Work Text:
Present Day
A light glow illuminated Jungkook's face, the clicking of keys nestled in plastic the only sound in the room. He refreshed the page again to be sure, and-
0 friends online.
It was 9 PM, the time they had agreed upon. Where was RM? He was almost never late, that was usually Jungkook. Having already spammed him on Discord, there was nothing else to do but boot up the game and start to play by himself. Time sped by and sure enough, RM logged on, spamming apologies.
i dont know how i overslept!
this is what happens when you stay up all night lol
ur fault for distracting me
ur fault for not being responsible
Jungkook would continue to tease his friend and pretend to be annoyed, but they only had an hour before RM classes would start. It was hard coordinating the time differences, but they made it work, even if it meant sacrificing their sleep schedule for an hour or so of time spent together.
~
2013
You have (1) new DM.
@RM343
you like Agust D too???? (screenshot2.jpg) omg i never find any guarder's that speak English
yess love Agust D he's so underrated
are you in the US? like nobody here knows what kpop is
yeah i actually am
omg! i usually have to dig through Korean subforums to meet other fans and my Korean is okay at best
(@Agu_stD) laughed at a message.
to be fair this is my first time meeting another international guarder
how'd you find Agust D
it was my cousin actually
she introduced me to kpop in general over the summer when i went to SK
DM's on Twitter from Agust D related topics eventually changed to discord when RM mentioned he was more active there. Over time, they started talking about non-Agust D things.
~
Present Day
A loud notification burst the bubble of silence in the library. Shit, he forgot to turn his phone on silent. Thankfully, he was buried deep in the back between stacks of dusty books.
@goldenJK
DID YOU SEE THE NEWS
Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, heart starting to beat faster.
no what?
CHECK TWITTER
Rushing over to open the app on his phone, Namjoon's eyes widened and he almost gasped at the first tweet on his timeline.
@allkpopp
Agust D goes live and confirms World Tour, with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
131k likes, 70k retweets, 52k replies
He quickly opened Discord again and started to spam JK.
WTF!!??!!
IS THIS REAL
I NEED TO GO
The typing bubble appeared for a second.
SAME
Namjoon happened to glance at the time on his laptop and cursed. He was late for his evening class.
I GTG NOW ILL TRY TO TALK LATER
SAME
BYE
~
Managing to make it with a minute to spare, Namjoon found his seat and started to pull out his laptop. Taehyung, his seatmate glanced at him in surprise. Namjoon was rarely late.
As luck would have it, the professor was also running behind schedule. Class started a little late and went on as usual. This was Calculus, an easy subject for Namjoon so he could relax a bit.
Namjoon had to stick around after class for a bit to discuss his class schedule so when he returned to his seat he was surprised to find someone waiting there. He was Korean and looked vaguely familiar.
"Hi." The boy looked shy so Namjoon tried to smile and look approachable. "Professor Deanna advised me to come talk to you about the upcoming assignment?"
Oh, that's right, Namjoon was the teacher's assistant, a title that generally didn't require him to do anything. Occasionally he would tutor classmates but that was it.
"Oh okay, what's your name?"
"Jeon Jungkook." Namjoon was pretty sure he had heard the name on the student rooster.
"Okay, I can schedule you for tomorrow afternoon. Are you okay coming to the student offices to discuss the assignment or should we meet somewhere else?"
"The student offices are fine."
After discussing a few more details, they parted ways.
~
I DID IT
Namjoon's phone screen lit up with the text message while he was brushing his teeth. Still brushing, he thumbed at his keyboard.
what?
I TALKED TO MY CRUSH TODAY
Namjoon spit out the toothpaste.
the one your always talking to me about?
not always
but yes
i needed his help for something
he's so nice and kind and ARGHHH
Namjoon smiled.
you're so down bad for him
The reply came a few seconds later.
i know
~
"So because this is a polynomial function you know you solved the question right. Just write down the steps and you should get a 100% on this." Namjoon sat back, finally done explaining. The sun had already set outside the window. They were the only two students left in the building, tucked away at a table in the corner. Jungkook was diligently copying his calculations from paper onto his laptop. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem, let me know if you continue to struggle with this and I can talk with professor Deanna about setting you up with a tutor."
"Will do, thanks again." Namjoon smiled and watched Jungkook pack up his things and leave.
Then he got up and rushed out the other entrance to his car, doing some mental calculations. If he changed and left his apartment in five minutes, he might not be late. It was cutting it closer than he wanted but he had no other choice. He got changed into a skintight black shirt and leather pants his friend Taehyung had picked out for him for the concert, saying it quote "made his arms look unresistible."
Whatever that meant.
As he parked and was hurrying toward the venue entrance, nervousness and excitement began tangling in his stomach. This wasn't only the day he finally go to see his favorite artist perform but he was also meeting JK here. After finding out that JK lived close by and had bought tickets for the same concert they both freaked out. It felt like a dream.
His phone buzzed as he was waiting in the security line.
just got in
where are you
waiting in line
should be there soon
seats row 54 seats c and d right?
yeah
see you soon
Butterflies started to flutter in his stomach for no reason. He had been talking to JK online for years now, and if he had developed a little crush on him that was only his business. It was only late at night, as a lonely university student that Namjoon felt it. When his phone lit up and he knew who it was. It wasn't even worth acknowledging, knowing nothing would come out of it.
Well, not anymore.
He just hoped their chemistry together translated offline as well.
~
The bass of the stadium filled his veins from the second he walked in. Smoke was coming from the stage and replays of Agust D's previous music videos were playing. There were purple LED lights outlining the rows. All around him were fans, dressed up in merch and holding various signs.
It was enthralling, being here surrounded by other fans who all loved Agust D as much as he did. Following the signs, he made his way up the steps. They had gotten seats in a section towards the back, as tickets were too expensive for either of them to afford any closer.
49,50,51,52,52,53...
54.
He carefully entered the row. He didn't know what JK looked like. He found 54D and looked around. There wasn't anyone next to him except for a couple of girls a couple of seats down. He texted JK.
where are you??
oh sorry i got distracted by the merch lol
Namjoon smiled, stomach still in knots. A band was starting to set up on stage. Crowds of fans were still arriving.
Then a figure emerged from the crowds. Jungkook, a jacket thrown over the graphic tee and cargo pants he was wearing earlier at university. The shock of seeing him here caused him to call out to him.
"Jungkook?" He didn't know why he was shocked, Agust D was fairly popular in the states now but he didn't expect to see his classmate here. What were the chances?
"Namjoon? I didn't know you were a guard!" He glanced at his phone and then at the numbers on the row before entering. What were the chances they were sitting in the same row? "Yeah, I'm waiting for a friend." Jungkook continued.
"Oh sa-"
The cogs ground together in Namjoon's head and something clicked.
"JK?" He asked disbelievingly. There was no way.
Jungkook looked up. "Yeah-?" Namjoon was able to see the exact second it clicked in Jungkook's mind. "Wait, are you-?"
Namjoon started to laugh hysterically. His mind was frozen. Jungkook had a deer-in-the-headlights look and it was clear he wasn't going to say anything else.
"RM's a nickname from middle school." He explained. Then something else clicked. "Wait Jungkook, was I the crush?"
Jungkook went red, which was enough of an answer. He opened his mouth by nothing came out.
People were starting to take their seats, the lights were starting to dim and the video playing on the huge screens finished. They still had a million things to talk about but the concert was starting.
"We'll talk after?" Jungkook finally asked. Namjoon nodded and the music started.
Maybe Namjoon didn't have anything to worry about, after all.
~
"This is really embarrassing, let's just forget it happened." Jungkook stumbled over his words. They were sitting outside the stadium after the concert. It was amazing as expected but Namjoon's mind was half occupied with Jungkook, piecing together all the pieces. JK had mentioned he was a university. JK lived in the same time zone as him, and he more recently discovered the same state. He mentioned he liked tattoos, Jungkook had a full sleeve that Namjoon noticed earlier before he put on his jacket. JK was three years younger than him, Jungkook was in his first year, Namjoon was in his fourth.
"What?"
"You don't have to feel pressured to like me back or whatever, we can be just friends or even not like if you don't want to see me again I can understand I can find someone else to tutor me-"
Namjoon cut off his rambling.
"Jungkook, I've liked you for years now as JK. Every time my phone would light up at some ungodly hour I would get this stupid smile on my face because I knew it would be you talking about a random topic or sending some meme I don't understand. If you'd let me, I'd love to get to know Jungkook too now."