Work Text:
Yoongi sighs in frustration and pushes away from his desk, glaring at the computer screen in front of him. It doesn’t help.
He collapses back into his chair with a sigh, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Music continues to play through his headphones and he listens, better able to concentrate now that he’s not trying to decipher the squiggly lines on his computer screen.
There , he thinks and quickly pauses the song, suddenly sure of where the change needs to be made. He opens his eyes and leans forward only to immediately squint to understand what he’s doing. He replays the last few seconds again and feels some satisfaction wash away the frustration before leaning back once again and finally removing his headphones, stretching his arms over his head.
“Did you know that you were growling at the screen?”
Yoongi jumps and nearly falls out of his chair in his haste to turn around and face Jungkook, who is lounging across his sofa. Jungkook just snorts in amusement.
“Well, did you?” he asks again, like the brat that he is. He’s laying on his stomach, resting his cheek on his crossed arms so that he can look at Yoongi. Yoongi carefully does not think he’s cute.
Yoongi sniffs, “It needed to be put in its place.”
He’s rewarded with that bright giggle that always warms him through and he lets a small smile crack his fake serious facade.
“Okay, hyung,” Jungkook says, “whatever you say.”
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you have dance practice with Hoseok and Jimin?”
This has Jungkook letting out a groan and burying his face in his arms. Yoongi would be concerned but that is almost to be expected when third wheeling those two.
He waits patiently until Jungkook sits up and looks at him again and then just raises an eyebrow.
“We finished going over the choreography but then they started flirting ,” he pouts. “Jimin-hyung didn’t even buy me snacks because they were being so gross.”
This, Yoongi admits, is a serious offense in the world of Bangtan Studios. They’re still a small enough company that all of the departments share a maknae which means that Jungkook is very much spoiled as much as they can manage.
“Do I need to call our lawyer and press charges?” he drawls, mostly to see the way that it makes Jungkook smile again.
It’s the smile he uses when he thinks he’s being sly, with one corner of his mouth pulled up just a little more than the other and the corners of his eyes barely crinkling.
“Or you could take me out for lamb skewers…”
Jungkook leaves the suggestion hanging in the air between them, as if giving it a moment to breathe, and Yoongi folds immediately. He always does.
“Alright, brat, let’s get some lamb skewers,” he says, reaching for his phone and wallet on the desk next to him. He glares briefly at his screen as he makes sure to manually save the song, not willing to trust auto save after being burned more than once (okay, so it might have been more Namjoon’s fault than the computer’s but Yoongi isn’t willing to trust it).
Jungkook has jumped to his feet in the brief time Yoongi was looking away, rocking up onto the balls of his feet as he waits. He rushes to the door to change out his slides for the giant boots that he always seems to be wearing while Yoongi shuffles after him at his own pace.
It takes him longer to put his own shoes on, despite the fact that they are much simpler than what Jungkook wears but that’s mostly because Yoongi is stiffer than he thought he would be after spending all day hunched over his desk. TXT has their first comeback soon and all of them are working hard to make it the best possible.
Frankly, they need it to go well if there’s going to be another comeback after this one. BTS is a small, independent label and their budget is stretched thin as it is.
But Yoongi isn’t thinking about the budget as Jungkook skips down the hall in front of him, singing under his breath about lamb skewers.
They emerge into the sunshine and Yoongi has to pause for a moment as his eyes adjust to the brightness after an entire day spent in the dark of the studio.
Jungkook waits for him as patiently as he can manage.
“You should really get glasses,” he says, “your old man eyes are going downhill fast” and then he dances out of reach before Yoongi can swat him for that.
But he catches Yoongi’s hand and threads their fingers together as he pulls him in the direction of their favorite hole in the wall. “Come on, hyung, baby is hungry.”
And who is Yoongi to deny him?
“Who said you were baby, huh?” he retorts but he walks beside Jungkook all the same.
Jungkook just grins, his nose crinkling in the way that gives Yoongi heart palpitations.
They reach the restaurant and Yoongi opens the door with his free hand and is left almost bereft when Jungkook drops his hand and turns away suddenly.
“Grab a table, hyung,” he says in a rush as he starts to cross the street. “Just remembered I need to grab something, be there in a minute. You know what I like!”
And then he’s gone, heading to the shop across the street. Yoongi tries not to grumble as he enters the restaurant, heading to the table that they always sit at with a nod in greeting to the ahjumma who runs the place.
She returns the nod, continuing to clean up the few empty tables while Yoongi gets situated.
“Is the other one not coming?” she calls and Yoongi fights down a blush.
“He’ll be just a minute.”
She nods and hefts the tub of dishes as she heads towards the kitchen. “The same as usual, then?”
Yoongi nods, “please, Ahjumma.”
She’s just disappeared when Jungkook comes in, that same think-I’m-being-sly grin on his face. Yoongi just raises his eyebrow as the younger man sits down across from him.
“I got you a present,” he declares and shoves a pair of blocky black glasses across the table at him. “So you can actually see what you’re doing,” he snickers.
Yoongi gives him his best unimpressed face but takes the glasses anyway. He tucks them into his hoodie’s pocket.
“I will wear them and think of you,” he retorts just so he can see the way that the tips of Jungkook’s ears turn red. Not nearly the way Seokjin’s ears do but he’s spent enough time studying Jungkook’s ears to know they’re not usually that dark. “Now tell me what Hoseok and Jimin have done this time.”
That gets a groan out of Jungkook and he flops dramatically onto the table. Yoongi gives a few perfunctory pats on his head and very deliberately does not think about how soft his hair is now that he’s growing it out.
“Did you know that they have a full on seduction of Jin-hyung planned out? Like wine and dine and get him in bed seduction?”
Yoongi did know this and he also does his best to block that knowledge out but he’s trying to be supportive. Jungkook has to live through the planning of the seduction, Yoongi just has to deal with the person unaware that he’s being seduced. He has some fun adding little suggestions knowing that Seokjin will absolutely freak out trying to understand the hidden message when the message is right out there in the open in bold font.
“How many roses are they planning to get? Hyung deserves a lot.”
Jungkook’s eyes go very wide as he looks up, “how did you know they were getting roses this time?”
“Because no one in this damn company can keep a secret. Also, Jimin told Taehyung who had to tell Namjoon because apparently telling your boyfriend doesn’t count when you’re not supposed to tell anyone.”
That gets a laugh out of Jungkook. “Did Namjoon tell Jin-hyung too?”
“I have been enlisted to make sure that he does not.” Yoongi is very careful to make sure he doesn’t admit that Taehyung has bribed him to do so with pictures of Jungkook falling asleep in random places. Those are in a password protected folder safe from prying eyes.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t recognize the glint in Jungkook’s eyes.
“How?” Oh thank god, Yoongi is safe. The possibility of messing with his hyungs is always too much of a temptation for Jungkook.
Still, Yoongi isn’t going to give away all of his secrets.
He smirks and mimes zipping his lips.
Jungkook gives him puppy dog eyes.
“I sent him a bunch of new songs for him to listen to and give me his opinion.”
So maybe he is.
“But that’s only going to distract him for so long! There are still two more days until their date.”
Yoongi shrugs. The deal was only for today. Thursday and Friday are Taehyung’s problem and he tells Jungkook that.
Luckily, that’s when the ahjumma brings out their food and nothing distracts Jungkook faster than good food.
Conversation turns to the choreography that Jungkook was working on for TXT’s finished title track and from there to other topics. Technically, only Hoseok and Jimin are choreographers and Jungkook is the visual director but he’s also their golden maknae and has his fingers in all the different departments. Yoongi sometimes can’t believe that Namjoon managed to convince him to work for them rather than an established label.
It makes Yoongi bristle whenever Jungkook mentions off-handedly that another company has reached out to him. It’s happened more and more often now that Jungkook’s name is getting out there and Yoongi hates it.
They head back to the office and Yoongi’s studio after their bellies are pleasantly full, silence settling over them comfortably in the way that always makes Yoongi feel warm.
Once back in the studio Yoongi sits in his chair and can’t resist another glare at his computer, which just sits there innocently as he wakes it up.
Jungkook giggles from right next to him and Yoongi can’t help the squawk of surprise he lets out when Jungkook’s hand dives into his hoodie pocket to pull out the glasses that he’d already forgotten about.
Yoongi watches as Jungkook unfolds them, that impish grin on his face. “Don’t forget your glasses, hyung,” he sing-songs and Yoongi allows him to put the frames on his face with only perfunctory protest.
He tries his best to arrange his face into something vaguely unhappy, especially as he turns to look at the computer and notices that the screen is actually easier to read. He turns his head back to look at Jungkook, who is staring at him with very wide eyes, hands still very close to Yoongi’s face.
“Why does that help?” Yoongi whines as Jungkook’s brain reboots and he yanks his hands back to bury them in his own hoodie pockets.
“I gotta go,” Jungkook blurts out, stumbling towards the door.
That gets a real frown out of Yoongi. “Do you have another meeting? I thought you were done for the day.”
“Uh, yeah, just remembered,” he says with his hand already on the door handle, “Taehyungie-hyung wanted my help with choosing some outfits for the photoshoot next week. Sorry, Hyung, see you later.”
His words are tripping over themselves as he rushes out, the door shutting behind him with a loud click.
Yoongi takes a moment to process that final interaction and then reaches up to pull the glasses off. He studies them for a moment before putting them back on, plans falling into place.
Jungkook peers around the corner, quickly pulling back as he sees a flash of black. He leans against the wall and closes his eyes, his hand reaching up to cover his pounding heart.
He’s well aware that he is a grown man in his twenties with an actual professional job and should not be peeking around corners, trying to avoid people. Well, person.
Doesn’t mean that he’s going to stop.
It’s been a very long week and Jungkook does not have much strength left in him. If Jungkook were to weigh the pros and cons of his current behavior he might not like the result so there will be no weighing and no thinking. He will simply act.
“What are you doing?”
Jungkook squeaks as he opens his eyes to see Taehyung standing next to him, looking him up and down. Jungkook quickly shushes him without moving away from the wall.
“Did someone dare you to try and get through the halls without being seen again?” Taehyung asks in a very loud whisper. “Because I thought Namjoon-hyung banned those dares after Seokjin-hyung nearly fell down the stairs.”
That gets Jungkook to forget all about his attempts at stealth.
“He didn’t almost fall down the stairs! It was fine. No one got hurt,” he protests. “It wasn’t our fault that the door locked automatically behind us!”
Taehyung gives him a very unimpressed look.
“What do you even want?”
That was very much not a whine. Jungkook does not whine. Even when his hyungs are getting in the way.
Taehyung sighs. “So many things, young one. But mostly to watch Joon-hyung lift weights. It’s arm day.”
Okay, Jungkook acknowledges, that is a very fair want. He nods in agreement. He too wishes to watch Namjoon lift weights.
“So why don’t you go bother him then?”
This conversation is already going on too long for his liking. If he stays in the hall for too much longer there is much too high a likelihood that more people would find him. So he reaches out and grabs Taehyung’s hand, dragging him in the direction of the practice room that he had so recently vacated.
“I can’t see him if you’re taking me somewhere else.”
A valid point that Jungkook wants nothing to do with and is therefore not going to acknowledge. He simply continues to drag his hyung into the practice room before letting go of him.
He flops onto the floor, staring up at Taehyung as pathetically as he possibly can in the hope that it will stir some pity in the older man so he would fix all of Jungkook’s problems like a good hyung is supposed to.
“Yoongi-hyung is trying to kill me,” he says. “He’s doing this on purpose.”
Taehyung nods sagely and then drops to the floor to sit next to Jungkook so that he can pet his hair. Which means that he is now definitely allowed to stay.
“The glasses are a bit much. If I wasn’t already in a loving and committed relationship I would consider it.”
Jungkook lets out a tortured groan. “I did this to myself! I gave him the glasses!”
They’re not even the same pair that Jungkook had given him too! The ones he’d found for cheap had just had big, black, plastic frames which had looked good, but these new ones are on a whole new level. The ones he’s been wearing all week only have black at the top and are rounder, more hot professor than cool producer, even if Yoongi is very much still a cool producer.
Taehyung’s hands freeze in his hair, which is just adding insult to injury. “But Yoongi-hyung wears glasses?”
Neither of them move or say anything for a very long moment.
“What did you just say?” Jungkook breathes. “He wears what?”
“Glasses. Hyung has bad eyesight and wears glasses. He just prefers his contacts because the frames can get uncomfortable with his headphones.”
He sits up and grabs Taehyung’s shirt in his fists, pulling him close so that he can look him in the eye.
“You’re telling me that Min Yoongi has always worn glasses. That he has chosen this week, the week I gave him a pair of reading glasses as a joke , to start wearing them?”
“Yes?”
Jungkook lets out another strangled scream but lets Taehyung go so he can flop on the floor once again.
“I’m dead. I won’t survive another day of this. It’s too much.”
“Uh, is this a bad time?” comes from the door and they both turn in unison to see Yeonjun standing in the doorway. “I was supposed to have dance practice but I can come back later…”
Jungkook scrambles to his feet. “No, no, it’s fine! Just a small existential crisis. The room is yours.”
He makes his excuses, assuring Yeonjun that it’s really fine and rushes out, leaving Taehyung to do whatever it is that Taehyung does.
There are too many questions swirling around in his brain right now for him to be able to sort this out. He needs a Yoongi Expert to explain this recent behavior and Seokjin should still be in his office.
Yoongi raises his eyebrow, staring down Seokjin as the older man leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers together in the way that he thinks makes him look intimidating. It might, if Yoongi couldn’t also see the darkening of his ears as he tries to maintain eye contact.
“What? What do you want from me?!” Seokjin finally breaks, “I told him nothing! I’m not getting involved in this weird little thing you two have going on!”
Yoongi allows his eyebrow to lower and gives Seokjin as flat a look as he can manage.
“It is weird!”
Privately, Yoongi might be willing to admit that whatever Jungkook has been doing lately in response to Yoongi’s own actions was a little bit weird. Endearing, yes, but also weird. But he would never admit that to one Kim Seokjin in particular.
Seokjin slams his hands down on his desk and this time leans forward, trying to look Yoongi in the eye while Yoongi just continues to regard him calmly.
“Jeon Jungkook nearly had a full on breakdown in my office over you wearing glasses. What do you expect me to do?”
It really is the most irritating thing in the world when Kim Seokjin makes good points.
Yoongi clears his throat, finally looking away to study the wall of figurines, carefully displayed in such a way that Yoongi always feels watched in this room.
“Fine, fine, Yoongichi. All I told him was that you got a new prescription recently! You can’t blame me for that. You never gave me a script.”
“And he just accepted that? You said, oh, Yoongi got a new prescription so he’s wearing glasses and Jungkookie just let it go?”
Seokjin shrugs in response. “He left me alone about it. Not my problem anymore.”
Yoongi narrows his eyes. This conversation is going differently than he had pictured. Seokjin didn’t normally keep his nose out of other people’s business. Especially when it’s Jungkook’s business.
Since the day the youngest employee had been hired, Seokjin had taken him under his wing. He had made sure that he got the training and support he needed to thrive at Bangtan and all of them were incredibly grateful that Seokjin had done so. But it does tend to mean that what is Jungkook’s business is also Seokjin’s business and what’s Seokjin’s business is Jungkook’s business.
Which means that the other man is definitely hiding something.
“Hyung. What does he have on you?”
Seokjin squawks, flapping his hands around and spewing words so quickly that Yoongi doesn’t even try to pay attention to what he’s saying, choosing instead to just wait him out. It’s the only strategy Yoongi’s ever found successful in these types of situations.
Eventually, Kim Seokjin will always tire out.
The sound of the door opening behind him is quick to put an end to that plan though as Seokjin cuts off his words the same way a pair of scissors might snip through a thread. He quickly composes himself, but it does nothing to fool Yoongi or Hoseok, who closes the door behind himself as he steps into the room.
Hoseok crosses the room quickly, neatly stepping around the desk to stand next to Seokjin and card his fingers through his hair. “What’s wrong, hyung? Did Yoongi-hyung upset you?”
A protest is bitten back at the way Seokjin relaxes into Hoseok’s touch and the warning look that Hoseok shoots him when he’s sure that Seokjin can’t see his face.
“It’s nothing, Hoseok-ah. Just Yoongi and Jungkook.”
That gets a laugh out of Hoseok, which normally would allow Yoongi to forgive anything said at his expense but Seokjin just threw him under the proverbial bus. Not something to be taken lying down.
Yoongi can already see the beginnings of a sly look on Hoseok’s face as he stands. Just for that, Yoongi makes sure to shove his chair back just far enough that Seokjin will have to move it back or it will annoy Hoseok.
It’s a fine line but one that he has put considerable time and effort into finding.
“If you two need some time to flirt, I’ll just be on my way,” he drawls, watching as the red comes flooding back to Seokjin’s ears and Hoseok narrows his eyes in warning but doesn’t remove his hand from Seokjin’s hair. “Some of us have work we need to do.”
He heads towards the door, pausing to look over his shoulder. “I’ll send you the link to where I bought my new glasses, hyung. Maybe Hoseokie can help you pick out a new pair.”
Yoongi pauses just long enough to see the meaning behind his words hit as Seokjin’s eyes widen and a delicate blush begins to spread across Hoseok’s face. Then he walks out, closing the door behind him with a solid thunk.
The feeling of victory doesn’t even last a full three seconds because he then turns the corner and crashes straight into a very solid body and bounces off an impressively muscular chest.
“Hyung!” comes the distressed cry of Jungkook’s voice right in his ear and Yoongi really wants to die for a moment as Jungkook’s hands grip his forearms, holding him in place as he regains his balance. “Oh, um, uh…”
The stuttering is what gets his brain back online instead of continually replaying the feeling of all those muscles and he looks up from Jungkook’s chest to meet his eyes, which might be the widest that Yoongi has ever seen them.
“Just how much meat have we been feeding you?”
Yoongi refuses to react to the fact that those words just came out of his mouth. He is a stone. Besides, there are much worse things that could have popped out.
At the very least it’s enough for Jungkook to let go of him and take a step back.
“Hyung!” he says again, although this time it’s with a distinct air of offended dongsaeng. “I eat things besides meat!”
Some incredibly inappropriate imagery floats through his mind. Imagery that Yoongi knows will be haunting him when he tries to sleep tonight. He desperately wishes that he could shake his head to clear those thoughts out now. Instead, he keeps his face carefully blank.
“Ramyun isn’t going to help you at the gym, Jungkookie, I thought you knew that.”
A laugh cuts in, alerting Yoongi to the fact that it is not just the two of them in the hallway. He shifts his gaze from Jungkook’s (adorably) offended face to see Park Jimin giggling in a way that triggers Yoongi’s fight instinct.
“Yah, Park Jimin, what have you been teaching this kid?” he demands. He has no clue exactly what he’s demanding, but the words are coming out of his mouth and he can’t stop them.
Jimin’s giggling cuts off abruptly, his face twisting in annoyance. “Jungkookie isn’t one of the trainees,” he argues, “he doesn’t need to learn anything from me! He’ll have to go to one of those big companies that are always chasing after him if he wants to be a trainee.”
Yoongi rolls his eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up into a fond smile that he hopes looks more like a smirk even while his stomach turns over at the mere mention of Jungkook leaving.
“Are you telling me that you’re revoking all of your duties as a hyung? Orphaning poor Jungkook?”
Offended gasps sound from both of them and Jimin latches on to Jungkook as if he’s his backpack. He rests his chin on Jungkook’s shoulder to glare at Yoongi while his arms are wrapped around Jungkook’s waist, highlighting just how tiny it is with his oversized shirt cinched in. Jungkook pouts, resting his arms over Jimin’s as if to keep him from letting go.
Yoongi refuses to take back his words, no matter how cute they are. He has a reputation to uphold with respect to Park Jimin.
He raises an eyebrow, staring them down.
It’s Jungkook who breaks down first, which is, frankly, to be expected.
“Jimin-hyung teaches me lots!” he defends, “like yesterday he taught me how to do that flip he showed us last week.”
Yoongi closes his eyes at that mental image. He really did not need this so close on the heels of the last one. Truly, his every waking and sleeping moment is going to be haunted for the rest of the week.
He opens his eyes to see Jimin nodding in agreement and just wants to close them again. He knows that look. Yoongi loves his dongsaengs but sometimes he really wishes he didn’t have to see them or hear them or be anywhere within a five mile radius of them.
Jimin opens his mouth and Yoongi knows he’s going to regret whatever interaction is about to happen.
“We’re going to the club tonight after work! You should come too, Hyung. Everyone else will be there too.”
Yoongi was right.
The rejection of the offer is on the tip of his tongue but then he makes the fatal mistake of looking Jungkook in the face. Jungkook with the big, pleading eyes and the lower lip pushed out in a very appealing pout.
“Fine,” he groans and the two of them finally let go of each other to cheer. “Text me the details, I’ve got to get some work done.”
He turns on his heel and swiftly exits, fleeing to the relative safety of his studio.
There are few things in life that Jungkook truly regrets but he’s beginning to fear that the decision to invite Yoongi clubbing is going to be one of them.
It had started so innocently this morning. Just casually making plans with Jimin before they decided they should invite all of the hyungs. They’ve all been working so hard, they deserve a night out to relax and let loose.
And it probably would have been fine if he’d only remembered that all of the hyungs have changes of clothes at the office for last minute occasions. Yoongi had looked good in his jeans and sweater this morning with his new glasses completing the look.
Now, now he looks lethal.
From the way Yoongi isn’t squinting to see anything Jungkook is guessing that he had his contacts on him and after more than a week of only glasses, seeing him without is like a punch in the stomach. Not to mention he thinks that Taehyung got ahold of him because there’s some subtle eye makeup there. A natural look, nothing noticeable unless you know what Yoongi looks like without it.
Jungkook is well aware of how Yoongi looks in many states.
The jeans are still there but his sweater had been replaced with a button down with the top few buttons left open, revealing a tantalizing amount of pale skin. Yoongi’s long fingers cradle the glass of whiskey and as his head tilts to take a sip it exposes the clean lines of his throat.
Jungkook really hopes that no one has noticed how much he’s sweating or that if they have, they blame it on the temperature in the club.
“Come dance with us,” Hoseok shouts in his ear, jolting him out of his thoughts and making him tear his gaze away from Yoongi to look at Hoseok, standing with both Jimin and Taehyung. He jerks his head towards the dance floor and Jungkook nods, perking up.
He throws back the rest of his drink and leaves his glass on their table before following the others out into the chaos of the club, away from their quiet little booth in the back corner.
Not that anything in the club is really quiet with the music blasting, but it was quieter there at least. Enough for Yoongi, Namjoon, and Seokjin to be holding a conversation as the four of them left.
They push their way onto the dance floor and Jungkook loses himself in the feel of the music, letting the beat dictate the way his body moves.
He dances with Hoseok first, the two of them taking turns freestyling while Jimin and Taehyung dance together in a manner that no people in happily committed relationships with other people should really be dancing together, especially not when one of their partners is literally right next to them.
But it’s Jimin and Taehyung so Jungkook and Hoseok don’t pay it any mind.
After a few songs though they merge back into a group, trading partners and just enjoying the music. All of them get offers, both male and female, but they turn them down. Tonight is a night just for them.
Jungkook has no idea how long it’s been since they began dancing when he mimes taking a drink and then stumbles his way off the dance floor, heading back to their booth. His throat is dry and his shirt is sticking to him but his head is just a happy buzz. The kind that comes from having fun with your friends without any worries.
The three nondancers are still locked in conversation when he drops back into the booth next to Yoongi but they all look up with fond smiles.
He grins back, taking a deep breath and opening his mouth to say he’s going to the bar do they want anything, when Yoongi grabs a pitcher of water that had not been there before he went to go dance. Yoongi pours a glass and then hands it over without a word.
Jungkook grins and gulps down the whole glass in one go.
“Are you trying to drink all the water before the others get back?” Seokjin demands as Yoongi fills Jungkook’s glass again and he empties it just as quickly. “We can get more, you know. Yoongi didn’t get that just for you.”
Warmth fills Jungkook and he shoots Yoongi a shy smile, already accepting a third glass.
“Dancing is thirsty work, Hyung,” he replies, unwilling to let Seokjin have the last word. “I’m tired, I need to rest.”
It’s not a complete lie either. He is tired but that’s more because he’d gotten up early to get in a few hours in the studio with Jimin and Hoseok before starting his other work today. If he had to, he could still dance for hours.
Namjoon is the one that puts the argument to rest by shaking his head at the both of them and drawing Seokjin and Yoongi back into the conversation. Jungkook leans back against the booth, closing his eyes as he lets the sound of their voices mix with the sounds of the club and wash over him.
A hand on his shoulder shakes him awake however much later and Jungkook is surprised to find that his head is now resting on Yoongi’s shoulder.
He sits up, too groggy to really react to that but he knows he’ll freak out over it later if he remembers it. The world flashes around him until he’s collapsing face first onto his bed in the little studio apartment he rents close enough to the office that he can walk when the weather is nice. His last thought is Yoongi smiling at him, wishing him good night.
If there’s one thing that Yoongi prides himself on it’s his patience. Once, not too many years ago, he’d been a hot headed kid but even then he’d understood how to play the long game. He’s always been content to sit back and watch things fall into place, to let others get their hands dirty first.
It’s not that he’s not willing to get in there and do the work, it’s just that he understands that waiting it out will most often lead to the outcome he wants.
Jungkook is really, truly beginning to stretch the limits of his patience.
At first, when he’d just been an intern who’d followed Namjoon in off the street, Yoongi had thought he was cute and he’d taken him under his wing the way that he had with Jimin and Taehyung. In the years since he’s considered himself privileged to witness Jungkook maturing and blooming into the wonderful person he is today but it’s also unlocked more than a few feelings.
Feelings that are considered inappropriate in the workplace.
If there’s one thing that Yoongi never wants to do it’s to put someone in a place where they feel they can’t say no to him and it’s completely unacceptable to think of him doing that to Jungkook in particular.
So he’s playing the long game.
Jungkook’s no longer an intern and while Yoongi might be technically one of the owners of Bangtan Studios, he is in no way Jungkook’s boss. They’re on even footing at this point. Yoongi is the head producer and Jungkook is the visual director.
Still, still, still. He’s waiting. (Sometimes he even thinks about maybe if Jungkook does ever pursue one of his many other offers then Yoongi could actually make a move but he never allows himself to get too far down that path.)
Looking at the glasses that Jungkook is wearing, ones that look suspiciously similar to the frames Yoongi had picked out only a few weeks ago and has been wearing religiously ever since, his patience is suddenly in jeopardy.
He can feel his jaw drop open as he takes Jungkook sitting at the table in the shared breakroom with Namjoon, his hair fluffy and free of product and a brand new pair of glasses perched on his nose. The whole world dissolves into white noise for a moment while Yoongi reboots.
“Hyung!” Namjoon calls out and waves him over. Yoongi’s grateful for the distraction so that he can turn his gaze to Namjoon when Jungkook grins at him, lifting his mug with both of his hands covered by the sleeves of his flannel to hide that grin. “We were just going over some of the concepts that Jungkook came up with for the album. Come give us your opinion too.”
Yoongi meanders over and drops into the one remaining chair at the round table, glad that it’s big enough that he’s not directly next to Jungkook.
“Isn’t this something you should be discussing with Taehyung, not me?”
As their head stylist Taehyung always has plenty to say when it comes time to decide on concepts. Yoongi honestly has no idea how he has so many opinions about it but he’s happy to listen to them.
Plus, Namjoon smiles and ducks his head at the mention of his boyfriend. His dimples are peaking out and as always Yoongi resists the urge to poke them as he exchanges a fond look with Jungkook. The couple had had a whirlwind courtship when Taehyung had first joined and set his eyes on Namjoon and pursued him until he won him over.
That in and of itself was a feat considering Namjoon has even more hang ups about power dynamics in the workplace than Yoongi does.
He wishes that Taehyung would give Jungkook lessons on how he managed it.
“I’ve got a meeting with him later this morning,” Jungkook volunteers, still clutching his mug. “We’ll narrow it down and then present the best of the ideas at the big meeting tomorrow but Namjoon-hyung asked about it and it never hurts to get some more input early on.”
Yoongi hums in agreement, reaching up to sweep his hair out of his eyes. He’s been considering getting it cut but seeing the way Jungkook’s eyes track the movement of his hand he’s willing to put it off a bit longer. Maybe just a trim.
“I look forward to seeing the options tomorrow then. The two of you always have such creative ideas, I wouldn’t want to limit it. I can’t wait to see where you take the ideas from the songs.”
It’s Jungkook’s turn to grin and duck his head. “The music you make always inspires us, Hyung.”
Yoongi waves the compliment off before he can visibly react to the warmth that spreads through him.
They go back and forth trading compliments before Taehyung comes in, complaining that Jungkook’s late but just dropping into Namjoon’s lap instead of pulling him away. It’s another half an hour before they all go their separate ways and Yoongi resolutely does not watch Jungkook walk away.
The practice floor is cool and feels nice on his overheated body as he lays there, panting after a long hour working with Jimin and Hoseok. Jungkook knows that he doesn’t have to learn the choreography himself but there’s something about understanding how each move feels rather than how it looks that helps him with his own job.
Plus, he really likes hanging out with Jimin and Hoseok.
“You know, I think Seokjin-hyung would fall to his knees if you two actually did the chorus section in front of him. It might be the sexiest choreo you’ve come up with yet,” he says, trying to will himself to get up and go get some water.
He doesn’t move.
Hoseok, his eternal savior, sees where he’s looking and sends a bottle skidding in his direction. Jungkook catches it and downs half of it in one go. He’s always so thirsty after dancing.
On the floor next to him Jimin gestures for his own bottle and this one Hoseok actually gets up to hand deliver, the boyfriend favoritism once again coming into play.
“Ah, but this choreo isn’t meant for seduction,” Hoseok says as he settles down on the floor himself. “At least, not the kind of seduction that Hyung deserves.”
Jungkook grins to himself. “And what kind of seduction does he deserve? One in which you spell out your intentions in great detail and length so it gets through his thick skull?”
The both of them let out sounds of protest, having been teased enough for their last attempt in which Seokjin had left the restaurant at the end of their date with a bouquet of roses under the impression they’d taken him out as friends.
It’s getting to the point where Jungkook thinks that Seokjin is purposely misinterpreting their actions. In fact, he’s almost certain that he is but Jungkook isn’t going to be the one to tell Jimin and Hoseok that. They can figure out that little tidbit on their own.
He’s also not going to ask Seokjin about it. They have a very delicate relationship that involves not talking about feelings. It works well for them.
Jimin sighs. “This dance is about drawing someone in, enticing them into making the first move.”
Jungkook is well aware of that. He’s already designing the photoshoot and the theme for the music video. The flashes of vulnerability mixed in with desire, an invitation to come closer.
He’s excited for the challenge of this new concept, one they haven’t done before or at least not to this extent.
“Mmm,” he agrees, taking another big gulp of water and then pauses as a thought occurs to him. “You don’t want Hyung to be the one to make the first move?”
They both shake their heads but it’s Hoseok who answers him.
“We can’t put that on him. We’re the couple, it’s already an imbalance that there’s two of us and one of him. It’s unfair if we expect him to be the one to make the first move too.”
Jungkook nods in understanding before freezing as a lightning strike of understanding hits him.
“Is Yoongi-hyung waiting for me to make a move? Does he think there’s a power imbalance?”
Both of them burst into laughter and Jungkook sits up, indignant.
“I’m serious! Is the reason Yoongi-hyung is wearing those glasses because he’s inviting me to make the next move?”
That just makes them laugh harder and Jungkook moves as if to get up and go but Jimin throws himself into his lap to stop him while they both get themselves under control.
“Jungkookie, did you think that Min Yoongi was ever going to make the first move? Min Yoongi who has about a million rants locked and loaded including more than one about the importance of power dynamics in relationships?” Hoseok demands, dropping his face into his hands. “Of course he’s not going to make the first move.”
“He’s waiting for you to break,” Jimin adds in helpfully.
Jungkook can feel his entire worldview shattering and then remaking itself when he considers this idea.
“So when he bought me coffee yesterday morning and dropped it off in my office after I saw him in the hall he said I looked tired, was that a gesture? I’m not overthinking it and reading into it?”
“The man has been waiting for you to make a move for years, of course it was meant as a gesture,” Jimin exclaims.
“But he would do that for any of you! Acts of service is his love language!”
Hoseok and Jimin share a disbelieving look and then turn back to stare at Jungkook in unison, judgment still in every line of their faces.
“It was a coffee! He gets you coffee all the time! Or he’ll order you lunch when you’re having a busy day!”
Their eyebrows continue to go up as they stare in silence. Jungkook can feel his heart pound for a completely different reason. Finally, Hoseok puts him out of his misery.
“Yeah, he’ll order a coffee or some lunch but he doesn’t hand deliver it to us, leaving his studio in the middle of the morning, right when he’s most likely not to be interrupted so he can get the most work done.”
Jungkook waits a beat and then buries his face in his hands, screaming.
Just like the feeling you get at the back of your neck when someone’s staring at you, Yoongi has the feeling that something is up.
His day had begun normally, arriving at the office with most of the lights still off, only a few people having gotten there before him. His coffee had been nice and hot and his morning productive, with a few hours alone in his studio before the first meeting.
That’s when things had started to feel a little off.
Nothing too obvious, of course. Just a few too many smiles out of Namjoon who had looked away too quickly. Seokjin hadn’t even met his eyes all morning, except when Yoongi had gotten him into an impassioned argument about budgeting.
Then he’d had lunch with Taehyung and Jimin, the two of them crashing into his studio with bags of takeout and too much noise. He’d complained and had lunch with them but their energy had been over the top, even for the two of them. They bounced off of each other but normally they still matched Yoongi’s energy and calmed to manageable levels.
Hoseok had perhaps been the worst and the most obvious, his nervous laugh as he ran off everytime Yoongi tried to engage him in conversation was a big tip-off.
All of it adds up to Yoongi sitting in his studio at the end of the day, on edge because he just knows something is going to happen. The thought that it’s something involving Jungkook passes through his mind and then his stupid brain latches onto it.
Jungkook had had that meeting yesterday with another company. Ostensibly, it had been about a collaboration but it would make sense that he would want to go after seeing the resources available to him at a bigger, more established place.
Jungkook is wonderful, talented beyond anything Yoongi has ever seen and the hardest worker that he knows. He deserves the world and he eventually had to realize that bigger and better opportunities are waiting for him outside of Bangtan, outside of the place that Yoongi had made his home.
Of course the others wouldn’t know how to tell him about it either. They all know how he feels about Jungkook, he’d never managed to be subtle about those feelings.
Jimin and Taehyung had been over the top because they’d been trying to distract him and Seokjin had had that fight because sometimes that was the only way he knew how to express his emotions, with a meaningless argument to show that he cared enough to argue.
Namjoon and Hoseok had been with Yoongi since the beginning, when Bangtan had just been an idea of Namjoon’s that he’d dragged the two of them in on. They’d always done their best to break things to Yoongi gently and probably have no idea how to tell him about this. There’s no easy way for them to say that Jungkook is leaving.
And Jungkook, Jungkook’s been avoiding him all day on purpose. Jungkook has to know about Yoongi’s feelings at this point, especially after the past few weeks. They’ve been on the very precipice, about to fall over into something but now, Yoongi doesn’t know where this leaves them. Jungkook’s always preferred to keep the people he loves close to him, he’s probably not going to initiate anything if he’s leaving. It would just create a mess.
Yoongi throws the pen he’s been twirling between his fingers onto the floor, unable to keep the frustration inside as he gets up to pace around his studio.
Everything that’s been building these past few weeks is coming to nothing and suddenly he can’t let it end like this.
If Jungkook’s leaving then Yoongi doesn’t have to worry about any weird power dynamics, about the possibility of pressuring Jungkook in a way he’ll feel trapped. Jungkook’s already leaving.
His phone dings then and his heart lurches to see a message from Jungkook, requesting him to come to the roof.
‘Be there in a minute’ he types back, stealing his resolve and hurries out of his studio before his thoughts can get the better of him. He has to move quickly, get the words out before he has the time to really think this all out.
In moments he’s standing at the door to the roof and takes a deep, steadying breath before he pushes it open.
His worldview shatters again and then puts itself back together.
It’s chilly on the roof and Jungkook kind of wishes he’d set this all up in one of the practice rooms instead but it wouldn’t be as good. The roof is so much more romantic and he knows he was right the second that the door opens and Yoongi walks through.
His face is set in a determined way but then he freezes, takes in the lights that Jungkook has put up and the blankets and pillows next to a small fire pit and the picnic he’s got laid out. Yoongi’s eyes go wide, wider than Jungkook’s ever seen them go and his mouth opens up just a little in the way that it does when he’s surprised.
The way that always makes Jungkook want to kiss him.
“Hi, Hyung,” he says, suddenly shy. Speeches had never been his thing and were never going to be his thing. That’s what he had hyungs for. He sticks his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, kinda wishing he’d dressed up a bit more but also grateful for the comfort.
Yoongi’s hand finally lets go of the door and allows it to swing close behind him as he walks over to join Jungkook under the lights.
“What’s this?” Yoongi asks, his searching look pinning Jungkook down in a way that would make him squirm if it was anyone else looking at him so intensely. But this is Yoongi so he just feels warm.
“A date,” he says, nice and clearly the way he’d practiced. “I want to take you on a date, Yoongi.”
Yoongi doesn’t say anything for a long moment but he also doesn’t look away, his eyes searching Jungkook’s for something until finally he begins to smile.
“I want to go on a date with you, Jungkook,” he says and every muscle in his body releases its tension at once in relief. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”
Jungkook grins and he wants to reach out and touch Yoongi but doesn’t know yet if he can.
“I decided on my way up here that I was going to ask you on one, you know,” he says and Jungkook’s heart leaps in his chest. “I thought this was going to be a very different conversation and whatever happened, I didn’t want to let you do without at least trying.”
“A different conversation?”
Yoongi nods. “I thought you were going to say that you were leaving Bangtan,” he says and Jungkook doesn’t even hear anything after that he’s shaking his head so hard and spouting denials as quickly as he can.
He only stops when Yoongi’s warm hands frame his face, holding his head steady. “I know now you’re not going anywhere,” he says in his deep, slow voice and Jungkook can no longer feel the chill of the air. “Do you want to show me what you’ve set up for our date?” he asks, hands sliding down Jungkook’s body until they can interlace with Jungkook’s.
It’s a high that Jungkook doesn’t know if he’ll ever manage to replicate as he takes a step back, pulling Yoongi with him.
He takes a quick peek at Yoongi’s lips and thinks a kiss might do the trick.
The room at the noraebang they rented out is huge and lively, everyone in it awash in the feeling of a successful comeback. Yoongi wraps his arm more securely around Jungkook’s waist as his boyfriend adjusts himself in his lap all the while keeping up a shouted conversation with Taehyung and Jimin.
Jimin has his hand very proprietarily placed on Seokjin’s thigh, in a place that’s perhaps just a little too high to be appropriate but none of them are going to comment on it. Not when Hoseok is on Seokjin’s other side and has his arm draped over the expanse of Seokjin’s shoulders.
Namjoon is on Hoseok’s other side, deep in conversation as usual. Every now and then he’ll glance across the table at Taehyung sitting between Jungkook and Jimin with a smile.
Yoongi’s right thigh is kind of starting to go numb from Jungkook’s weight but he’s not going to ask him to move any time soon. He catches Seokjin looking and smirks at him, using his free hand to push up his glasses.