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could see white wings springing from his back. Jungkook was left speechless, feeling hotter than he should have been. He tried to make his way to the auditorium, following the directions that were given to him, and to his surprise, he arrived at the auditorium instead of the doors of heaven.

↭

It was the first day of Seokjin’s last year at university and he couldn’t have been happier this academic nightmare was coming to an end. He was looking forward to this day because there was a stupid tradition at their college where seniors pranked freshmen on their first day, not anything big, just misleading directions or telling them that the building they’d been looking for had burned down 50 years ago. He had intended on participating just for the sake of following the tradition, but things didn’t always go exactly as planned.

He was with his friend Jaehyung when a group of freshmen girls walked up to them asking for directions to the auditorium. Jae had told them that there weren’t any auditoriums in the entire university, told them that the emails they’d received were spam and they should just ignore them. He’d told another group that the orientation meeting was relocated to the soccer field at the back of their campus. He gave directions to a low-key annoying couple that lead straight to the dean’s office and told them to open the door with force as it sometimes got stuck.

Seokjin just laughed along, he would throw a couple of encouragements here and there, but Jae had begun to nag him about joining the sacred tradition. He wanted to, but he didn’t really have the energy to come up with creative lies, even though he'd been looking forward to it ever since he was a freshman himself.

“Hey”, Jae nudged him. “Look! That freshie over there looks completely lost. This is your chance, Jin.”

There he was, a lost freshman who was on the verge of tears. Jin rolled his eyes at Jaehyung before approaching the lost bunny-looking barely-legal man ahead of him, but something stopped him. He couldn’t prank that poor kid, he looked like he was having a bad day and Seokjin didn’t want to make it worse.

“You a freshman?”, Seokjin asked, and when the freshman looked up at him, Jin couldn’t help but smile, a smile that quickly turned to a smirk because Jae was watching. The man was beautiful, his hair in a mess all around his head, a hand tightly gripping the backpack that was straddling his shoulders, while the other hid inside the pocket of his grey hoodie. His eyes sparkled, maybe from the tears that were gathered inside threatening to fall any second. He didn't want to see them fall, his eyes were too beautiful. He simply gave him the correct directions and quickly left, hoping that Jae didn’t hear anything.

But Jae had heard and scolded Jin, but he didn’t care. He simply told Jae that he had to attend a class and left, even though all his professors canceled today’s classes due to the freshman orientation. He wanted to walk around, catch up with his less annoying friends, get a cup of coffee, and maybe, just maybe, wait by the auditorium in hopes to see that bunny-looking kid and show him around campus. 

↭

Jungkook was greeted by the smiling, waving angel when he walked out of the auditorium. He felt his cheeks burn a little as he walked over to him, but he ignored that and instead told himself that this time he was going to be decent and actually talk to the angel. Properly thank him for saving his ass on his first day. But Jungkook’s tongue had once again failed him, as he lost the ability to speak once he was next to him, but the angel didn’t seem to mind. He had offered to show Jungkook around campus, which only added to his angelic aura. He told him what each building was, how to find his classes, and where the library, the cafeteria, and all other utilities were. He walked Jungkook all over, making sure he knew exactly where everything was, and warned him about how some older students found joy in tricking the newer ones by misleading them. 

Jungkook was quiet for the most part, listening to the angel’s, well, angelic voice explain where things were, answering Jungkook’s questions patiently -once he finally gathered his courage to ask them- no matter how dumb he thought they were. It was hard for Jungkook to describe him as anything but an angel. His aura was a little overwhelming, his beauty wasn’t like anything Jungkook had seen before. He wore a varsity jacket over a simple black shirt and black jeans, his dark hair was carefully parted to the side and styled and he wore glasses, yet he looked like he belonged on a fashion runway. Jungkook couldn’t understand how someone could look so good and still be a normal student. That seemed impossible. 

“I think joining an activities club would be a good idea”, the angel told him. “It’ll help you meet people and it’s good on your resume. They’re all holding an event in the yard if you want to check them out.”

“Sure”, Jungkook agreed. “Are you in any clubs?”

“No”, the angel chuckled. “I used to be too caught up in my studies but since I don’t have many courses this semester maybe I’ll join one.”

“What year are you in?”

“I’m a senior.”

“Oh”, Jungkook’s cheeks burned again. He felt a little awkward hanging out with someone so much older than he was, almost the same way he felt when hanging out with Namjoon. His high school friends would always say things about how hanging out with people of different ages was weird and that might’ve scared Jungkook of doing it. He also didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of the angel, but it was too late. The only thing he could do was try to not look like an even bigger idiot. 

They made their way to the yard in silence, Jungkook still trying to shake the awkwardness out of his mind. When they reached their destination, they saw many booths placed around the perimeter of a rectangular grass field, with few students gathered around the booths. They checked out a few booths together, but nothing really grabbed his attention like the Film Club. The angel encouraged him to join, saying that ‘it fit his vibe’ even though he didn’t know anything about Jungkook, not even his name. He told Jungkook to talk to the members of the club more while he went to check out the Drama Club and after that, they’d go for lunch together, he left before Jungkook could protest.

Jungkook talked to the members that manned the booth who introduced themselves as Jimin and Taehyung, they explained more about the club’s activities, projects, and competitions, and finally, convinced Jungkook to sign up to become one of the members. He also learned that they were a year older than he was and that Taehyung was also an art major that offered to help out if Jungkook ever needed it, and Jimin, who was a dance major also offered to help out, but Jungkook wasn’t sure how. Jungkook was very interested in dancing, he enjoyed it a lot. But he wasn’t going to admit to two strangers that he liked to dance to popular K-pop choreographies in his bedroom at midnight. No one needed to know. 

↭

Seokjin was signing up for the Drama Club, he knew that none of his friends were joining the club except for Namjoon. Namjoon was one of his cooler friends, non-judgmental, chill, and never pressured him to do anything he didn't want to, he was very supportive of him. Of all aspects of him. He found comfort in him, and in the fact that he was a member of the club. When he turned to search for the lost bunny that accompanied him all day, he was nowhere to be seen. Seokjin went back to the Film club booth to ask about him, and that was when he realized that he didn't know anything about him, not even his name, only that he was a Freshman and that he might have signed up for the Film Club as Seokjin suggested.

“Hey”, Seokjin greeted the two men manning the booth. “I was here earlier with a friend, did you see him?”

Friend. They weren’t friends, not yet anyway, but he didn’t know what else to say. He thought saying “I was here with a guy, where did he go?” sounded creepy, as if he was a stalker trying to find his prey. 

“Uh, hey”, the shorter of the two men responded. “Yeah, he just left.”

“Oh”, Seokjin tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He definitely looked like a creep. “Did he say where he was going, or?”

“Nope”, the other one responded, and Seokjin raised his eyebrows, urging him to say anything helpful. “He seemed to be in a hurry, though.”

“Yeah, he practically ran out of here”, the first laughed.

Out of respect for the younger’s privacy, he didn't ask the guys in front of him if the boy that was with him a few moments ago had signed up for the club, he just thanked them and left. What a bummer, Seokjin thought. He was looking forward to lunch with him and getting to know him. Not that he had any bad intentions behind his gesture, he had just hoped to make a new friend. He thought that it would have been beneficial to the younger to have a friend that could help and guide him. He shook the thought out of his head and went on with his day, pranking more freshmen with Jaehyung and the rest of their friends, feeling a little distant, even if he didn't admit it.

↭

Weeks had passed before Jungkook saw the angel again, he began to doubt his memories. What if it had been a dream? Surely someone that nice and handsome was too good to be real. Or maybe the angel was real but it was Jungkook's rude sudden disappearance that tipped him off. He thought about his first day, how his mom called him saying that they were having guests over and how he rushed home to help her only noticing how he owed the angel an explanation when he was already halfway home. He didn't mean to blow him off, of course, he'd actually been looking forward to having lunch with him, to learn his name, at least. But he had to rush home, not because they were having guests, but because of who these guests were.

Everything had to be perfect for the Kims, or else he wouldn't hear the end of it from his parents. 'The Kims’ house is always cleaner!' or 'look at the number of side dishes they served!’ his mom would nag, saying they had to be better. Jungkook didn't understand his mom sometimes, he'd argue, in his head of course, that not everything in life was a competition, that they didn't need to ‘be better'  because they were already good enough. His mother would never agree, though. 

However, he'd started spending more time with Namjoon after that visit, he found himself getting less and less awkward around him. Maybe it was the fact that they finally had something in common, even if it was just attending the same university. He felt a little less awkward around him, talking to him got easier the more he attempted it. They had somehow agreed to go running together at least twice a week since they both enjoyed a good morning run before their classes. 

He'd also gotten closer to Jimin and Taehyung from the Film Club. They were really nice to Jungkook, they helped him a lot, insisted on taking him to all kinds of hangouts after they finished their classes, and even shared parts of their personal lives with him, which Jungkook didn't mind. He found himself doing the same in no time, until one day, he decided to tell them about the angel he'd met on the very first day of university.

He'd tried his best to describe him without sounding desperate, or like he was crushing on him. But his friends seemed to know exactly who he was talking about even after he barely said anything, really. "The guy that was with me that day" was hardly a description, and he didn't exactly specify which day, but his friends started saying how dreamy and good-looking that man was, Jungkook had to blush.

"Anyway", Jungkook cleared his throat, trying to stop himself from chickening out of asking them to help him find his angel. "Do you guys know him? Or know how to find him?"

"Well, no", Taehyung thought for a moment. "But there's a blog on the school’s website where you can post a kind of a missed encounter about him, maybe he'll see it, or someone that knows him will."

"That's kind of embarrassing", Jungkook groaned. "Is it at least anonymous?”

"No, how is he going to find you if it was?”, Jimin answered.

“Let’s write it now!”, Taehyung exclaimed with sudden excitement.

“Guys there’s no need-“

“Looking for a tall, handsome guy”, Jimin began to say as he typed into his computer and Jungkook wondered just how did Jimin log into the website with Jungkook’s account, or how he even open his computer so damned fast. "He's a senior, wait what else do you know about him?”

“That he might have joined the Drama Club?”, Jungkook sheepishly answered, too embarrassed to admit that he practically knew nothing about him.

“And probably a member of the Drama Club. He helped me out on the first day of the semester and disappeared, never to be seen again.”

“Hyung, that’s a little too dramatic”, Jungkook complained.

“No, it’s perfect”, Taehyung waved his hand, dismissing Jungkook’s complaint. “Jimin, write that he was wearing a varsity jacket and glasses but still looked better than every other student in a jacket and glasses.”

“Hyung! No, that’s gonna be posted under my name, no, no, let’s not type that”, Jungkook protested again, something he found himself doing quite often while hanging out with Jimin and Taehyung.

“Fine, I’ll take out the part where he looked good, don’t you worry, Jungkookie”, Jimin ruffled Jungkook’s hair and went back to typing. Jungkook might have been only a year younger than them, but sometimes Jimin and Taehyung treated him like he was a baby. It was one of those times, but if he was being honest, he didn’t always mind it. He secretly liked being taken care of.

↭

Seokjin's friends always talked about the school's blog where people posted all sorts of letters about people they'd seen around campus and wanted to find again. He might have visited that blog multiple times and might have found a few posts written about him, but he never told them about it. That was until he saw one post in particular that might have made his heart skip a beat, or not.

"Looking for a tall, handsome guy. He's a senior and probably a member of the Drama Club. He helped me out on the first day of the semester and disappeared, never to be seen again. He was wearing a black varsity jacket and glasses. I don't know his name or anything but I might have ghosted him and I owe him an apology and lunch - Jeon Jungkook." The post read, and it might have not been written about him, but his heart told him that it was. That the lost bunny he helped on their first day posted it and was looking for him.

He thought about the first day of the semester, how that lost bunny disappeared without warning. Seokjin thought that he scared that bunny into running away, so for the past few weeks, he kept away from the College of Fine Arts building, because the bunny told him that he was an art major, and he tried his best not to go anywhere near the Film Club or their projects either, just to give him all the space he might have needed. But when he saw this post, Seokjin cursed himself for keeping his distance. If this Jeon Jungkook was really his lost bunny, then he need to find him, he needed to-

Receiving a text from Namjoon was a good enough reason for Seokjin to drop everything he was doing and respond to him. Receiving a text from Namjoon at 12 am meant that this text was so urgent it could cut Seokjin's train of thought in half and dump both halves into the ocean as if they were never important.

Namjoonie:

Free yourself up tomorrow, I want you to meet someone

Seokjin:

There's no need to send me on another blind date with men you've badly misread, Joon. it's okay.

He didn't intend on being mean to his only accepting friend, but he knew Namjoon wouldn't interpret his text the wrong way, at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

Namjoonie:

This isn't a blind date, just trust me on this, Hyung. Good night.

It was final, Seokjin had no other choice but to blindly trust his friend and just go for whatever it was that Namjoon had planned.

↭

Jungkook was standing outside a bar near campus, contemplating whether to enter or just go home. He'd received a text from Namjoon last night to meet him here 'to introduce him to someone'  and Jungkook wasn't sure why his friend wanted him to meet other people all of a sudden. He ended up going inside and was greeted by a smiling Namjoon, who had a beer in one hand and his phone in the other, as if ready to show Jungkook something. He did show Jungkook something.

He didn't think much about the missed encounter his other friends posted for him yesterday, he hadn't thought about the possibility that Namjoon had seen it, and that was why he wanted to meet up. His face was burning, he was too embarrassed by the post as it was, and now his friend, who Jungkook had spent a lot of time just to get used to being around, was confronting him about it. Jungkook wished he could teleport out of this place.

"This isn't- “, Jungkook began to say, but was cut off. He didn't know what to say, anyway. That he didn't write this post? That was technically true, but the post was still posted under his name. He was almost thankful that Namjoon cut him off before he could panic.

"Dude, listen", Namjoon was obviously holding in his laughter, mostly for Jungkook's sake. "I saw the post, it reminded me of my friend, I thought you two should meet, I was gonna introduce you to him either way. So relax, he'll be here shortly, if he was the person you're looking for, good. If he wasn't, it’s okay, I'll help you find him another day.”

Jungkook barely had time to comprehend Namjoon's speech, because as soon as he was done, Namjoon got up to greet the person that just entered the bar. When Jungkook turned to see the newcomer, his heart dropped to the ground. His angel was standing there, greeting Namjoon. His angel, in the flesh, wearing a white sweatshirt instead of wings and dark jeans as if to reassure Jungkook that he was an ordinary man. His angel, that gave Jungkook the warmest smile when Namjoon introduced him as Seokjin.

"Pleasure re-meeting you, Jungkook”, said the angel, Seokjin, as he shook Jungkook's hand.

While Jungkook wasn't a big drinker, he took advantage of how one bottle of beer made his confidence rise. He was able to talk to Seokjin like a normal human being, even if Seokjin was out of this world. He got to know a lot about him after Namjoon had 'bumped into his friend Hoseok', who clapped both of their shoulders simultaneously and left the two of them alone for the rest of the night. 

Jungkook learned of Seokjin's love for acting, how he'd been an extra in a few dramas. He'd learned about his short modeling career, to which Jungkook bluntly said it shouldn't have ended. He'd also learned about Seokjin's love for gaming. That excited Jungkook the most, he asked him if they could play together, only realizing how childish he must have sounded when Seokjin laughed. They still talked for hours upon hours, never running out of topics to discuss, not feeling the passage of time, until it suddenly was 2 am and Jungkook needed to find a way to sneak into his house since it was way past his curfew -which he told his parents that he shouldn't have since he was in college now and would probably spend long nights out studying in the library or with study groups- and that his parents were probably asleep.

“Shit”, Jungkook cursed, only realizing he’d vocalized his thought when it was a little too late. 

“What’s wrong?”, Seokjin concealed his obvious concern with a pretty smile. That smile might have melted Jungkook’s worries away for a second. 

“It’s 2 am! My parents will kill me”, Jungkook complained, even though it was a childish thing to do. He was a college kid that still lived with his parents, but he couldn’t be embarrassed about it now. 

“Why, were you supposed to go home earlier?”, Seokjin was laughing now, Jungkook’s suffering was apparently funny to him. That didn’t bother Jungkook though, his laugh made him laugh. 

“Yeah, like two hours ago”, Jungkook buried his face in his hands. “Ah! What do I do, Hyung?”

“Relax! So, you’re a couple of hours late, it’s not the end of the world.” 

Yeah, that made sense. It wasn’t the end of the world, especially if his parents never found out. He could silently sneak into the house and successfully make his way to his room without making a sound, right? He fumbled for his keys that he was sure he placed in his jacket’s pockets, but they were nowhere to be found. 

“AH!”, he groaned, and multiple people turned their heads to face them, but he didn’t care. He cared about surviving the night on the street because he had no way of getting inside his house anymore. Even if he climbed over the gate, his mom always made sure to lock the door after 10 pm. “Hyung! I can’t find my keys!”, Jungkook was whining, and Seokjin patted his back, trying hard to keep his laughter from escaping his lips. 

“Jungkook-ah, it’s fine. Just crash at someone’s place, tell your parents that you got home at 12 but you had to leave early the next day for something.”

Jungkook felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment mixed in with alcohol. How was he going to tell Seokjin that he had no one to crash at their place since all his high school friends had moved away for university? Of course, there was Namjoon, but he also lived with his parents and if Namjoon’s parents found out, then Jungkook’s parents would, too. He thought about calling Jimin or Taehyung, but he knew that they were both sound asleep and probably wouldn’t appreciate being woken up at an unholy hour of the night just to let Jungkook sleep in either of their dorm rooms. He wasn’t sure they had the space, anyway. 

“Or…”, Seokjin began to say but hesitated for some reason. Jungkook must have looked as pathetic as he had the first time he met the older because Seokjin was definitely taking pity on Jungkook. “I live nearby. You could crash at my place.”

If Jungkook wasn’t blushing before, he definitely was, now. His heart was racing. How could he accept an offer like this from Seokjin? Seokjin, who was an angel sent from heaven that rescued him on his first day. Seokjin, who he barely knew, was swooping in once again to save his sorry ass. 

“Hyung…”, Jungkook couldn’t look his Hyung in the eyes, he was way too embarrassed. “You don’t have to, I’ll figure it out.”

“The same way you figured out where the auditorium was?”, Seokjin joked, and Jungkook should have been relieved, but he wasn’t. He buried his face in his hands once again, this time banging it against the table. “My offer stands.”

↭

They went back to Seokjin’s apartment against Jungkook’s wishes. Seokjin knew the younger was uncomfortable, he wasn’t hiding it very well. But there was nothing else for Jin to do besides offer his place for him to stay. There was no denying that he was interested in Jungkook, he just didn’t know to which extent. He was finally reunited with his lost bunny, but he needed to be careful. He couldn’t do or say anything that might scare him off. They went inside, and Seokjin silently cursed himself for not tidying the place up before leaving.

“Sorry about the mess”, he told Jungkook, who had taken a newfound interest in his feet ever since they left the bar. Seokjin didn’t point it out, though, instead he went to pour the younger a fresh glass of water. Jungkook finally looked up at him as he took the glass from Jin’s hands, and it clicked why he hadn’t looked up from his feet before. His nose and cheeks were bright red, his eyes were puffy and he was sniffling. That broke Jin’s heart a little. His bunny had been crying, and he hadn’t noticed. He took the younger’s hand in his own and gently guided him to the sofa, sitting him down before he did so himself. 

“Jungkook-ah”, he hesitantly placed a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “It’s going to be fine. Are you worried about trouble with your parents?” 

Jungkook simply shook his head and took a sip out of his glass. He stayed silent, and Seokjin didn’t want to press him. If he was comfortable enough to say what was wrong, he would do so at his own pace. All Seokjin could do was comfort him. 

“I just…”, Jungkook whispered after a long silence. “I’m really embarrassed, Hyung. You keep saving me from my own stupidity.”

“Hey, what are Hyungs for?”, Seokjin gave him a warm smile, but Jungkook shook his head once more. 

“I should be able to fix my own problems.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But how are you going to learn if you don’t make mistakes?”, Seokjin’s smile didn’t waver, it might have reassured Jungkook. “Now let’s get you to bed, we have classes in the morning.”

“Hyung, it’s already Saturday. We don’t have classes in the morning”, Jungkook tilted his head in confusion, and that forced a laugh out of Seokjin. He was simply too adorable. 

“Huh, well then. Do you wanna play a little Overwatch, instead?” 

Jungkook’s smile finally reached his lips. Jin had to admit it, Jungkook’s smile had an effect on him, it made his stomach tingle.

“It’s late, you must be tired”, Jungkook told him, but Seokjin wasn’t tired at all. He wanted to spend all the time he could with Jungkook, but he got the feeling that Jungkook needed to be left alone for now. 

“Come, I’ll show you to the bedroom, and I’ll sleep-“, Seokjin started to say, but Jungkook cut him off, his face had gotten even redder than it was before.

“No, no!”, Jungkook protested. “I’ll sleep here, you’ve done more than enough to help me, I wouldn’t want to take your bed as well.” 

Seokjin wanted to protest, wanted to tell him that he would give him the whole world if he could, but he stayed quiet. He simply left to get a pillow and a warm blanket for the younger boy. He also grabbed a clean pair of pajama pants and a shirt for him, no one should be forced through the torture of sleeping in jeans. 

“Good night Jungkook-ah”, Seokjin told him as he handed him the things he gathered, and Jungkook thanked him with a smile that extended to the entirety of his face.

Cute.

He went back to his bedroom, taking one last glance at the younger boy, just to make sure he was okay. He lay in bed, not able to sleep. The thought of Jungkook alone in the living room bothered him a little. Not that he was worried Jungkook was going to wreck his apartment, he just worried about him. Worried if he was comfortable enough to sleep, worried if he needed anything. After hours of overthinking, Seokjin finally fell asleep. 

He was woken up by the harsh sunlight that had entered through his bedroom window. He didn’t immediately get up, his whole body ached as if he had worked himself out to death the previous night. His mind was hazy, he could barely remember who he was. It took him well over five minutes to realize that the sun didn’t look the way it usually did when he woke up in the morning. Then it hit him. It wasn’t morning anymore. 

“Shit!”, he cursed when the clock read 1 pm.

Jungkook. That was his second thought of the day. Was Jungkook still in his apartment? Had he left? He rushed out of his bed, ignored his aching body, and opened the door, he was greeted by a clean living room. Huh. It wasn’t clean when Seokjin had left it the previous night. Jungkook, however, was nowhere to be seen. He walked over to the couch where he was sure Jungkook had slept, instead, he found everything he had given him the previous night neatly folded in a stack on top of each other. He noticed a handwritten note on top of the neatly folded stack that read: “I made you breakfast as a thank you, it’s in the fridge. - JJK”

↭

Jungkook couldn’t get a blink of sleep that night. It wasn’t that his makeshift bed was uncomfortable. He just couldn’t sleep. He was in his angel’s apartment, lying on his couch, wearing his clothes. He felt more embarrassed than he ever had in his entire life. He just lay there trying to get over himself until the sun had risen. He knew he shouldn’t have accepted Seokjin’s offer to begin with. They didn’t know each other, even if he felt like he’d known him for ages. That wasn’t true. But Seokjin was so kind to him, he couldn’t help but cry on their way over. He was stupid. He should have just woken Taehyung up or something, or even jumped over the gate of his house and slept in the garden. Anything would have been better than bothering Seokjin. 

He thought about just leaving, Seokjin didn’t need to deal with more of his worries. He decided to clean his makeshift bed first, it was the least he could do to thank his Hyung. He decided to clean everything around him too, the living room, the kitchen that opened to it, even the bathroom. When he was done, he decided to make Seokjin breakfast as well. He made him a couple of cheese sandwiches, he contemplated whether he should cut the crust off of the bread. He paused to think. Seokjin was a whole-ass adult, he didn’t need the crust to be cut off. He decided to just cut the sandwiches in half, diagonally of course, neatly wrapped them, and placed them in the fridge with a note that read: “Hope you like it ^.^”

He thought he should write another note, he couldn’t leave without warning again. He finally did write one and placed it on top of the neatly folded stack of blanket, pillow, and clothes he’d worn the previous night, and quietly left the apartment. He made it home, finally. It was so early in the morning, but he knew his parents were awake by now. He jumped over the front gate and silently thanked God when the front door was unlocked. He walked inside to find his parents making breakfast in the kitchen. They didn’t pay him any attention, which was a good thing, they were too focused on their own conversation to hear the front door being opened. He quickly and quietly went up to his room where he changed into his usual pajamas before going back to the kitchen to pretend he had just woken up. 

A couple of weeks passed before he saw Seokjin again. He wasn’t sure if he was avoiding the older, or was it the other way around. Either way, he was still embarrassed. He really liked Seokjin, and he wanted to get to know him more and spend more time with him, but he didn’t know how to start. He tried to get on with his days and went on his usual morning jog at the track surrounding the football field at the back of the university. He liked his morning jogs. It was the only thing that hadn’t changed since leaving high school. Even when Namjoon joined him as he promised, Jungkook didn’t think of it as change, just a pleasant addition to his routine. 

He was jogging, trying to shake the anxiety that came from the project submission he had to do later today. He had worked on that project the whole week and was secretly proud of himself. 

“Jungkook-ah!”, he heard a voice say. He turned to his right to see Seokjin jogging next to him. He couldn’t hide his smile. 

“Hyung! You also jog in the morning?”, Jungkook was happy to see his Hyung, even if he had been avoiding him. Part of him even missed him a little. 

“I do! But I usually come later as my classes don’t start until 10”, Seokjin told him, a big smile planted across his plump lips. “But one of my classes got bumped up, so I’m here now!” 

“It’s good to see you, Hyung!”, Jungkook let out a chuckle. Why was he so glad to see his Hyung? “Hey, do you want to grab lunch together? I still owe you one.”

They were already almost done with their jog, they had roughly 15 minutes to quickly shower before heading to their respective classes. Jungkook noticed Seokjin’s face light up at his suggestion.

“Yes! There’s a Subway nearby, we should go there”, his Hyung suggested, and maybe it was Jungkook’s recent excessive watching of dramas, but wasn’t Subway a hot date spot? 

“Or, you know, I’ll call you at noon to decide on a place?”, Jungkook sheepishly suggested. “Here, type in your number”, Jungkook fished his phone out of his shorts' pocket and handed it to Seokjin, who gladly accepted. A moment later, the older handed him his phone back, with his number saved under the name ‘World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung’. 

“Woah, Hyung”, Jungkook was laughing now. “World wide handsome?” 

“Am I wrong?”, Seokjin laughed. Jungkook admired his confidence, and no, he wasn’t wrong. He was actually ‘Out Of This World Handsome’, but Jungkook didn’t want to feed his ego. 

“No, you’re not wrong”, Jungkook smiled, feeling his cheeks burning up. He convinced himself it was because of the exercise. “I’ll call you later!” 

↭

Seokjin decided to take a final lap without Jungkook. He had an unusual rush of energy filling his body to exercise for longer. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he finally saw Jungkook or the fact that he had asked for his number, or something completely different. The only thing he was sure of was that he was happy. He was looking forward to lunch, which wasn’t totally unusual. Ah, whatever, he was happy. That was what mattered. 

Time seemed to pass extra slowly today, and that only made Seokjin anxious. Why was he anxious? He had no idea. He was just going to grab lunch with a friend, wasn’t he? A friend. A friend he was interested in. A friend he barely knew, yet somehow felt like he’d known him his entire life. So why did he feel anxious? He hated not knowing. He wanted to focus on the professor standing in front of him, giving the world’s most boring lecture about God-knows-what, but he couldn’t. He had no idea how people managed to focus during a 3-hour lecture, especially when they had no assignments to work on during that time. It was just a boring old man babbling about whatever old film he chose. 

The clock finally, finally struck noon and Seokjin practically ran out of class, not bothered by how rude it might have been to leave before his professor. He ran out of the building and had to force himself to stop and wait for Jungkook’s call. Soon enough, the call had arrived. 

“Hyung, it’s me!”, Jungkook’s voice came through his phone in a cheerful manner. Cute. “I just left class. Should I meet you by the Administration building?”

“Hey! Yeah that’s good, I’ll meet you there!”, Seokjin told him right before he hung up. Jungkook’s decision to meet by the Administration building was a smart one, as it was in the middle of their campus, right in front of the main gates of the university. Smart, and cute. Cute, cute, cute. 

Seokjin was basically skipping to the Admin building, not bothered by how childish he might have looked. When he reached it, Jungkook was already standing there, patiently waiting for his Hyung to arrive. When he noticed Seokjin, the biggest grin framed his face, and Seokjin couldn’t help but tackle him into an even bigger hug. 

“Someone’s happy to see me”, Jungkook told him. He was happy to see him, there was no need to hide it. He was actually surprised that Jungkook was this comfortable around him, which also made him happy. 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Jungkook-ah. I’m excited to eat”, Seokjin lied, but his smile gave it all away. “Now come on, let’s go.”

“There’s this really good burger joint nearby, let’s go there instead”, Jungkook suggested, and Seokjin didn’t need to think about it twice. If Jungkook wanted a burger, he’d get him a burger. With fries, and a milkshake. Even the toy that came with the kid’s meals. Seokjin would get him everything he set his eyes on. “It’s honestly underrated, and I don’t understand why since it's so delicious. But that’s okay, I’m not really in the mood to go somewhere loud.” 

“Then lead the way, Jungkook-ssi!” 

“Jungkook-ssi?” The younger’s lips turned into a pout, and Seokjin immediately regretted calling him that. 

“Jungkookie. Happy? Come on, I’m starving.” 

They made their way to the small burger joint Jungkook had suggested, it was a little old and rundown, but that must’ve meant that it was as good as Jungkook had claimed. Jungkook insisted on ordering for them, but Seokjin fought to pay. He owed Jungkook that much just for putting a smile on his face.

“Can you put in a kid’s toy with our order, please?”, Seokjin asked the cashier when Jungkook was out of earshot. 

“I’ve been craving their food all day!”, Jungkook said when they sat down at their table, patiently waiting for the delicious burgers to be ready. 

“I’ll beat you up if they weren’t good, you know?”, Seokjin jokingly threatened, and Jungkook laughed anyway. 

“Wow, Hyung, you really think you can beat me up?”, Jungkook teased. “I’m really strong you know? I can easily win against you in a fight.” 

“Don’t get too cocky, little one. I’m stronger than you think”, Seokjin knew he couldn’t beat Jungkook in a fight, even if he tried. Jungkook was obviously strong, his defined muscles easily popped even when hidden behind baggy clothes. Still, he didn’t need to know he could win against his Hyung. 

“Oh really?”, Jungkook raised an eyebrow, and extended his arm, gently placing his elbow on the table in front of him, his hand ready to wrestle. “Let’s arm wrestle, if you win, I’ll let it go.” 

“Woah, Kook, where are your manners? You really wanna fight your Hyung in the middle of the restaurant?” 

“So you do admit that I’m stronger!”, Jungkook’s grin was so big now, Seokjin didn’t have the heart to deny him anything anymore. 

“No, I’ll fight you, you little shit!”, he extended his arm out and took Jungkook’s hand in his own, readying himself to lose miserably to the younger. 

“One, two, three. GO!”, Jungkook counted down and they started pushing against each other. He didn’t hide his surprise when they held their position, indicating that they were of equal strength. Seokjin tried to take advantage of that and pushed harder, easily tipping the scales in his favor. However, Jungkook was quick to react, he pushed harder and harder, and Jin couldn’t hold his position any longer. He was quickly defeated by the younger, who instantly started gloating.  

“I let you win!”, Seokjin whined but seeing Jungkook’s smile made losing to him worth it. He’d lose a hundred times over if it meant Jungkook was happy. 

“Well, thank you for your kind consideration, Hyung.”

He couldn’t help himself, he grabbed a clean napkin and hit the younger’s head with it. Just then, their food arrived, and they needed to act civil again. Seokjin was very excited to try the food, but he didn’t get to that yet, because Jungkook had noticed the kid’s toy that was sitting on their tray and pouted once again. 

“Why is there a toy with our order?”, he asked, his head tilted to the side as he grabbed the little airplane figurine wrapped in a plastic bag from the tray in front of him. 

“They must have figured out that I came here with a kid and threw it in?”, Jin teased. 

“Hyung!”, Jungkook whined, and Seokjin couldn’t keep his laughter in any longer. 

“It’s a gift, keep it.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just eat your burger”, Jungkook told him, his pout only leaving his lips when he took a bite of the burger he’d been craving all day. Seokjin finally followed his lead and was amazed by how good this burger was. He couldn’t believe that this hidden gem of a restaurant was right before his eyes all those years and he hadn’t tried it before.

“Oh my god!”, Seokjin exclaimed, his mouth still filled with food. “How did I not know that the most amazing burger had been right under my nose this whole time?!”

“I know, right?”, Jungkook was obviously proud of his suggestion. “I was gonna take you here the first day of the semester, actually.” 

“Yeah? You just disappeared that day.”

“Yeah. I had to rush home”, the younger rolled his eyes in remembrance of that day. “Namjoon Hyung's family was coming over, and my mom has this image of how everything should look when the Kims’ visited, so I had to help out. Sorry about that.”

↭

Their conversation went on, Jungkook explained how he had a major assignment submission coming up, and how having lunch with Seokjin really helped calm his nerves. He explained his assignment and even pulled it out to show it to his Hyung. He was proud of it, and the fact that Seokjin liked it made him even prouder. 

Seokjin walked him all the way to his class and wished him good luck with his submission. He also promised to stop by in an hour, after his own class was over to show his support. It was an open exhibition type of submission, so anyone was welcome to attend. That made Jungkook extra happy. He loved hanging out with Seokjin and loved being around him. His overwhelming angelic aura quickly began to comfort Jungkook. It was almost addicting. 

He proudly put his artwork up for display, explaining the meaning behind it to everyone who stopped to look at it. He’d gotten a lot of compliments on his work, and suddenly, his decision to join the Fine Arts college was the right one for him. He finally felt like he belonged. Seokjin made it to the exhibition when it was time for Jungkook’s professor to evaluate his work. That instantly put a smile on his face. He explained his work to his professor, who was, thankfully, very pleased with the final outcome. He kept glancing over at Seokjin, who gave him encouraging nods and smiles each time. 

“Wow, Jungkook-ssi! You’ve painted a masterpiece!”, Seokjin told him as the professor was walking away, making sure he was loud enough for the professor to hear. 

“You really think so, Hyung?”, Jungkook grinned. He was so overjoyed, he could scream and dance and collapse right there on the floor. 

“Yes! Your work should be put in museums!”

“Someone’s got a fan”, Jungkook heard a familiar voice say. He saw Jimin walking up to them, followed by Taehyung.

“Jimin-ssi! Glad you could make it!”, he was happy to see his friends, even happier to introduce them to the long-lost angel they’d teased him about multiple times. 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!”, Jimin grinned at him and quickly turned to introduce himself to their eldest. “I’m Jimin, and this is Taehyung, nice to meet you”, They both bowed politely to him.

“I’m Seokjin”, he began to say but was quickly interrupted by Taehyung.

“Oh, so you’re Seokjin!”, Taehyung teased, ignoring the urgent glares Jungkook had given him and instead sharing a look with Jimin. Both of them had sparks in their eyes as if sharing a mischievous thought telepathically. Of course, his friends would jump at any chance to tease him, and he was usually fine with that. But embarrassing him in front of Seokjin wasn’t something he had taken into account. 

“Has Jungkook told you about me?”, Seokjin laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. Was he blushing? 

“Only good things”, Jimin grinned, and Jungkook knew, he just knew that they’d bleed his ears out about it later. 

“I’m glad”, Seokjin was laughing to hide his embarrassment. Jungkook was sure of that. “Well, I gotta get to class, it was nice meeting you two. Great work, Jungkook-ah.”

“Hyung!!!”, Jungkook whined, slapping both his friends' arms repeatedly for embarrassing him in front of Seokjin. “Did you have to say it like that?”

“What?”, Taehyung laughed, slapping Jungkook’s arm right back. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh, so you’re Seokjin?”, Jungkook mocked. “He’s gonna think I’m crushing on him or something!”

“Well, aren’t you crushing on him, or something?”, Jimin said, and if the room wasn’t filled with students and professors, Jungkook would have tackled his friend to the ground. 

“Shut up, Jimin. Just shut up.”

“Look, he isn’t denying it”, Taehyung half whispered to Jimin, but he was loud enough for Jungkook to hear. His friends did have a point, though. Wasn’t he crushing on Seokjin or something? He didn’t know. He didn’t want to know, not now at least.

“Know what? Get out of here, both of you”, Jungkook hid his face in his hands, trying hard to cover up the fact that he was blushing. 

“Meet us at the bar tonight at 10!”, Jimin told him as they walked away.

“Yeah, whatever”, Jungkook whispered. 

He did meet them at the bar, though. What were friends for if not to embarrass you in public? Was he still going to yell at them for it? Sure he was. Had he already forgiven them? Yes. Yes, he had. He greeted them with a grin. They ordered a couple of rounds of shots, and before they could drink, Taehyung raised his glass and the other two followed his lead. 

“Here’s to Jeon Jungkook for having his first successful exhibition!”, he toasted, and they cheered, clinking their glasses together before downing the burning shots of Vodka. 

They ordered more drinks, and Jungkook took advantage of the fact that it was defiantly his Hyungs’ treat since they were celebrating him, he ordered a fancy cocktail he’d been wanting to try before, and it was really good.

“So, Seokjin, huh?”, Taehyung teased once they were drunk enough. “He came to your showcasing, so sweet of him.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes at him. It was sweet of Seokjin to come, there was no denying it. 

“He looked so handsome, too”, Jimin joined in on teasing the youngest. “Wow, do you think he put in the effort to look good just for you, Jungkook-ah?”

“Why would he?”, Jungkook couldn’t hide his blushing anymore. If his friends teased him about it, he would just say it was the alcohol. 

“Because he has a big fat crush on you”, Taehyung’s expression was blank, but Jungkook knew him well enough to know that he was just messing with him. After all, they’d spent most of their days together. 

“Huh, just like your big fat crush on Jimin?”, Jungkook teased back, he knew that Taehyung and Jimin were best friends, but he also knew that they didn’t like each other that way, even if they acted like an old married couple most of the time. 

“Taehyung-ssi, do you like me?”, Jimin batted his eyelashes at Tae in a lame attempt to flirt with him. 

“I do, now give me a kiss”, Taehyung put out his arms to reach for Jimin and made a kissy face towards him. Jungkook laughed and even threw some of the pretzels that sat on their table at them. 

“Disgusting”, he joked. 

“Are you shaming us for being gay?”, Taehyung raised his eyebrow. 

“You can’t be serious, Hyung”, Jungkook thought he was serious for a second, but Taehyung’s laugh told him otherwise. 

They hung out until Jungkook had to go home, they drank a lot, so getting home was a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, he didn’t live too far away. Hanging out at the bar with Jimin and Taehyung became a regular thing for them. Sometimes, Namjoon and his friend Hoseok would join them, and sometimes Seokjin would join them, and it was always fun. His friends got along with Seokjin well, and he was glad. He was anxious that they wouldn’t, especially after a not-too-great first impression, where they embarrassed Jungkook in front of his Hyung. He loved hanging out with Seokjin, maybe a little more than he loved hanging out with anyone else. Sure, he was biased, because he had a crush on Seokjin or whatever, but Seokjin was really funny. He was nice to be around, he always knew how to keep the conversation going. He was also handsome. That might not have been relevant, but it was true that Jungkook loved looking at him. 

They were at the bar, once again, celebrating Taehyung’s midterm submission which had gone wonderfully. Taehyung was a brilliant artist. He always saw art from a very unique perspective, his interpretations of art were beautiful, and the art he produced was even better. Jungkook really looked up to him, and he always gave Jungkook helpful pointers and tips that made his projects better. Taehyung deserved to be celebrated, so Jungkook ordered the cocktail he liked for the three of them and it was as good as he remembered. In fact, it was so good, he didn’t notice that two men had approached their table, smiling at him. It took him a whole minute to register what was going on. 

“What are Namjoon and Seokjin doing here?”, he thought, only realizing he’d voiced his thought out loud when Jimin’s elbow connected to his middle. “Oh. OH! Hyungs! Join us!”

“Good to see you too, Jungkook”, Namjoon laughed as he took the seat across from him, and Seokjin took the one next to him. That made him giggle. Seokjin was sitting next to him. Yeah, he was definitely drunk. 

“Hyung, Hyung, try this cocktail”, he said as he shoved the drink in Seokjin’s face. That forced a laugh out of him. “It’s so good!” 

“Yeah? let me just take that away for now.” Seokjin told him and handed him a glass of water instead. 

“No! Try it, try it, try it!”, Jungkook insisted. His Hyung needed to try his cocktail. It was so good. Seokjin was also good. 

“Fine”, Seokjin finally tasted the drink. “It’s good! Now drink your water.” 

“You’re taking care of me”, Jungkook smiled at him and drank his water. “You don’t have to, though. I can take care of me.”

“Clearly”, Seokjin patted Jungkook’s back, and that sent shivers down his spine. “How much did you drink?” 

“Mhmm…”, Jungkook shrugged. “Why do you wanna know?” 

Seokjin ignored him and looked at Jimin for answers instead. 

“Maybe 2, 3 drinks tops?”, Jimin informed him. 

“Wow, he has no tolerance for alcohol whatsoever”, Seokjin told him. “Jungkook, did you eat anything after lunch?” 

He paused to think. He couldn’t recall if he had eaten anything after that mouthwatering burger they had at noon, as their visits to the burger joint with Seokjin also became a recent occurrence. He shook his head, a pout reaching his lips for the seemingly hundredth time today. 

“I’ll get you something to eat, keep drinking water, okay?”, Seokjin told him as he got up, but Jungkook quickly grabbed his hand. 

“Hyung”, he whispered, and Seokjin leaned towards him. “Are you upset with me?” 

“No, Jungkook-ah. I’m not upset with you”, Seokjin whispered back. “Come with me, we’ll wash your face, take a little walk to sober you up, and get you some food, okay?” 

Jungkook nodded at him, taking note of how Seokjin still held his hand and guided him out of his seat. He took him to the WC and helped him wash his face. Even after Jungkook had protested, and insisted that he can do it alone, Seokjin still helped him. He then guided him out of the bar to take a walk in the fresh, cold air of the night. Seokjin had wrapped his arm around Jungkook, mostly to steady him. He took short, slow steps and Jungkook followed his lead. It was helpful, he felt his mind clear a lot faster than it would have if they stayed inside. 

“I’m sorry, Hyung”, he told Seokjin after a while of silence. 

“What about?”, Seokjin sounded confused. 

“You’re out here taking care of me instead of enjoying your night.”

“But I am enjoying my night”, the older told him, and Jungkook stopped walking to look his Hyung in the eye.

“You are?”, he couldn’t understand how could he be serious. He was out here taking care of Jungkook yet again, instead of drinking and laughing. 

“I’m spending time with you, that’s enjoyable”, Seokjin nodded. “I’m sobering you up, that’s also enjoyable. I’m experiencing drunken Jungkook, that’s the most enjoyable.”, he laughed, but Jungkook just hugged him. He buried his face into the crevasse of Seokjin’s neck and stayed there until he hugged him back. 

“Let’s get you something to eat, yeah?”, Seokjin said after a while, he had broken their hug, and his entire face was red. Jungkook wondered why was he blushing, but he nodded to him anyway. “There should be a food cart nearby.”

Soon enough, they found a Tteokbokki cart, and Jungkook insisted on paying this time. Seokjin had done more than enough for him already, it was the least he could do. They ate together, their meal was warm, spicy, and was exactly what Jungkook needed to sober up. He could clearly remember how he acted like a complete idiot, craving Seokjin’s attention and care. Part of him didn’t regret it, though. He wanted all of Seokjin’s attention. He was shaken away from his thoughts by the sound of his ringtone. Jimin was calling him. 

“Hey, Jiminie”, he answered, and was immediately met by yelling from the other end.

“Where have you two disappeared off to?! Jeon Jungkook, I swear to GOD if you two were fucking I-“

“Jesus Christ. Chill, mom. We just went to eat”, Jungkook hoped that Jimin’s voice wasn’t audible enough for Seokjin to hear, but his laugh explained otherwise. “I’ll just go home after, so don’t worry too much.”

↭

“Mom?”, Seokjin couldn’t help but laugh. That was adorable. Jungkook was adorable. 

“Yeah, Jimin acts like he’s responsible for me sometimes”, Jungkook told him as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s annoying.”

“I think it’s sweet. It’s good to have people who look after you, you know?”

“Just like you, Hyung!”, Jungkook was somehow drunk again. Seokjin couldn’t figure it out. Drunkenness never came and went in waves, but it seemed to do so in Jungkook’s case. “You look after me!”

“I do”, Seokjin’s smile was wide. “Now let’s get you home. It’s almost your curfew.”

“No curfew!”, Jungkook leaned closer to him, as if he was about to tell him a secret. “My parents are out of town! I get the house for myself and no curfew! I can stay out for as long as I want!”

“Hmm…”, Seokjin got a weird, tingly feeling in his stomach. He didn’t like the idea of Jungkook being left alone. “We should still go, Kook. Come on.”

He took Jungkook’s hand and lead him away from the Tteokbokki cart, heading in the general direction of Jungkook’s house. He’d mentioned where he lived before, and Seokjin was thankful for that. He was also thankful that Jungkook was sober enough to lead him to the correct house. 

“Come inside with me, Hyung”, Jungkook told him. So, not sober enough, Jin thought. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

“Okay, but I won’t stay long”, he answered. He did want to spend time with Jungkook, of course, he did, but he wanted the younger to be sober enough to remember it. 

They went inside, and Seokjin took a quick look around. It was your typical Korean household, but it felt like home. Maybe more so than Seokjin’s parents' house ever did. He liked it. 

“Hyung, can I tell you something?”, Jungkook told him when they sat on one of the sofas in the living room.

“Of course”, Seokjin nodded. “Anything.”

“I really like you, Hyung”, Jungkook admitted. His cheeks were bright red, but he still managed to not break eye contact. “You’re so cool, and smart, and you always take care of me. You know, you really helped me today.”

“I really like you, too”, Seokjin told him, and he really meant it. He liked Jungkook, and the younger didn’t need to know in which way, exactly. He didn’t need to scare him away. Those feelings weren’t anything he was willing to share with anyone but himself, because the reality of it was so much scarier than he liked to admit. 

“No, Seokjin, I like you”, Jungkook insisted, and that caught Seokjin off guard. For starters, Jungkook had called him by his first name, and then he told him he liked him again. Seokjin didn’t know just how drunk one could get from barely having 3 drinks, because Jungkook clearly wasn’t thinking straight, now. He needed him to go sleep and leave before he got his hopes so high up, and before either of them could do something they were going to regret later. 

“Jungkook”, Seokjin’s voice was low. He was shaking ever so slightly. “You’re drunk. Please, don’t say things that you don’t mean.”

“I’m not drunk”, Jungkook insisted, but the redness of his face told otherwise. “And I do mean it.”

“You should get some rest, Kook. I’ll get going”, Seokjin was about to leave. His heart ached, he felt defeated. It was the first time in a long time that someone he liked told him he liked him as well, just for it to not be real. Jungkook obviously had no idea what he was saying. His heart really hurt. It felt like a fist had wrapped around it, squeezed it so tightly until it exploded. He really wished, he really hoped Jungkook was telling the truth, but he knew he wasn’t that lucky. 

Jungkook grabbed him by the shirt, and Seokjin’s immediate reaction was a flinch. He thought he was finally going to get beaten up by the well-built, strong as fuck, drunk-off-his-ass man sitting in front of him. But what came next was worse, or better, he couldn’t decide. 

Jungkook pulled him closer, and without thinking, he kissed Seokjin. He fully kissed him and Seokjin didn’t know how to react. He was shocked, but Jungkook’s lips pressed harder and harder against Seokjin’s until he finally snapped out of it and kissed him back. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore, he took the back of Jungkook’s head in his hands, and Jungkook placed his own hands on Jin’s back. Their kiss got more urgent, and greedier, and Seokjin knew he had to pull back. He needed to. He managed to break their kiss apart, but he rested his forehead on Jungkook’s own and cupped his face with his hands. They were breathing heavily, both their hearts were racing. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while”, Jungkook laughed, and Seokjin managed a faint smile of his own. He was still unsure of how to feel. Part of him was relieved, but the other part was anxious. He was anxious that Jungkook didn’t mean any of this. Anxious that he’d wake up tomorrow and Jungkook would have forgotten all about it as if it never happened. He wanted him to remember it. He wanted to remember it. He decided to give Jungkook one more kiss, for his own sake. It was merely a gentle peck on the lips, but he felt like he needed it. 

“Let’s get you to bed, Jungkook-ah”, he told him, and this time, the younger didn’t protest. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Seokjin’s middle, lead him up the stairs, and finally into his bedroom. Seokjin smiled at the sight of the room. The walls were filled with posters of various rock bands and even some Kpop idols. A queen-sized bed greeted them next. A flat-screen TV was placed in one of the corners with multiple gaming consoles attached to it, with a black leather bean bag right in front of it. A small and very messy desk was placed in the opposing corner, littered with papers, books, and pens. Cute. 

“Hyung, lie down in bed with me”, Jungkook caught him off guard once again. He gave Jungkook a confused look, and Jungkook just laughed. “I want to show you something.”

He lay down anyway, not waiting for Seokjin to follow, and took a tiny remote control from one of the nightstands he had on either side of his bed. He noticed that the airplane figurine from their lunch the other day was placed on the nightstand. Seokjin finally followed, and gently rested his head on one of the pillows behind him. With a press of a button, the ceiling was lit with stars and galaxies. It was beautiful in an odd way.

“Pretty cool, right?”, Jungkook told him, and Seokjin turned to face him. A purple hue washed over him from the galaxy light, and it somehow suited him. “I’m fascinated by space, and it honestly bums me out that we can’t see many stars from here in the city. So, until I can properly go stargazing, I can look at this.” 

“You’re such a nerd, Kook”, Seokjin smiled, even if Jungkook didn’t turn to see it right away. 

“I guess I am”, he finally returned the smile, even bigger. They held their gaze, smiling at each other for so long and it was, in a way, perfect. 

“I’ll take you stargazing”, Jin told him after a while. “I’ll find a spot.”

Jungkook didn’t thank him. He simply inched closer and leaned to kiss Seokjin again. They kissed, and maybe it was the alcohol, the purple hue that came from the galaxy light or just being alone together, or all of those factors combined, but their kisses got more urgent. Their breathing got heavier. Soon enough, Jungkook climbed on top of him. Kissing him with aggression, sliding his hands underneath Seokjin’s shirt, and he let him. He grabbed Jungkook’s hair, tugging at it while his other hand pulled Jungkook closer. Jungkook was now kissing along his jawline, making his way down to his neck. Seokjin couldn’t keep his moan in any longer. It felt good. Jungkook’s lips, his hot breath against his neck felt so good.  It didn’t take him long before Jungkook took Seokjin’s shirt off, and began kissing down his bare chest. 

“Jungkook”, he was out of breath. “Are you sure?”

But Jungkook responded by taking his own shirt off, and the sight of his bare chest sent shivers down Seokjin’s spine. His well-defined muscles were covered in sweat, and the scattered tattoos across his arm were begging to be kissed. He was perfect.

“Yes”, Jungkook finally spoke. Seokjin pulled him down and kissed him again, and what happened next was just as perfect as Jungkook was. 

↭

Jungkook woke up to a warm feeling that washed all over him. He was warm and just now realizing, very naked. It took him a few seconds to get a hold of his surroundings. He was in his room, his galaxy lights still illuminated the ceiling even though it was faint due to the sunshine coming in through his window. He felt an arm wrapped around his middle. Huh. He turned to his left to see someone lying down next to him, his hair was all over his head, covering his eyes. He still looked handsome. Seokjin looked handsome. 

Seokjin. 

Shit.  

Seokjin, who was also very naked, was in his bed, his arm wrapped around Jungkook’s bare middle. Memories of the previous night came rushing through his mind. The heat, feeling Seokjin’s body underneath him, feeling his lips all over his body. He felt his entire body tingling, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He also couldn’t stop himself from kissing Seokjin’s forehead lightly so as to not wake him up. Even if he didn’t want to, he still managed to get out of bed and headed for the shower, hiding his naked body behind the shirt he’d thrown to the ground last night, even if he didn’t need to hide it from anyone. No one was around, except for a sleeping Seokjin. 

He took a brisk shower, not wanting to wash Seokjin’s mark off of him, but not wanting to stink, either. He got out and put clean clothes on, then wrote a note that read “Come down to the kitchen <3”, for Seokjin to read when he woke. He placed the note on his bed next to Seokjin's face and went to prepare a warm breakfast and coffee for the both of them. It was the least he could do to thank his Hyung for the previous night. He was able to make something better than cheese sandwiches, thanks to the fully stocked fridge and the fact that he knew where everything was. He was in his own home, after all. 

A little over 20 minutes later, Seokjin finally made his way downstairs. Jungkook took a second to admire how gorgeous he looked wearing Jungkook’s hoodie and sweatpants that he picked out on his own. Jungkook didn’t mind, he actually liked it. 

“I borrowed some clothes, I hope you don’t mind”, Seokjin told him sheepishly. “I just didn’t want to wear jeans first thing in the morning, you know?”

“You look good in them”, Jungkook admitted, and it took every bit of strength he had to hold himself back from kissing his Hyung again. “Come, I made breakfast.” 

They ate together, and Jungkook was relieved when things were normal between him and Seokjin. Part of him feared that his Hyung would avoid him, give him the cold shoulder. He even feared that Seokjin would sneak out of the house as Jungkook slept, but none of that happened. However, he did explain that he might be busy in the upcoming weeks due to the multiple mid-term submissions he had coming up. He was in his final year, of course, he’d be busy. Jungkook tried to not be too bothered by that. He instead remembered something Seokjin had told him the previous night.  

‘I’ll take you stargazing’.

“I’m going to hold you up to your promise”,  Jungkook told his Hyung when they finished cleaning up and sat down on the living room sofa. 

“What promise?”, Seokjin smiled at him, a sweet smile, and Jungkook could feel his face burn up. 

“That you’ll take me stargazing”, Jungkook managed to smile through his shyness. “I know you’ll be busy with school, but I won’t let you forget.”

“I won’t forget”, Seokjin reached to hold Jungkook’s hand in his own, cupping it with both hands, thumb stroking it gently. 

↭

Weeks had passed, and they had gotten busy. Jungkook was drowning in submissions and tests and exhibitions. He wasn’t able to see Seokjin much, but despite his Hyung’s busy schedule, he somehow managed to show up to every exhibition Jungkook had, hugging him tight to congratulate him on his effort, planting a sneaky kiss on Jungkook’s neck when no one was around. He savored those moments, savored every ounce of effort that came from Seokjin Seokjin always made him feel special. He tried to put in some effort for his Hyung, too. He would often make him a breakfast sandwich, or a gimbab and carefully wrap it, and handed it to Seokjin right outside of his class. He’d often attach a silly note to the food that had a ‘good morning’ or a ‘good luck!’ written on it. Seokjin’s face lit up every time Jungkook handed him the food, it made the younger happy. 

The weather got colder as the months passed by, the semester was nearing its end and Seokjin had yet to fulfill his promise. Jungkook worried that his Hyung had forgotten about it since they barely spent any time together. He tried to distract himself by studying, but couldn’t get himself to be interested in the ancient art history lessons scattered across his desk. He made paper airplanes, doodled, and even danced the Kpop routine he had learned a few weeks ago. His phone buzzed, indicating that someone had texted him. He wanted to ignore it since he needed to study, but his phone buzzed again and when he saw who the texts were from, he couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung:

Hey 

Jungkook-ah

Are you up?

Jungkook:

Hey Hyung!

Yeah, I’m up :3

World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung:

What are you doing?

Jungkook:

I’m trying to study ㅠ _ ㅠ

I can’t focus at all!!

World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung:

Yeah, same!

Wanna play Overwatch instead?

I’ll kick your ass :D

Jungkook:

Hyung

It’s 11 pm

We have class in the morning :/ 

World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung:

So? 

I know you’re not going to sleep any time soon, you’re either going to play anyway or stay up all night touching yourself

Might as well play with me for like an hour or so.

Jungkook:

HYUNG! @_@

Why would you…

Never mind

Fine, let’s play. 

And you won’t be able to kick my ass, Hyung. We’ll be on the same team.

World Wide Handsome Seokjinnie Hyung:

Stop being such a smart ass and start the PS party <3

Jungkook did as he was told, fanning himself to keep from exploding from his Hyung’s comment. Seokjin joined the party as soon as the invite was sent, his voice instantly coming through Jungkook’s headphones. 

“Jungkook-ah!!!”, he cheerfully said. “Are you ready to get your ass kicked?”

“Can we stop talking about my ass, Hyung?”, Jungkook laughed. “I told you, we’ll be on the same team, how will you beat me?”

“I’ll have more kills than you, obviously”, Seokjin responded. “Win more gold medals.”

“Sure, you will, Seokjinnie”, he told him as they finally entered a match. Their mission was to defend the objective, and Jungkook readied himself. He wouldn’t let his Hyung have more kills than he did. It was his opportunity to show him just how good of a gamer he was. 

“Yah! Where are your manners? It’s Seokjinnie Hyung!”, he scolded him. 

“You’re focusing on the wrong things, Hyung”, he put emphasis on the word 'Hyung’, and even though Seokjin couldn’t see him, Jungkook rolled his eyes. “The match is about to start and you still haven’t chosen a character.”

“I wanted to play Genji, but you little shit chose him”, Seokjin’s tone was playful, Jungkook didn’t mind him cursing him out at all. “Maybe I’ll play Reaper or Ash.”

“Hmm.. we’re playing defense, maybe you should choose a character with a longer range? Can you play Widow?” 

“Pshh, I’m a wonderful Widow”, Seokjin scoffed and Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh. 

“My condolences, ma’am”, Jungkook joked, and it took Seokjin a few seconds to understand his joke.

“Oh, shut up! You’re such a brat sometimes, you know?”

“Isn’t it ironic that you’re calling me a brat?”, the game had begun, and both of them were focused. Jungkook was surprised to see Widowmaker’s name pop up so often on his screen, indicating that Seokjin was killing the enemy’s characters mostly on his own. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If I’m remembering correctly”, Jungkook began, memories of the first and only time he’d slept with Seokjin rushed back to him, which resulted in getting him killed in the game. “You were pretty bratty that night.”

The silence that followed might have been awkward if Jungkook didn’t know his Hyung well enough. He simply laughed, imagining how dumbfounded he must have been because his character was also just killed. 

“You little fucker”, Seokjin was almost yelling, but Jungkook only laughed harder. “I know where you live, Jeon. I’m gonna come beat you up, for real.”

“I’d like to see you try. You know, you said the same thing about arm wrestling before, and I still won.”

There was silence on Seokjin’s end. Jungkook thought maybe his internet connection had cut off, or he just was too embarrassed at the mention of their arm wrestling match from the first time they’d had lunch together. But soon, he got a notification saying that Seokjin had left the party and was now offline. 

That was weird. 

However, he couldn’t leave the game just yet. Their team was so close to winning. 10 seconds were left and the opposing team hadn’t captured the objective yet.

“Ten seconds remaining”, the narrator of the game had announced, starting the countdown to end the game. 

Suddenly, all of Jungkook’s teammates had been killed off, and he was alone, trying to defend the objective against the whole opposing team. They managed to capture it at the last second, and the game’s objective had changed from protecting it from getting captured to stopping it from being escorted to its final destination. He cursed, if Seokjin was still in the game, the other team wouldn’t have stood a chance against them, but Seokjin had mysteriously disappeared. He focused harder on the game, he shook in his seat, aggressively hitting the buttons on his controller. He couldn’t lose. 

It was down to the last minute, and the opposing team had managed to escort the objective halfway across the map. A lot could happen in a minute. The game was heated, Jungkook was carrying his whole team now, and having switched characters from Genji to Tracer had helped them significantly. He was able to move quicker, hide and teleport around the other players with accuracy. 

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket once again, but he couldn’t check it. They were in overtime now, and the opposing team wasn’t backing down. His phone buzzed again. He needed to focus. One final blow, placing Tracer’s explosive device in the right place would eliminate the three players that were left opposing him. One final blow and the narrator announced their victory. He jumped up from his bean bag with excitement, but he couldn’t celebrate for long, because his phone was ringing. It was Seokjin. Jungkook looked out his window and saw a man’s figure waiting outside his front door. Could it be?

He picked up the phone and Seokjin’s voice immediately came through the speakers. 

“Come down”, his Hyung told him before hanging up. Jungkook threw on a warm jacket, placing its hood over his head to protect him from the cold outside. He ran down the stairs, careful to not wake his parents up, and went outside to be greeted by the piercing cold and an angry Seokjin. 

“Are you here to beat me up?”, Jungkook laughed, and his Hyung immediately grabbed him by his jacket, pushing him back. Jungkook laughed harder. “We won the game, no thanks to you.”

Seokjin leaned forward to whisper in Jungkook’s ear. “You know what I’m going to do?”, Seokjin’s breath was warm against the crook of Jungkook’s neck. “I’m going to rip your stupid hoodie off, tie your hands behind your back, throw you onto your bed, and just when your start begging for mercy, I’ll take your pants off. I’ll suck you off hard until you’re about to come, and once I feel your whole body tremble, I will stop. I’ll leave you, all naked and tied up, not satisfied.” 

Every word sent shivers down Jungkook’s spine and into every inch of his body. He couldn’t believe what Seokjin just told him. He was frozen in place, feeling blood rush down to his parts. That was worse than any beating Seokjin could have ever given him. He felt Seokjin kiss his neck. He was still grabbing Jungkook by his jacket. He kissed harder, sucking until it hurt. A moan escaped his lips and before he could stop himself, he wrapped his arms around Seokjin, pulling him closer, urging him to go on. Seokjin’s hands moved from his chest to grab Jungkook’s hair, pulling at it until his head was tilted backward. He kissed him aggressively, biting at his lower lip. Just when Jungkook couldn’t take it anymore, Seokjin pulled away. 

“Good luck trying to fall asleep”, his Hyung smirked, and slowly walked out of Jungkook’s yard.  

Just as Seokjin suspected, Jungkook was not able to fall asleep. What Seokjin had told him was interesting, to say the least. His words kept playing in his head all night long, fantasies of how the night could have played out kept him awake, almost pushing him over the edge. He spent the night doing something Seokjin had assumed he’d be up all night doing in his text from earlier, and it wasn’t playing games.

The following day Jungkook decided to take his revenge on his Hyung. He had prepared him a full breakfast, not just a simple sandwich. He also got him a warm cup of coffee and a rose and decided to wait for him right outside of his classroom. 

“Mornin’, Hyung”, Jungkook smirked at the sight of a surprised, sleepy Seokjin. He figured the older also had a sleepless night, but he only had himself to blame for it. “I made you breakfast.”

“Hey, Jungkook-ah”, Seokjin gave him a sheepish smile. “That’s sweet, you went all out, huh?”

“Only the best for you”, Jungkook’s smirk had gotten bigger. He was waiting for more people to be around for his revenge plan to work. The perfect chance had finally come. He grabbed Seokjin by his sweater and pulled him closer with force, kissing him so passionately right in front of everyone who was passing by. Seokjin was obviously surprised, he had barely kissed Jungkook back, but Jungkook didn’t care, he kissed him harder. He pulled away, still holding on to his Hyung’s sweater. “Good luck trying to focus in class”, he winked, patting his chest before walking away. His revenge wasn’t ruthless, but it was enough to embarrass Seokjin, especially since Jaehyung, Seokjin’s friend that Jungkook secretly hated, was standing right there, mouth agape. 

↭

Seokjin must have stood outside the class in shock for at least 5 minutes. He ignored all the stares and giggles that came from his classmates. He ignored Jaehyung slapping his arms and asking a million questions. He didn’t want to tell Jaehyung anything. He even ignored Namjoon, who tried shaking him out of his dazed state. Namjoon eventually dragged him away, not caring that Seokjin was skipping an important class. Namjoon snapped his fingers in front of Seokjin’s eyes a few times once they were out of the building. 

“Ah, that little brat!”, Seokjin complained once he was shaken back to reality. 

“What little brat?”, Namjoon asked, but Seokjin ignored him, opening the bag of food that Jungkook handed him earlier, knowing there had to be a note attached to it because that was what Jungkook always did. 

‘That’s for leaving me high and dry ;) enjoy your food, it’s made with love’, the note read. He could clearly see the smirk on Jungkook’s face as he wrote it. 

“What’s that all about?”, Namjoon snatched the note out of Seokjin’s hands. “Who did you leave high and dry, you rascal?”

“Jungkook”, Seokjin sighed. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling though, finally realizing what had happened. “He just kissed me in front of everyone.”

“Jeon Jungkook?”, Namjoon couldn't keep his laugh in any longer. “Shy, took him fifteen years of knowing me to finally have a decent conversation Jeon Jungkook? Yeah sure.”

“Yeah, that Jungkook. Ah, I just wanna beat him up, you know?”

“Hmm, is that why you’re blushing?”, Namjoon smirked, but he was right. Seokjin was blushing. “What, do you like him?” 

“Oh, shut up”, Seokjin snatched the note back from Namjoon’s hands. He needed to add it to the collection of notes Jungkook had written him. 

“Have you told him?”, Namjoon’s tone was serious, it made Seokjin turn to face him. Namjoon was serious. 

“Let's just eat”, Seokjin sat the food down on the ledge they were sitting on. Jungkook had prepared him a full-course meal, enough to feed both him and Namjoon. They ate in silence. Seokjin held onto the rose Jungkook gave him the whole time. “I haven’t told him, yet”, Seokjin finally admitted.

“Are you planning on doing so?”

“Yeah. I have this whole thing planned for the last day before Christmas break.” 

“Wow, who knew Seokjinnie Hyung was a big romantic dork?”, he was grateful for Namjoon’s sarcasm. Jungkook deserved the best. Seokjin hadn’t really done much for him, but he did promise to give him a magical night of stargazing. He wasn’t going to disappoint Jungkook. Three more weeks until Christmas break, he’d be able to manage. 

Turned out he could barely manage because the wait was so much harder than he would have ever imagined. He had finally found the perfect place that was far enough from the city lights for proper stars to be visible. He’d even driven up there a couple of times at night to make sure it was perfect, and it was. It had to be. 

He decided to go tell Jungkook to free himself up for that night in person. He grabbed a handful of roses on his way to Jungkook’s house and texted him to meet him at the door in 10 minutes. Jungkook did meet him, dressed in multiple jackets because it had gotten significantly colder. His nose was almost as red as the roses Seokjin handed him. 

“Hyung, what are these for?”, Jungkook blushed harder and stepped closer to Seokjin. 

“They're for you”, Seokjin might have blushed, too, but maybe it was just the cold. “Free yourself up on Friday, okay?”

 “Why, what’s happening on Friday?”, Jungkook was hugging him now.  That made Seokjin all tingly and warm, he hugged him back, running his fingers through his hair. 

“It’s a surprise.”

“Well, I can’t be out late because I need to pack”, Jungkook pouted and it took all of Seokjin’s sanity to not kiss him. 

“How about I come by right after class and we’ll pack together?”

Instead of responding right away, Jungkook got on his tiptoes to kiss Seokjin, which he didn’t need to do since they were almost the same height. 

“Yeah, sounds good”, Jungkook told him when he pulled away. “But you do need to say hi to my parents, maybe even have dinner with us, is that okay?”

Seokjin just nodded and gave him one more peck before telling him to go back inside from the cold. He had more preparations to do for Friday, anyway. 

He went on to buy a proper picnic blanket, a few battery-powered candles so as to not accidentally burn anything down, and a basket for him to put everything in instead of plastic bags. He’d buy the food and drinks on their way there, not that they’ll need much since Jungkook told him they’d probably eat dinner with his parents. He was a little anxious about meeting Jungkook’s parents for the first time. He understood that they were strict, after all not many parents had curfews for their kids that were already in university. He didn’t need to dwell on that, he knew how to make a good first impression on parents, especially mothers. All he had to do was compliment their beauty, how they looked so young he thought they were the sister, not the mother, and casually mention how he cooks for his own mother at least once a week. Just like that, they’d be head over heels for him. It was the fathers that intimidated him, especially after hearing that he was a Film major. But he had a trick for them, too. He’d ask about their work, compliment the house, compliment them on raising their kid to be a wonderful young man. He’d gotten it all figured out. Anytime the conversation got too personal, he’d just throw in another compliment and flash them a sweet smile. 

It was fine, though. Because Friday had finally come and he was so excited, he could barely focus on his exam. He needed to finish as quickly as possible because he knew Jungkook finished at 2 on Fridays and he usually finished at 4, but he thought he could skip his last class to get to Jungkook’s house as soon as he could, otherwise his heart would explode. But Seokjin knew his luck wasn’t that great, because he had gotten an email reminding him of another test he had for his last class. He hadn’t studied or prepared anything for it, mostly because he didn’t know he had a test before now. He thought he’d just cheat since the classroom was held in a small auditorium, and looking at the paper of the student in front of him should be easy. 

He finally made it out, and drove so fast to Jungkook’s house that he was sure he’d gotten a speeding ticket. It didn’t matter. Today was the day Seokjin had been planning for weeks now. As long as the night went the way he wanted, he didn’t care about speeding tickets or delays. He made it to Jungkook’s house, and checked the trunk of his car to make sure all the things he brought were there, before ringing the bell to the house. 

Jungkook greeted him with a big smile on his face. He was wearing an ugly Christmas sweater even though it was two weeks before Christmas. Cute. His hair was a mess, his UGGs were not on brand for him. Still, he was cute. 

“Hyung!”, Jungkook was always excited to see Jin. Always. “Come inside. My parents are downstairs, we’ll greet them and then go to my room, okay?”

Seokjin didn’t have time to respond because the younger just grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside, away from the cold. He had to admit that he was anxious to meet Jungkook’s parents, but the way Jungkook introduced him to them was something he hadn’t expected. 

“Mom, dad, this is Kim Seokjin. My, uh…”, Jungkook seemed to hesitate. He gave Seokjin a nervous glance before continuing. “Friend. He’s my friend from college. I met him through Namjoon Hyung.” 

Friend. They technically hadn’t discussed what they were. Were they just friends? Friends who casually made out? He mentally shrugged it off, trying not to dwell on that. Because they were going to discuss that tonight. Hopefully. 

“Pleasure meeting you”, Jungkook’s mom came over to greet them and Seokjin bowed to her politely. He noticed Jungkook’s dad eying him curiously as if Seokjin being here was odd. Maybe it was. 

“You’re his mother? I seriously thought you were his younger sister, ma’am. You look so young!”, Of course, Seokjin was exaggerating, but his plan worked because Jungkook’s mom hid her blushing smile behind her hand. 

“Oh, people often mistake us for siblings”, she joked. 

“What a beautiful house”, Seokjin complimented, pretending that he’d never seen it before. That statement had caught the dad’s attention because he was smirking now. Jungkook resembled him a lot. “Just how do you manage to keep it so clean and well put all while raising this little troublemaker?”, he reached to ruffle Jungkook’s hair, he couldn’t help but embarrass Jungkook in front of his parents. It was his own little revenge for what Jungkook had done to him the other day. 

“Hyung!”, Jungkook whined, but Seokjin just laughed.

“He really is a troublemaker, isn't he?”, the dad finally spoke, and his playful tone was an indicator that he didn’t hate Seokjin. “He’s always playing his games in his room, he never studies!”

“He’s actually an excellent student, sir”. Seokjin gave him a warm smile. “He’s always getting praised for his work, I’ve seen some of it and it’s amazing. I’m sure he’ll make you proud.”

“Is that so?”, Jungkook’s dad was beaming with pride, but that only made Jungkook blush harder. 

“I guess”, Jungkook looked away from his father long enough to shoot Seokjin a glare. “Anyway, we’re going up to my room to pack.”

He once again grabbed Jin’s hand and dragged him up the stairs, yelling an ‘okay’ in response to his mother telling them to come down for dinner when it was ready.

“Hyung!”, Jungkook whined as soon as his bedroom door was shut. “You had to embarrass me in front of my parents?”

“Just a little comeback for embarrassing me in front of my whole class”, Seokjin winked, and Jungkook’s pout grew bigger. “Come on, let’s get packing, we have a lot planned for tonight.”

“You still haven’t told me what we have tonight”, Jungkook told him as he grabbed the empty suitcase from behind his now closed door. 

“I still won’t. Now you grab your clothes from the closet and I’ll pack them for you.”

They worked in harmony, Jungkook’s surprisingly neatly folded clothes were handed to Seokjin in an orderly fashion. He had some music playing on his TV in the background. It was low enough for them to have a conversation but loud enough for their silences to not be awkward. Not that their silence was ever awkward. Ever since they met, everything just felt so natural to them. Maybe that was the reason they got along so well instantly. 

That thought seemed to have tied a knot in Seokjin’s stomach. What if everything wasn’t as natural as he’d thought? What if Jungkook got scared off and reject him? Even though Jungkook was the one to initiate anything with him, he was the one to confess his feelings, even though he did so while drunk. Even so, admitting feelings didn’t mean he’d be willing to jump into a relationship. Jungkook was still relatively young. They’d never really talked about their past relationships, their first loves. He secretly hoped he wasn’t Jungkook’s first. First experiences rarely ended well. He didn’t want to think about it. He needed to focus first on packing, then on the night ahead of them. He’d planned for it for so long, he just wanted Jungkook to have a good time regardless of the outcome. 

They managed to pack everything Jungkook needed for his two-week trip to Busan in under two hours, and since dinner wasn’t ready yet, they decided to play one of Jungkook’s easy, two-player games on the Playstation. It was simple enough for Seokjin to grasp it quickly, but Jungkook’s competitiveness didn’t let him even close to winning. The objective was simple, just grab the other player’s character and throw them off whatever they were standing on. Jungkook didn’t let him come close to that. He kept yanking him, throwing him off, punching him, and running away. He had deliberately left out the part where they could run while explaining the game just to have the upper hand. They played for a while, Seokjin kept yelling and groaning, grieving his terrible loss in the game. 

↭

Jungkook’s mom’s voice eventually reached them, telling them to come down for dinner. Jungkook was a little nervous about that. He rarely invited his friends over for dinner, mostly because his parents would ask a million questions and jump at any and all opportunities to embarrass him. Seokjin didn’t seem to mind that, though. He made a wonderful impression on Jungkook’s parents. He kept complimenting them, and seemed genuinely interested in them. He even offered to help clean up after they finished eating. Jungkook was really impressed when his dad seemed to approve of him. His dad compared everyone that Jungkook had ever spoken of to Namjoon. To him, Namjoon was the standard. He was smart, and hardworking, never went against his parents' wishes. He was fit and well dressed, and if anyone was slightly less than that, his father would disapprove of them. After their meal, Jungkook’s mother told them to get going, and of course, told them not to be late. Seokjin thanked her for seemingly the millionth time for the delicious meal, asked her if she was sure she didn’t need any help cleaning up, and they were finally, finally out of the house and on their way. 

Seokjin still refused to tell him where they were going. He just stopped by a grocery store not too far away to pick up a few things. He told Jungkook to wait in the car, which was a midsized hatchback, and went inside the store. Jungkook tried to peek inside to see what Seokjin was getting, but Seokjin must’ve planned for that not to happen because the car was parked a few meters away from the door, even though there was enough space for him to park right outside. 

“You know”, Jungkook told him as soon as he got inside the car. “I don’t like surprises.”

“That’s a lie”, Seokjin smiled at him before driving off. “You love surprises.”

“Oh? How so?”, Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest, taking note of the ballads playing quietly through the speakers. 

“You always surprise me with breakfast”, his Hyung responded. “And you always love it when I show up unexpectedly at your show casings.”

“Just tell me where we're going!”, Jungkook insisted.

“No.”

“Tell me!”

“Nope.”

“Hyung!”

“No.”

“Seokjinnie!”

“Hyung.”

“I’m not your Hyung.”

“I am, now stop.”

“Hyuuung!”, he couldn’t stop himself from whining. He really needed to know. 

“Jungkook-ah!”, Seokjin whined back. “Stop asking, I’m not going to tell you.”

“But why?”, Jungkook pressed. Pestering Seokjin like that was fun. 

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because I said so.”

“But you didn’t say anything.”

“And I’m not going to.”

“Oh my god, you’re kidnapping me!”, Jungkook exclaimed dramatically. 

“Yes I am”, Seokjin finally laughed. That must have meant that Jungkook didn’t bother him. “Now change the topic or be quiet.”

“Fine”, Jungkook thought of a way to change the topic without really changing the topic. “What did you buy at the grocery store?”

“Are you trying to be clever?”, Seokjin’s eyebrow was raised. 

“No, I am clever”, Jungkook waved him off. “Now tell me what did you buy?”

“No.”

“Did you buy chocolate?”

“Not telling you.”

“Did you buy soju?”

“Not telling you.”

“Did you buy tampons?”, that finally broke Seokjin, because he had to pull over from how hard he was laughing. 

“Why would I buy tampons?”, Seokjin asked, barely catching his breath. Jungkook just shrugged, but Jin continued. “So you can use them as a butt plug?”

“Hyung!”, Jungkook slapped his arm too many times. “That's so fucking weird! Who would use tampons as butt plugs?” 

“Maybe you would?”, Seokjin shrugged and Jungkook tried so hard to keep his laugh from escaping his lips. 

“You know what, turn the car around”, Jungkook was of course joking. “I don’t want your surprise anymore.”

Seokjin’s smile faltered at his response, and he immediately regretted it. “Really?”

“No no!”, Jungkook quickly protested, his cheeks burning from embarrassment. “Never mind. Let’s just get going.”

Seokjin’s smirk eventually reached his lips. Jungkook quickly realized that Seokjin saw an opening to stop him from asking questions, and he took it. 

“Oh, you asshole”, Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Just drive.”

“Wow you’re really disrespectful to someone who’s going to give you the best night of your life”, Seokjin scoffed, but he did start driving to their destination. 

“Best night of my life? That’s very bold of you to say, Hyung. Are you that confident?”

“Yep. Now shut it.”

“No.”

“I’m going to ignore you now.”

“Hyung.”

Silence.

“Hyung”, Jungkook tried again. “Hyung. Hyung Hyung Hyung Hyung.”

Seokjin still didn’t respond, so Jungkook started poking his arm. Seokjin didn’t waver. Jungkook decided to take the hand he had placed on the gear shift into his, lacing their fingers together. He squeezed Seokjin’s hand repeatedly until Seokjin finally squeezed back. 

“Don’t ignore me the rest of the way?”, Jungkook made sure to pout his lips. He knew Seokjin couldn’t deny him anything when he pouted, he’d used it to get his way many times before. Seokjin did turn to look at Jungkook’s pout, and just as he suspected, his Hyung couldn’t resist it. Seokjin took their intertwined hands and pulled them closer to him, kissing Jungkook’s hand before holding them close to his chest. “Wasn’t going to.”

They drove for about an hour and a half, and it was filled with conversation. Jungkook noticed how dark it had gotten around them, but he didn’t pay it much attention. He was too busy staring at Jin while he drove. He looked so handsome, gripping the steering wheel tightly with his left hand while holding on to Jungkook’s hand with his right. He was beautiful. When the car was finally parked, it was so dark they could barely see out the window. Jungkook was a little skeptical, but he knew his Hyung well enough to just go with his plans. Seokjin turned to look Jungkook in the eye. 

“We’re here”, Seokjin smiled. 

“Where is ‘here’… exactly?”, Jungkook’s chuckle was a nervous one. He still had no idea what was coming ahead of him. 

“You’ll find out soon enough”, Seokjin squeezed his hand one last time before unbuckling his seatbelt and unlocking the car. “Now help me unload the trunk?” 

Jungkook simply nodded and followed Seokjin’s lead. He carried a somewhat big basket outside the car, while Seokjin laid what seemed to be a blanket on the grass below their feet. It was too dark, his eyes still hadn’t adjusted to it yet. He quickly set the basket down and went to grab the few grocery bags Seokjin had gotten earlier. His Hyung was busy setting everything down, and it finally clicked in Jungkook’s head that they were having a picnic. But why did they drive so far out of the city when there were a bunch of different places for them to go to that were less than twenty minutes away from his house?

He peaked inside the grocery bags to get a better hint, but there was nothing unusual inside. A few beers, some strawberries and grapes, a few chocolate bars, and a few bottles of water. He set them down on the blanket to get the rest of the things from the trunk before closing it. He set everything down on the blanket and waited for Seokjin to finish setting up. He noticed a couple of pillows around, a few electric candles, and the things Jungkook saw inside the grocery bags set around the blanket. It was cold and dark, but Jungkook had properly dressed for the weather. He still had his Christmas sweater on, but he paired it with a  warm black coat and black boots instead of the UGGs he had on earlier. He also wore a beanie to hide his messy hair. 

Seokjin looked handsome, he was dressed much better than Jungkook was. He was wearing a black turtleneck underneath a white knitted sweater, paired with a long black coat similar to the one Jungkook had on. His hair was carefully styled, as it usually was. He looked so good. Jungkook had the sudden urge to rip all of his Hyung’s clothes off and kiss every inch of his body. But it was too cold, and he couldn’t do anything yet, because Seokjin had a plan for them, he needed to wait, even if he didn’t want to. 

Seokjin grabbed his wrist, shaking him from his thoughts, and gently pulled him closer. “Let’s sit?”, his statement sounded like a question, Jungkook wasn’t sure why, but Jin seemed a little nervous. He decided to hug him instead. 

“You really went out of your way for this picnic”, Jungkook smiled at him, pulling himself back to not brush his nose against Seokjin's. He wanted to, though. He really did. 

“It’s more than just a picnic”, Seokjin smiled. Jungkook liked his smile. He liked Seokjin’s lips, too. He wanted to kiss them. “Remember that night when you got so drunk and I took you home?”

“I didn’t get so drunk”, Jungkook rolled his eyes, but memories of that night had him blushing in seconds. 

“Anyway”, Seokjin’s smile got wider. “I promised I’d take you stargazing, and…” Seokjin gently lifted Jungkook’s chin with his thumb, encouraging him to look at the sky above. Jungkook gasped. The sky looked like nothing he’d ever seen before. So many stars scattered across it, so bright and visible. There were more stars in the sky than he’d ever seen before, hues of purple and blue all around them. It was breathtakingly beautiful. He felt his eyes getting teary, he was frozen in his place, still in Seokjin’s arms. 

“Jungkook?”, Seokjin whispered so as to not startle the younger, he stroked his cheek with the thumb that was placed on his chin. “Are you okay?”

“Hyung…”, Jungkook finally looked him in the eye. He was visibly worried. Jungkook couldn’t hold himself back, he took Seokjin’s face in his hands and kissed him gently, ignoring the tears that fell from his eyes. He was so happy, he didn’t know what else to do. He was glad that Seokjin kissed him back, warming his face with his hands. 

“Come, let’s sit”, the older gently guided him and sat him down on the blanket, carefully wrapping another blanket around his shoulders before doing the same himself. He was so gentle, Jungkook could melt. “I got us some snacks, there’s hot water in the thermos, we can make hot chocolate if you want. There are also beer and water.”

“I thought you’d forgotten”, Jungkook told him, but his eyes were glued on the sky above. He also didn’t want to see Seokjin’s expression when he told him that, just in case his statement disappointed him. Seokjin took Jungkook’s hand in his and stroked it with his thumb. 

“How could I?”, his chuckle was as gentle as he was. “I just knew that you were busy with school, and I was too, so I just waited for the right opportunity, you know?”

They lay down with pillows behind their heads and blankets wrapped around them looking up at the starry night. Jungkook explained everything he knew about stars to Seokjin. He told him the stories of how people started charting stars, how they came up with the zodiac signs, and how they were able to study planets and space even long before the invention of telescopes. He even taught him how to navigate his way by only using the North Star, and how to find it. Seokjin was really interested in everything Jungkook had told him. He never interrupted him, only giving him the hot chocolate he’d made and feeding him a few strawberries every now and then. He seemed a little more interested in Jungkook rather than the sky at times, but Jungkook never pointed that out. It didn’t matter much, he was under the starry sky he’d dreamed about seeing his whole life, sitting with the most beautiful, thoughtful, amazing man he’d ever met. 

It was no secret that his little crush on Seokjin had multiple in size. It had gotten so much bigger than it was the time he’d told him he liked him. He wasn’t entirely sure about it at that time, though. But he was sure, now. He was so sure that he liked Seokjin, but he didn’t know how to tell him. He recalled the time he’d confessed, and how Seokjin never really told him he liked him as well, but then he’d slept with him. He made effort to be with him, to prepare this surprise for him. He made effort to show up to almost all of Jungkook’s show casings. He even knew that Seokjin kept all the notes Jungkook had written him. His actions made his feelings clear, but Jungkook couldn’t make assumptions off of actions alone. The last time that happened, the guy was just using Jungkook. He was nice to him, hung out with him often, and made sure that Jungkook fell for him, just to use him for sex and then leave him hanging the very next day. When Jungkook finally confronted him about it, the guy simply laughed and told him he could just block him and never talk to him again if that was what he wanted. He didn’t even feel bad about it. So Jungkook was rightfully anxious. He knew Namjoon wouldn’t introduce him to someone that would do that to him, or to anyone else. Namjoon would never befriend someone that horrible, so he had hope, but he couldn’t have that happen to him again. 

He looked over at Seokjin, who was drinking beer despite the cold weather. His cheeks were flushed, Jungkook could tell despite how dark it was. He returned Jungkook’s gaze and smiled at him fondly. Jungkook wanted to ask him what was on his mind, why was he so quiet for the most part. But he didn’t. He just enjoyed his company. They stayed there looking at each other and smiling until Seokjin scooted closer to Jungkook, they weren’t lying down anymore. He took Jungkook’s hand in his once again and stared at it for a while before speaking. “What’s on your mind?”

“You”, Jungkook said bluntly.

“That funny, wanna know what’s on my mind?”, Seokjin asked and Jungkook nodded. “You.”

“What are you thinking about?”, Jungkook pressed. He knew that Seokjin had something on his mind. It was obvious, mostly because Seokjin was never quiet. 

“Hmm.. not gonna tell you”, Seokjin teased. 

“Hyung! You can’t do that again”, Jungkook whined. “Come on!” 

“Yes I can”, Seokjin raised his eyebrow.

“Seokjin”, Jungkook’s tone was serious. He knew that the lack of honorifics would get his Hyung’s attention. “Tell me.”

“You’re a little brat, you know?”, Seokjin rolled his eyes, but Jungkook didn’t mind. “And if you mention anything about me being a brat, I’m leaving you here in the middle of nowhere and going home, got it?”

Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh. He was going to rub it in his face that he was the brat, but decided to shut up instead. “Fine, just tell me.”

Seokjin sat up properly and turned to face Jungkook. He sighed and pushed his hair back, even though it wasn’t touching his face in the first place. He must have been nervous, but Jungkook couldn’t tell why. He started playing with his fingers, obviously trying to find a way to start. Jungkook gave him an encouraging smile but didn’t push him to talk any further. He waited patiently for his Hyung to talk. 

“Okay, so”, Seokjin finally started. “I want to tell you something, but you don’t have to say anything back. I don’t want you to feel pressured to respond, or to do anything about it, okay? I just need to get it off my chest, and then whatever you chose to do about it, I’ll respect it.”

“Hyung, you’re making me nervous”, Jungkook chuckled to hide his anxiety. Seokjin was barely making sense. “Just tell me.”

“Fine, but promise to not do anything you don’t want to.”

“Just tell me!”, Jungkook insisted. 

“Promise!”, Seokjin insisted, too. 

“I promise. It’s okay Hyung. It’s fine, don’t worry, okay?”

“Okay. Okay”, Seokjin scooted even closer to Jungkook, and reached out to hold his hand, but hesitated at the last second. Jungkook took his hands anyway. “Jungkook-ah. Remember when you told me that… you liked me?”

Jungkook nodded in response, too embarrassed to say anything about it. “I didn’t respond that night, because you were drunk, and I… I didn’t think you meant it.”

“But Hyung-“, Jungkook was cut off before he could defend himself. 

“Wait, please?”, Seokjin was pleading now, unable to hide his nerves anymore. Jungkook simply nodded and tightened his hold on his hands. “Anyway, I was also not entirely sure about it, and I didn’t want to scare you off. I didn’t want to do or say anything that might scare you away. But now… now I’m sure of my feelings, but I’m still scared to lose you because of that. You’re a good guy, and we have so much fun together, I don’t want that to change. I like you, Jungkook. Like, like you, and I want you to know that. You don’t have to do anything about it, you’re not obligated to-“

Jungkook couldn’t hear his Hyung’s rambling anymore, he just held his face and kissed him. He kissed his lips gently, then moved to kiss his cheeks, and all over his face. He couldn’t help it, Seokjin was too cute. 

“Jungkook-“ Seokjin tried to protest, but Jungkook cut him off with another peck on the lips. 

“Seokjin. I like you”, Jungkook just laughed. “I like you a lot. I just never said anything after that day because I wasn’t sure you wanted to, uh, have it be something official, I guess?”

“But I do!”, Seokjin was very enthusiastic, he almost jumped up from his seat. Jungkook was glad to see him finally calm down. “I mean, if you want to?”

“Yes, I want to. Why do you think I made you breakfast every day, huh?”, Jungkook teased. “God, I’ve been, like, obsessing over you since the first day of the semester.” 

Seokjin laughed, obviously taking pride in the fact that Jungkook admitted that. “I should have done this sooner, huh?”, Seokjin asked after a while. 

“Yeah, I wasn’t trying to hide my feelings or anything, I thought I was very obvious, but I guess some people are just oblivious.”

“Oh, shut up”, Seokjin rolled his eyes. 

“Make me”, Jungkook challenged, his eyebrow raised. 

Seokjin did make him shut up. He scooted closer, basically straddling his lap, and kissed him passionately, and Jungkook enjoyed every second of it. His hands traveled all around his back, caressing every inch of it. It was intimate, but Jungkook needed more. He kissed his way down to Seokjin’s jaw and pulled his turtleneck down to plant wet kisses on his neck. He kissed harder, making sure to suck on it to leave a mark. Jungkook was usually possessive, so the idea of marking Seokjin for other people to know he was with someone pleased him. He heard Seokjin’s soft moans leaving his lips with every lick, every kiss. He felt his hands push away Jungkook’s beanie and tug at his hair and it sent shivers down his spine. He slid his own hands under Seokjin’s sweater, needing to touch his warm skin. He went back to kissing his lips and felt Seokjin grow bigger against his own crotch. That made him twitch. He needed to have Seokjin now, but it was too cold. 

“Hyung”, he pulled away long enough to call for him but kissed him again. He didn’t want to leave his lips yet. He felt Seokjin hum against his tongue. “The car.”

“What about it?”, Seokjin asked between kisses. 

“Let’s go there”, Jungkook told him, and Seokjin froze. Jungkook just grabbed one of the pillows from the ground and gently pushed Seokjin off of his lap, holding his hand to pull him up after standing. “Unlock the car, Hyung.”

Seokjin did what he was told, and Jungkook went to work. He opened the backseat of the car and folded the seats down, just as he expected, there was enough space. The back seat opened to the trunk and when it was folded, it could easily fit both of them. He climbed inside and set the pillow, and thankfully, Seokjin got the hint, he got inside immediately and closed the door behind him. He lay Seokjin down, making sure to place his head on the pillow he brought, and quickly got on top of him, kissing him with urgency. He took his own coat off before taking his Hyung’s coat off, too, and went back to kissing. He felt himself grow bigger and bigger. He couldn’t take it anymore. He needed Seokjin. 

“Did you have to wear so many layers?”, he groaned as he took Seokjin’s sweater off, leaving him in the tight turtleneck that hugged his figure perfectly. 

“Sorry”, Seokjin said, but Jungkook knew he wasn’t sorry at all, his smirk told him otherwise. 

He didn’t care, though. He had Seokjin to himself. That’s all that mattered.