Archive of Our Own

“Will you hurry up!” Jimin moaned at Yoongi from the door of his apartment, shoes on, coat zipped up, bag in hand and fingers wrapped round the handle. “We were supposed to be there 10 minutes ago- for God’s sake leave it hyung, you can deal with it when you come back.”

“Alright! Alright, fine.” Yoongi put the cups he was going to take into the kitchen back on the coffee table and made his way to his shoe rack. “I really don’t think Minguk is gonna care if you’re a few minutes late, Jimin.”

“It’s Jeongguk ,” Jimin corrected him, “and that’s not the point! I don’t want the reputation of being ‘ The Late Friend’ anymore. I’m sick of Hoseok and Namjoon making fun of me all the time, I don’t need Jeongguk to start as well.” He huffed.

“Bit late for that, don’t you think?” Yoongi teased. He grabbed his coat from the protruding nail in the wall (courtesy of Jimin trying to hang a picture there because- “your apartment is just so boring , hyung.” but then promtly giving up when the nail decided to veer off sideways) and threw it over his shoulders.

Jimin glared at him, “Yeah, thanks to you . I will be blaming you by the way.”

“Of course, Jimin-ah.” Yoongi opened the door of his apartment and walked out into the hall, “You coming, slow coach?” 

Much of Yoongi and Jimin’s friendship was like this, they’d take it in turns being the annoying one and the annoyed one, ever since they were children. Their mothers were the best of friends so they often ended up playing around together whenever they would meet up, or rather Yoongi would get stuck with babysitting Jimin. Not that he really minded, Jimin was a good kid most of the time and it helped that he sort of idolised Yoongi which made it easier for Yoongi to get Jimin to listen to him. As they grew up, Jimin faced his fair share of dilemmas and traumas and Yoongi was there for him through it all. Whether Jimin needed advice, comfort, or simply a good cry, he knew he could always show up at Yoongi’s door and be welcomed in with loving arms. Which is why, no matter how much they rile each other up or threaten each other, they knew that neither of them really meant it.

So Jimin saying-“If you weren’t driving me, I would strangle you right here, right now.” in the most threatening voice he could muster, didn’t really hold all that much weight to Yoongi. A passer-by might be scandalised to hear such words come from such a delicate looking man but Yoongi knows better. Yoongi knows Jimin loves him too much to ever actually hurt him, even when Yoongi gets on his last nerve. He also knows that Jimin definitely wasn’t delicate and could absolutely fuck him up if he wanted to. Which makes the fact that he doesn’t all the more meaningful. 

They walked through the halls of the apartment building, making their way to Yoongi’s car.

“Oh I don’t doubt it.” Yoongi replied nonchalantly, “Do you threaten ‘Jeongguk’ like this too or is it just me who receives that honour?”

“No, because ‘Jeongguk’ isn’t an asshole who makes me late to important events.” Jimin snapped.

“What’s so important about a gallery evening?” Yoongi scoffed, digging around in his pocket for his car keys.

“It’s important because members from the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture are coming to see if they want to work with Jeongguk! This is a huge opportunity for him and I want to be there to support him!” Jimin explained exasperatedly, yanking the car door open and dropping himself onto the passenger seat. One thing about Jimin? He takes his role of being a best friend Very Seriously.

Yoongi sighed and pushed his handle to the right and lifted it up slightly before opening the door and slipping in himself. “Can you please be more gentle, that handle is gonna come off in your hand one of these days.” He stuck the key into the ignition and the car roared to life.

“Maybe if you actually got your car fixed once in a while, your passengers wouldn’t have to resort to violence.”

“If you just push-” 

“-Push it to the right and lift it up, it’ll open, yeah yeah, I know.” Jimin sighed. “Sorry Yoongi, I know I’m being irritable as hell right now-” Yoongi scoffed, ‘ that’s an understatement’ he thought. “I’m just really anxious for Jeongguk. He really deserves this hyung, he’s so talented.” 

Yoongi knows. He’s been friends with Jimin long enough to know when Jimin is just lashing out and when he’s genuinely angry. Yoongi doesn’t take it personally. Jimin cares a lot, he just doesn’t always know how to express it. In his moments of post-outburst clarity, Jimin often refers to Yoongi as his “saint” because “seriously hyung, I don’t know how you’re so patient with me.” Yoongi doesn’t vocalise it very often, but he’s very grateful for Jimin’s friendship. The occasional outbursts of irritability are nothing to Yoongi if it means he gets to experience Jimin’s warmth and nurture in exchange.

“What type of art does he do then?” Yoongi asked, thinking it better to take Jimin’s mind off of the inevitable guilt he always feels after moments such as these. 

“Oh all sorts-” Jimin spent the rest of the journey to the gallery rattling off all the different painting styles Jeongguk likes to explore, and Yoongi learned that not only does he paint but he’s also a photographer and a sculptor as well. Yoongi was rather intrigued now to see the work of this mysterious and apparently multi-talented ‘Jeongguk’ . Perhaps this will turn out to be an interesting night after all. 

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As soon as Yoongi parked the car, Jimin unbuckled his seatbelt, bolted out the car and into the gallery. Yoongi chuckled to himself, it was sweet how supportive Jimin was of his friends. He leaned over to open the glove compartment and picked out a few coins from his Coin Bag™. When he got out of the car and walked to the parking metre, he squinted to see through the windows of the gallery to try and catch a glimpse of what to expect. He couldn’t see much of the art from his angle, but he could see Jimin talking animatedly to who he could only assume to be The Jeongguk because there was no one else there yet. ‘ Ten minutes late my ass’ .

He tore the ticket from the metre, placed it on his windshield, locked the car, braced himself for the evening afoot and headed into the gallery. 

Bells rang above his head as he opened the door and a pair of huge brown eyes looked up upon his arrival. 

“Hyung!” Jimin lurched forward and grabbed Yoongi by his coat to pull him towards them. “This is Jeongguk! Jeongguk, this is Yoongi hyung!”

“Nice to meet you, ‘saint hyung’.” Jeongguk’s stare had been replaced by a warm crinkled smile with a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes. Yoongi could suddenly understand Jimin’s desire to avoid being late because if he was already teasing both him and Jimin within 5 seconds of meeting him, he was definitely the type to tease Jimin for being late. Jeongguk stretched out a seemingly tattooed hand towards Yoongi, although it could just be paint, the mood lighting made it hard to tell.

Yoongi chuckled as he shook Jeongguk’s hand, it was warmer than Yoongi’s, both in tone and temperature, he almost wanted to apologise for how cold his own was. It must have felt like shaking hands with an ice cube. “You’ve heard of me then?”

Jeongguk grinned, “Heard of you? He never shuts up about you!” He jerked his head over to where Jimin was standing, “‘Yoongi hyung this’, ‘Yoongi hyung that’, ‘He’s my saint Jungkookie!’ he says, ‘what would I do without my saint hyung~’ he says…it honestly feels like I’ve known you for years already.” He laughed at Jimin’s affronted expression. 

“Perhaps introducing you both was a mistake.” He groaned.

“Although…you did fail to mention something…I’m sad, Jimin-ssi…how could you not tell me?” Jeongguk frowned.

Jimin’s face morphed from regret to confusion. “What do you mean?”

He fixed his eyes on Yoongi’s face, “You never told me he was beautiful .” 

Yoongi felt himself flush deeply. He’d never admit it but Yoongi loved feeling pretty. He loved when people, especially gorgeous people, complimented him and Jeongguk was definitely one of these people. Yoongi was able to postpone his initial reaction upon seeing Jeongguk for the first time by concentrating on his teasing manner, but all of that was gone now. No hint of a joke or any banter of any kind. No, he meant that. Jeongguk. In all his long-haired, wide-eyed, double-pierced lip glory. Jeongguk thought he was pretty. No. He thought he was beautiful .

“Oh you are unbelievable.” Jimin scoffed, “Yoongi hyung, don’t listen to him, I absolutely have told him how pretty you are.” He said matter-of-factly, “I have literally shown you pictures of him!”

Jeongguk broke into a smile, “I know, I just think he deserves to hear it from someone other than you for a change.”

Yoongi really hoped that the soft lighting shielded his red face from the two men in front of him. Jimin would never let him live it down and, by the looks of it, Jeongguk wouldn’t either.

“Jeongguk, please stop flirting with my friend.” Jimin sighed.

“Stop? Oh, but Jimin-ssi! I haven’t started yet~” He beamed at Jimin.

“Alright. Come on hyung, we’re leaving.” Jimin placed his hands on Yoongi’s arm and started pushing him towards the door.

“Wait! Wait, wait, I’ll behave Jimin hyung, I promise. I can’t do this without you here.” Jeongguk whined. The cracks between Jeongguk’s light-hearted facade were beginning to show and Yoongi caught a glimpse of a more vulnerable Jeongguk underneath. It made Yoongi curious about who this Jeongguk person really was.

“Okay, fine, we’ll stay. But you must apologise for lying.” Jimin lifted his chin in a regal manner, “I can’t be having Yoongi hyung thinking I’m not telling everyone I meet how beautiful he is.”

Jeongguk feigned a sigh and took a deep bow, “Park Jimin-ssi, I sincerely apologise for lying on your name and leading Min Yoongi-ssi to believe that you do not tell everyone you meet how beautiful he is.”

Jimin hummed, “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Jeongguk just grinned. “Seriously though,” He turned to Yoongi. “It really is nice to meet you Yoongi-ssi.” He’s not teasing anymore, Yoongi could find nothing but sincerity in his eyes now.

“Ah please, you can call me hyung. It’s nice to meet you too, Jeongguk-ah.”

“I’m thirsty, you got anything to drink?” Jimin asked.

“Oh shoot, yeah I was supposed to offer you something when you arrived, would you like some tea?” His eyes flitted between them, the question open for them both.

“That sounds wonderful, thank you.” Jimin licked his lips in anticipation.

Yoongi studied Jeongguk for a moment before speaking, “If you show me where the kitchen is, I can go round and offer the guests drinks.” He offered. “If that would be helpful, I mean.” Yoongi added quickly.

Jeongguk looked at him in a soft sort of reverence. “You would do that?”

“It’s the least I can do.” 

“O-okay-” Jeongguk’s nonchalant persona seemed to have been replaced by a shy and docile one. It was an odd change, perhaps the boy wasn’t used to people wanting to help him. Well, he can start getting used to it now that Yoongi was there. “Uh..follow me hyung, I’ll show you where everything is.” A nervous scrape of his hair allowed Yoongi to see that the tips of his ears were bright red, the vibrancy of which cut through even the dim lighting.

Yoongi caught Jimin’s eye as he turned to follow Jeongguk. Jimin winked at him but Yoongi just rolled his eyes.

Jeongguk led him through a few small display rooms until they reached a door. He put his hand on the handle and turned to face Yoongi. ”It’s not so much a ‘kitchen’, it’s more like a small room with a sink and a kettle but, well, you’ll see.” The door clicked open and they went inside.

Yoongi could see what Jeongguk meant. It was dark and dingy inside, it had the same exposed brick along the walls that the gallery behind them featured but without the soft mood lighting, instead of feeling warm and cosy, it felt almost spooky. The wooden floor was also made up of the same slats that ran through the gallery, except the ones in here were chipped, scuffed and uneven. Clearly whoever owned this place had poured all their money into the gallery section and didn’t care much for the upkeep of the rest of the building. It looked as though Jeongguk himself had tried to clean it up as much as he could. 

“Sorry, I was just sweeping in here when Jimin texted to say he was here.” He made a bee-line for the half-filled dustpan and swept up a few remaining leaves. “You’d be surprised at how many leaves and tiny twigs fly through that window.” He chuckled. Yoongi looked up to where Jeongguk had nodded in the direction of, sure enough there was a very tiny, rectangular window only a few inches away from the ceiling. Yoongi didn’t notice it at all until Jeongguk pointed it out. 

“What’s the point of such a tiny window all the way u there?” Yoongi asked, more to himself than anyone else but Jeongguk replied anyway.

“God knows.” He let out an amused huff. “My guess is that they had to abide by some law about the minimum requirement for windows or something.” He tipped the contents of the dust pan into a little bin and then tucked the dust pan and brush into a corner. “Anyway! The drinks!” He gestured to a table don with different kinds glasses and mugs ready to be filled with a whole host of various champagnes, wines, teas, coffees or hot chocolates. “All the hot drinks are instant so you’ll only need the kettle for those. Apart from some of the teas…I had to put the milk in a cooler, that’s what this little blue box is.” He pointed at the box under the table. “Uhm..the sink is over in the corner there, I know it looks a bit grubby, but the water is clean I promise. The spoons are in the top draw next to the sink. Oh! And- I brought these-” He picked up a stack of circular silver trays that waiters are often seen carrying with drinks and vol-au-vents balanced on them in movies. “I don’t have any tiny snacks though, which is a shame…there isn’t a fridge in here- hence the cooler, so I thought better of it, would've been nice though…” Jeongguk looked genuinely disheartened at the prospect of not having any mini treats to offer his guests. “Anyway, I uh…I think I might have overdone it with the drinks but I wasn’t sure how many people to expect so…better safe than sorry, I guess.” He scratched his nape uncertainly.

“It looks great Jeongguk-ah, don’t worry.” Yoongi rubbed his nearest shoulder reassuringly and Jeongguk subconsciously leaned into it.

“You really don’t have to do this, Yoongi hyung. You can just go out there and enjoy the evening along with everyone else.” He turned his big brown eyes, full of sincerity, onto Yoongi once again.

“Oh I’m sure I’d much prefer hiding in here than be forced to make small talk with rich people, or worse , wannabe rich people.” Yoongi grinned at Jeongguk’s chuckle.

“Fair point, I suppose.” Jeongguk checked the time on his wristwatch and straightened up. “Right, well…I’d best be off then, people will be arriving any minute!” He looked horrified at the mere thought and rubbed his face to rid it of it’s terrified expression. “You sure you’re okay?” He checked again.

“ Yes Jeongguk, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. You go and do what you’ve gotta do.” 

“Okay, let me know if you need anything though.” Jeongguk went to walk through the door leading to the gallery.

“I will, I promise. Oh and- Jeongguk?” Yoongi called.

Jeongguk’s head peered around the door.

“Good luck.” 

Jeongguk smiled and nodded, then promptly disappeared behind the door once more.

First order of business: Make Jimin’s Tea.

Having known Jimin basically his entire life, Yoongi was no stranger to how he liked his tea so he wasted no time in putting the kettle on. Jeongguk had really gone above and beyond preparing for tonight, all the different tea bags were sorted into tiny baskets each adorned with their own handwritten label. Jeongguk’s handwriting was messy but…sort of…cute? 

Yoongi grabbed a packet from the basket labelled ‘ peppermint ’ and tossed it into the nearest mug which happened to have the words ‘ I’m not late, you’re just early.’ printed in block capitals on the front. Yoongi snorted. 

The kettle finished boiling and he poured the water into the mug straight away. He filled it to just under two thirds full and squeezed the tea bag with a small spoon. Yoongi let it stew for a minute or two before filling the rest with cold water from the tap and giving it a good stir. He gave the tea bag one last squeeze then chucked it in the bin.

Mission: Successful.

By the time he walked out of the kitchen with Jimin’s mug, a few people had already arrived and were milling about, gazing at some of Jeongguk’s pieces. Yoongi spotted Jimin at the entrance to the gallery, welcoming people in, taking their coats and writing their names on the guest list. 

“Your tea, Jimin.” Yoongi handed it out to him.

“Oh thank you, hyung! Could you put it on that table there for me?”

Yoongi placed it carefully on the table just outside the cloakroom. He could see the moment at which Jimin clocked what the mug said. He shot Yoongi a “ I’m gonna strangle you later.” look before cheerily welcoming the lady who had just walked in the door. Yoongi simply giggled and left him to it. 

The first few people he approached didn’t fancy any drinks so it started to seem as though Yoongi might be out of a job after all. After about twenty minutes he came across the first thirsty group.

‘Fuck.’ Yoongi thought. He had just walked through the kitchen door into the gallery with the drinks on one of Jeongguk’s silver trays when a terrifying realisation hit him. He didn’t remember who’s orders he got. The red wine was for a lady…maybe? no- it was, it was, and she was wearing…a white dress! Yes! Because Yoongi thought it was a terrible idea to choose red wine while wearing white! Okay…so if he could just locate the white dressed woman…he’d be able to find the rest of his drink’s owners too!  A few minutes went by and Yoongi thankfully managed to find her and the rest of his customers.

Safe to say with the rest of the orders he paid close attention to who ordered what and what they looked like and typed it out in his notes app on his phone so he wouldn’t forget. It definitely made the process a lot easier and quicker. Which was a good thing too because the gallery only got busier as the night went on, which meant the number of drinks orders had gone up drastically too. 

What with Yoongi's frantic back and forth from the kitchen to the gallery, he didn’t have much time to look upon Jeongguk’s art himself which he actually felt quite bummed about. Something about Jeongguk was intriguing to Yoongi and he’d hoped he would be able to figure it out somehow by looking at his art, but alas, the people were thirsty. 

To think that Jeongguk was intending to do this himself was absurd. Yoongi had spotted Jeongguk here, there and everywhere while he was tending to the guests, politely indulging their curiosity and humbly accepting their praise. He’d never have been able to juggle talking to everyone and dealing with the kitchen so Yoongi was glad he was able to take that weight off of his shoulders.

Despite only having spoken to Jeongguk for all of 20 minutes in total, Yoongi felt oddly…attached to him. Being a rather introverted person, Yoongi doesn’t often find it particularly easy to talk to people and definitely doesn’t often find people he actively wants to talk to. And yet, he finds that he seeks conversation with Jeongguk. He wants to talk to that peculiar and apparently very creative man. In that 20 minutes Yoongi had seen him playful, confident, flirty, bold, mischievous and excited but also vulnerable, nervous, considerate, bewildered, thoughtful and shy. Not to mention all the little things that showed how much care and effort he’d put into tonight. His little tour of the kitchen was fascinating to Yoongi. The way Jeongguk had thought of every possible drink that someone might ask for and organised them so carefully. Yoongi could imagine him cutting out those little rectangular pieces of paper, scribbling the labels with a black marker and sellotaping them to their allotted baskets. And yet Jeongguk seemed rather bashful that someone had seen how much effort he had put in.

Towards the end of the night, Yoongi got less and less orders which meant he finally got the opportunity to gaze upon Jeongguk’s paintings. They were interesting to Yoongi, there was a minimal surrealism about them. In one, a bottle was suspended in the air and tilted down towards a transparent glass. In the bottle, the liquid was a shimmering yellow, however, at some point during it’s journey into the glass, it had turned into metallic silver, almost like mercury. In another, there was a single apple on a wooden table, a deep red with splashes of green and yellow, it would have been a very normal painting if not for the fact that the apple had a slice taken out of it and where one might have expected to have seen the inside of an apple, was actually the inside of an orange. 

Yoongi longed to ask Jeongguk about them. What they meant. What he thought about when he was painting them. Why he chose those specific colours or tones. Why that specific artstyle. Why that technique. He’d never really had an interest in art before. He had liked paintings and drawings, sculptures and models before, of course but he’d never wanted to ask so many questions before. Jeongguk made him curious. Incredibly so. Both as an artist and as a human being.

Yoongi was just looking at one in which Jeongguk had painted a village pelted with golden raindrops when the artist himself appeared right beside him.

“Hey.” He smiled at Yoongi.

“Hey.” Yoongi responded. 

Taking the opportunity to gaze upon Jeongguk while he looked at his own panting, Yoongi allowed himself to drink Jeongguk’s image in for a moment. Yoongi could see clearer in the light in this particular room and he could see that the tattoos on his had were indeed tattoos and not paint, and they weren’t just on his hand either. Jeongguk had taken off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt which meant that Yoongi could now see that his tattoos ran the length on his forearms too. Whether they went all the way to his shoulder, Yoongi couldn’t be sure but it seemed a likely possibly. Just another thing to be curious about it seems. Yoongi turned to look at the painting again before it got too obvious that he was staring. 

“What do you think?” Jeongguk seemed more relaxed now, perhaps he had gotten a good feeling from the Important Visitors.

“It’s…good.” Yoongi said simply.

Jeongguk threw his head back and laughed. “Good?! Jeez Yoongi hyung, you sure know how to flatter a man.” 

Yoongi flushed, “I’m sorry Jeongguk-ah, I don’t really know much about painting” he said sheepishly, “why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? “Eye of the beholder” and all that.” Jeongguk raised his eyebrow.

“I thought that was just something people said when they create something meaningless.” 

Jeongguk laughed again. “You’re not wrong I suppose. To tell you the truth,” He leaned in closer to Yoongi as though he was about to share some Top Secret Information. “Not everything in here has a super ‘deep’ meaning.” He whispered. “Some things I created just because they wanted me to create them.”

Yoongi turned his head towards him, he was a lot closer than he was prepared for. “Who’s ‘They’?” 

“My creations.” Jeongguk moved back again with a shrug, “Sometimes it’s like they possess my hands to birth themselves into existence.” He chuckled, “Almost like I have no control over them whatsoever.”

“What about this one then?” Yoongi nodded towards the golden rain. “Did this one possess you?”

“This one? No…” He shoved his hands into his pockets and a sad sort of smile found it’s way onto Jeongguk’s lips. “This one…this is an autobiography.” He paused to look at the painting again. “It’s my mother’s conception dream. She used to tell me about it as a bedtime story every night when I was a kid. "Rain started to fall in the village but the places that got touched by the raindrops turned into gold." She’d tell me.” He smiled at the memory. “Apparently that’s how she knew I was “destined for greatness”.” He used his fingers as quotation marks. “Well, I guess we’ll see.”

“She sounds like a wonderful mother.” Yoongi said quietly.

“She was.” He nodded.

“Oh…I’m sorry.”

“Ah, don’t be.” Jeongguk smiled at Yoongi, “It’s not your fault.” He turned back to the painting. “Besides, she’d always tell me that “Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world is far, far more valuable.” So really, we have her death to thank for turning me into the artist I am today.” He said somewhat bitterly. Then he grimaced. “Sorry, something my uncle said.” He mumbled, “trying to find the ‘silver lining’ or ‘reason’ for someone dying is bullshit. Can’t tell my uncle that though, not if I still want a roof over my head at least.”

Yoongi mulled Jeongguk’s words over in his head. “That is bullshit, you’re right.”

“Thank you.” Jeongguk said in a tone that sounded like ‘finally, someone gets it’.

“Your uncle does have a point though.” He went on. “He’s got a terrible way of saying it, it seems, but he’s got a point. Of course, there is no ‘silver lining’ or ‘reason’ for someone dying but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to find one. To make one. To create -” He gestures to the painting in front of them, “something good in the face of something terrible. To give meaning to their passing. Yeah, it’s bullshit, but it does help Jeongguk-ah. The reason you give it may not be ‘real’ necessarily, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it true .” He paused to look at Jeongguk, worried he might have upset him. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my boundaries, it’s just something to think about Jeongguk-ah. Perhaps giving her loss a meaning in your life will help you.”

Jeongguk was quiet. He was looking at the wall just underneath his painting with his eyebrows furrowed. Yoongi was considering whether or not he should just leave Jeongguk to his thoughts when the man in question finally spoke.

“Thank you, hyung. I’ve never…I’ve never thought about it in that way before.” He swallowed thickly and looked up at Yoongi. He studied him for a moment and asked- “You’re not a therapist, are you?” 

That made Yoongi chuckle. “No, no, just a frequent visitor myself. Psychology does interest me, though.”

“Is it worth it? Going to therapy, I mean.” Jeongguk worried his lip.

“I would say so. As long as you find the right therapist for you…which can take a while, I won’t lie to you.”

“I think you could be the right therapist for me, hyung.” Jeongguk grimaced a little when Yoongi laughed because he was more serious than the elder realised.

“I’m not properly qualified or licensed, Jeongguk-ah.”

“Well, hurry up then.” Jeongguk pouted.

“If I become a therapist, you’ll be my first patient, I promise. For now though, all I can offer you is conversations over tea and my top tier therapist searching skills. How does that sound?” Something about Jeongguk made Yoongi want to help him as much as he possibly could. Perhaps he could be more than just a-friend-of-a-friend.

“Would you really do that for me?” Jeongguk looked at him with wide eyes, “You’ll help me find a therapist?” 

“Of course. I’d be happy to, Jeongguk-ah.” Yoongi smiled at Jeongguk’s wonder-filled face but faltered when Jeongguk started to frown.

“But hyung…how will I ever be able to repay you…I have absolutely nothing to offer you.”

“Oh, see, that's not true at all. Look around you.”

“I thought you didn’t care much for art, hyung?”

“I may not be great at analysing paintings but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy looking at them.” Yoongi explained, “and my apartment’s walls are looking very bare right now…” He trailed off.

“Take any painting you want, hyung! Take them all! They’re yours!” Jeongguk insisted desperately.

“Woah woah woah, I’m not asking for that much Jeongguk-ah. I’ll still pay for them.” Yoongi giggled in endearment. “But I would like to ask if you would do something for me.”

“Anything!”

“This might seem like a bit of an odd request, so feel free to say no if you don’t want to do it, I won’t be upset.” Yoongi clarified.

Jeongguk nodded, intrigued as to what Yoongi was about to say.

“I have seen videos of artists using other people’s backs as canvases and I’ve sort of always wanted to try it…what do you say?” Yoongi waited apprehensively for Jeongguk’s response.

“You want me to paint a picture on your back?” Jeongguk simplified. 

“Well…yes.” 

Jeongguk laughed, “Oh hyung, the look on your face! I thought you were about to say something weird . Of course I can do that, hyung! That’s not a problem.” He beamed at Yoongi, who felt somewhat silly now for thinking the request might be considered odd to an artist who, now that he thinks about it, has probably done much wilder things in the name of creation. Nonetheless, Yoongi felt satisfied with Jeongguk’s reaction.

“Oh! Cool.” He replied, very uncool-ly.

“Yeah, just let me know when and where and I’ll be there, paintbrush in hand.” Jungkook looked very pleased that he could be helpful to Yoongi afterall.

“Can I have your number, then?” Yoongi asked.

Jungkook’s eyes went as round as saucers. “My number?”

“To organise the painting session?” 

“Right! Yes, of course!” Jungkook laughed nervously and fished around for his phone.

Yoongi had just finished adding Jungkook’s number to his new contact when Jimin appeared.

“ There you are!” He grabbed Jeongguk’s arm. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Someone wants to buy that sock puppet painting…” Jimin’s voice faded away as he dragged Jeongguk to meet his buyer and Yoongi was left alone with the painting again. 

‘May Golden Showers Bring Golden Dreams

For Jeon Eunji, By Jeon Jeongguk’

ꕥ

Yoongi hyung

Hey Jeongguk, was wondering if you’re free this week for the painting session? 

Jeonggukie 

hi hyung! i’m free on thursday, does that work for you?

Yoongi hyung

That’s perfect Jeongguk-ah, is 2 o’clock okay?

Jeonggukie

2 is good. yours or mine?

Yoongi hyung

Probably easier for me to come to you, right? All your paints and brushes are already there.

Jeonggukie

ah, so smart hyung 🥰 okay! mine it is. see you thursday!

[address attached] 

Yoongi hyung

See you then. 

ꕥ

It’s exactly 2pm when Jeongguk’s doorbell rings. Yoongi is nothing if not punctual. 

“Hyung!” Jeongguk exclaimed upon seeing the man bundled up on his doorstep. Only Yoongi’s red nose and the very ends of his fringe could be seen in between his coat and his hat. “Come in, come in!” Jeongguk ushered him inside. 

Yoongi lifted the two big bags he was carrying as a muffled “ah boff fffdd” sounded through his coat. 

Jeongguk giggled and zipped it down past his mouth.

“Thanks.” He sniffed. “I bought food. Thought I could cook for us after.” 

Jeongguk looked at Yoongi, then at the bags, then back at Yoongi again. “Oh hyung, you didn’t have to do that! We have plenty of food here!”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. “Now I know for a fact that’s a lie because last time Jimin came over he wouldn’t stop talking about how malnourished you are.” Jeongguk opened his mouth to retort. “And cup ramen doesn’t count.” Yoongi said before he could. 

Jeongguk pouted. “Still. We could’ve ordered something instead.”

“Just put them in your fridge will you? You paint for me, I cook for you. An equal exchange, wouldn’t you agree?” He handed Jeongguk the bags and started untying his shoes.

Jeongguk looked like he was about to say he didn’t agree, but apparently he thought better of it because he instead waddled off to the kitchen with Yoongi’s bags.

Jeongguk was carefully arranging Yoongi’s ingredients in his previously embarrassingly empty fridge when Yoongi walked in.

“Did you say that you live with your uncle?”

“I do. He’s on a hiking trip with his friends this week. He’s-” He cuts himself off with a grunt as he heaves a massive bag of kimchi onto a shelf in the fridge. “He’s usually the one who does the grocery shopping so…” He scratched his head. 

“What’s it like? Living with him?” Yoongi asked.

“It’s not bad I guess.” Jeongguk shrugged. “He’s barely here really, almost like I’ve got the place to myself.” He let out a wry chuckle. “It’s better that way. If we stay in the vicinity of each other for too long, we usually find something to argue about.” He glanced at Yoongi quickly, seemingly embarrassed of his rocky relationship with his uncle. “I try to bite my tongue as much as possible because I would literally be homeless if it wasn’t for him but sometimes… god he’s just so… infuriating .” 

Yoongi stifled a giggle at Jeongguk’s obvious anger at the mere memory of his uncle, for some reason Jeongguk’s shaking fists and furrowed eyebrows endeared him.

“and it’s like…he doesn’t even realise he’s doing it!” Jeongguk continued, “he’ll say something he thinks is perfectly innocent but it’s actually insanely ignorant but I can’t tell him that because he gets all defensive and “you can’t say anything these days!” Jeongguk ranted as he put more of Yoongi’s food in the fridge, becoming more and more heavy-handed the more he wound himself up. “It’s just such a shame because I know his heart is in the right place but he’s just so blind , hyung! He’s always saying that I can come and talk to him about anything.” He scoffs as he slams a packet of ham into the fridge. “ “you know I’m open-minded Gukkie, I won’t judge you” says the most judgmental person I’ve ever known.” He grumbled. “I mean- does he really not hear himself?? He makes me think that ignorant people are just as bad as actually bigoted people.” He huffed. “I don’t know. What’s worse? Someone who says prejudice shit out of ignorance or someone who says prejudice shit because they are genuinely and knowingly bigoted?” He threw the question to Yoongi. 

Jeongguk’s angry stare would’ve been rather intimidating to Yoongi, but the way he was squeezing the top of a bag of onions made him look like a little kid who was pissed off because Sally wasn’t sharing the coloured pencils.

Shaking that thought from his mind, he tried to give Jeongguk a helpful answer. “Well,” He begun, sucking air through his teeth and squinting slightly, “They’re both quite harmful, you’re right…but without the “actually bigoted” people, we wouldn’t have the “unknowingly prejudiced” people so I suppose that makes the “actually bigoted” people worse, right? Because they also create and are responsible for the existence of “unknowingly prejudiced” people.”

Jeongguk frowned at him. “Who the fuck made you so smart?”

Yoongi chuckled quietly and watched as Jeongguk threw the bag of onions in the fridge and kicked the door closed.

“C’mon.” he beckoned, heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs, “my room is up here.”

Jeongguk’s bedroom was long and narrow. The length of the bed took up the entire width of the room. It was pushed sideways right up against the back wall underneath a massive, but truly beautiful window which left only a couple of inches of the wall either side of it. The window ledge was large enough to sit in but it seemed to act as Jeongguk’s bedside table for now. A glass of water, a few books, a box of tissues and a pair of glasses all sprawled across it. There was just enough room for a decent sized but clearly very old walnut desk pushed up against the side of the bed before it reached a door to which Yoongi could only assume was his closet. The walls were painted a light, warm grey, but Jeongguk had drawn and painted all over it so that the original colour could barely be seen anymore. What wasn’t covered by Jeongguk’s own masterpieces were covered by the leaves and petals of the plants crawling out of their pots that were dotted all around the room. Some on shelves, some on Jeongguk’s desk, some suspended from the ceiling. It was a beautiful room. Small, but it didn’t feel cramped. Not at all. 

Jeongguk stood near his bed and scratched the back of his bent neck. “Uh…I know it’s small but, it does the job.” Yoongi wasn’t sure why Jeongguk seemed embarrassed by the size of his room. Yoongi’s own wasn’t that much bigger, he did at least have room for a proper bedside table and a couple of wardrobes but he would trade that for Jeongguk’s gorgeous window any day. “My uncle actually let me choose which room I wanted when we moved here. This-” He gestured around him, “was supposed to be my Uncle’s study, but I got him to make a deal, he gets the master bedroom and the second bedroom to use as his study, and I get the ‘study’ as my bedroom and the intended ‘guest bedroom’ as my art studio. He thought I was stupid for wanting that but he agreed in the end so” He shrugged.

“Is that where we’re gonna do it? Your art studio?” 

“Uh…no, there’s nowhere comfortable for you to lay in there. I was going to suggest that we do it in here. My bed will be much more comfortable than the floor or the table, I can promise you that.” He smiled and let out an amused huff.

“Yeah, okay, sounds good.” Yoongi agreed. “Can I see your studio first though? You’ve got me curious.”

“‘Course. I need to grab some stuff from there anyway.” He led Yoongi out the door and stopped in front of the one immediately to the right of his bedroom. He fished around in his pocket for a second and pulled out a key. 

“You lock your studio?” 

“I have learned my lesson Min Yoongi-ssi. Never again shall I leave my art unprotected.” Jeongguk explained in an exaggeratedly regal tone. The lock clicked and the door creaked open. This room was definitely bigger than Jeongguk’s bedroom. It was just as long but more than twice as wide. The huge window that Jeongguk’s room featured was in here too- twice. The sunlight streaming through highlighted rows and rows of canvases, some on easels, some just leaning against the walls. Along the right wall was a painter’s sink filled with pallets, cups, brushes, and empty paint tubes. The rest of the wall was taken up by cupboards and draws. Right in the centre of the room was a large table, covered in tiny flecks of paint, it looked like there was a pottery wheel on one end as well although Yoongi couldn’t be sure.

“Welcome, welcome,” Jeongguk said, “Now this is where the magic happens.” He giggled at his own joke. 

Yoongi looked closer at the canvases, well, the ones that weren’t hiding behind their siblings at least. “That one was on your bedroom wall too.” He points at an unfinished painting of a man with wide, scared eyes and a little robin on his tongue. 

“Yeah, a lot of these are. I often use my walls to draft ideas. Too many times waking up in the middle of the night and needing to jot down ideas before I forget them. Besides, using up canvases for brainstorming is just too expensive. I know my Uncle would pay for them if I asked but…” He shakes his head, “He’s already done enough.”

Yoongi nodded. He didn’t know much about Jeongguk but one thing he knew for sure is that he doesn’t like feeling indebted to people. If it didn’t bother him, Yoongi probably wouldn’t be here right now. He’s glad he was though, he liked Jeongguk, he seemed nice.

“Did your Uncle fund all of this?” Yoongi asked.

“Yeah, out of guilt mostly.” Jeongguk huffed out a laugh but it didn’t seem genuine. Yoongi tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows to indicate to Jeongguk to carry on talking. He did. “He came home ridiculously drunk one night. His girlfriend just broke up with him so he was distraught of course, but uh…his girlfriend and I…we bonded over art so, she would come round sometimes and we’d just paint together in here. She got me a potter's wheel for christmas one year and taught me how to use it.” He smiled sadly, he had walked over to the wheel on the end of the table and caressed it tenderly. “It was the one thing he didn’t destroy…didn’t? Couldn’t? I’m not sure. I was out at the time. I just found him in here, on his knees, weeping and holding it to his chest. Everything in ruins around him.” He stared at the floor where Yoongi assumed Jeongguk’s Uncle had wept. Jeongguk blinked and looked up at Yoongi like he forgot he was still there. “Still, my studio is miles better than it was before, silver lining and all that.” 

“Do you miss her?” 

“I do. It’s weird, she was only in my life for like six months but I miss her. I miss her terribly. It’s like my life is split into pre and post Yujin. She was good for my Uncle too. He was much more bearable when they were together. I suppose my Uncle had the opposite effect on her.” A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He then suddenly whipped his head around like he’d just remembered something. His eyes scanned the canvases that were lined up against the walls until they stopped on one in particular. He walked around the table and crouched down to Yoongi’s right. “Here.” He whispered as he pulled out a canvas that was tucked away behind four or five others. He laid it down on the table so Yoongi could see it properly too. “This is what I painted that night.” Much like everything else with Jeongguk’s name on it, it was beautiful . The painting depicted three magnificent fir trees with generous dustings of snow atop their branches, the snow on the ground was thick, untouched and glistening with the pinks and purples of the setting sun that sank into a frozen lake which had trapped lily pads and flower petals under it’s surface.

Yoongi gasped in awe. “Why didn’t you include this one in your exhibit?” 

“Ah, I made too many mistakes when I painted it. Too emotional.” Jeongguk looked at the painting, with a sort of frustrated look on his face.

Yoongi looked at Jungkook in pure bewilderment. “What on earth are you talking about? What mistakes??” He studied the painting closely, trying to force his eyes to see what Jeongguk saw.

“You may not be able to see them, but I know they’re there and it would’ve driven me insane if I put it on display that night. Those representatives would definitely have noticed them too.”

“Why didn’t you try to fix it then? Or paint it again?”

“I-” Jeongguk began. He waved his hands around trying to find the right words. “It’s probably not going to make much sense to you Yoongi hyung, but I can't, I just- can’t . Trust me I’ve wanted to, but it feels wrong . I need to just let it be. It’s nowhere near technically sound enough to join my other paintings in the exhibition so it shall just remain here for the foreseeable future.” He concluded.

“Well, I think it’s perfect.” Yoongi said in a playfully haughty way.

Jeongguk looked at him, amusement in his eyes. “Of course you do.” He sighed and picked up the painting once more. “Anyway, we’d better get a move on if we wanna get your back painted before the sun sets.”

Yoongi watched as Jeongguk sorted through what he wanted to take and mumbled to himself. Once he was satisfied, they walked back to Jeongguk’s bedroom.

“Right!” Jeongguk exclaimed as he set down everything on his desk. “Get that shirt off, Min Yoongi-ssi!” He grinned.

Yoongi’s eyes went wide for a second until he remembered what they were about to do. Stupid Yoongi . How could he not realise that he’d need to remove his shirt for Jeongguk to paint his back?! It’s not that Yoongi was insecure, not at all, in fact he was quite proud of what he’s managed to curate for himself but, if he took his shirt off in front of Jeongguk, he’d know . Or, maybe he wouldn’t? Maybe he wouldn’t know what the scars mean. But then, he might ask. Yoongi doesn’t think Jeongguk would hate him, he doesn’t seem like the type, but you never know. 

“Hyung? You alright?”

Yoongi played with the hem of his shirt and cleared his throat, “Would you mind…turning around? I just get kinda…”

“Oh!” Jeongguk looked alarmed at his own thoughtlessness, “Of course, yes, sorry, I forget that not everyone is as brazen as I am.” He joked awkwardly and spun around.

Once Yoongi was laying on his front, shirt off and head on one of Jeongguk’s soft pillows, he let Jeongguk know he was ready for him. Jeongguk then grabbed a packet of wipes off of his desk and gently sat on the bed next to Yoongi. He pulled a wipe from the packet and started delicately wiping down Yoongi’s back. Although Jeongguk had warned him about how cool it would feel, Yoongi still wasn’t quite prepared for the change in temperature and goosebumps started to rise on his previously smooth skin. A whispered “sorry” from Jeongguk broke the silence but Yoongi shook his head, rubbing his face against the pillowcase. 

“Do you know what you’re going to paint yet?” Yoongi asked, he strained to look at Jeongguk but it was no use, he was too far out of sight. 

“Was just about to ask if you wanted anything specific.” Jeongguk replied. He moved the chair by his desk closer to the bed and placed his palette and water cup on the seat for easier access. 

“Not really, just make it pretty.” 

“But hyung, you’re already pretty!” Jeongguk’s playful lilt showed itself for the first time since their first meeting. Perhaps he was feeling comfortable enough now to tease Yoongi without the presence of Jimin.

Yoongi groaned and moved his arms up underneath the pillow he was resting on and smooshed his face into it to hide his blush from Jeongguk. He could hear Jeongguk giggling. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll make it pretty hyung, I promise.” Yoongi could hear Jeongguk moving things about and a wet, sort of scratching around but he had no idea what he was doing. “Have you got your phone on you, hyung?” Yoongi pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to Jeongguk, face still squashed into the pillow. Jeongguk took it and gave it back to him a minute or so later, “There. You’re connected to my wifi and my speaker now so you can play whatever you want.”

Yoongi perked up at that and lifted his face from the fluffy haven, “Anything?” he asked.

“I trust you.” Jeongguk said simply.

“What if I started playing an obnoxious alpha male podcast?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow at him.

Jeongguk raised one right back, “Are you going to play an obnoxious alpha male podcast?” 

“No-”

“Crisis averted then.” It turns out that the wet, scratchy sort of sound was the sound of Jeongguk mixing his paint on the palette because that’s what Jeongguk went back to doing. So, Yoongi just hummed and started trying to decide what songs he should choose. Something relaxing for Yoongi, and not too distracting for Jeongguk. He scrolled through his playlists until he found the perfect one. His favourite secret artist with less than a thousand monthly listeners. He supposed he wouldn’t mind sharing him with Jeongguk.

“꽃들이 가득한 거리에

오늘도 그대를 보네요~”

“You listen to V?!” Jeongguk looked at Yoongi’s curly mass of hair on his pillow in shock.

Yoongi grabbed the corner of Jeongguk’s duvet to cover his chest as he whipped round to face Jeongguk. “You know V, too?” 

Jeongguk continued to stare at Yoongi with wide eyes. “He’s- well, he’s my brother’s roommate.” He revealed.

Yoongi was silent for a moment, V’s voice filling the space between them. “What?”  

“Yeah, I- but hang on, how do you know him?” Jeongguk asked.

“I don’t! I just found his songs on youtube and followed him from there.” Yoongi replied, still trying to comprehend the fact that his new friend knows his current favourite artist. 

“Woah…small world, huh?” Jeongguk said in awe, “I’ll introduce you one day, hyung!”

Yoongi’s eyes lit up at that, “Would you really? I’d honestly love to work with him, his voice is so beautiful.” He said breathlessly.

“Yoongi hyung! You make music?!” Shock adorned Jeongguk’s face.

“Ah, whenever I can. I’m just a producer really…I can play a few instruments too- piano and guitar mainly. I’d love to make music full time but, I dunno, I guess that’s just not on the cards for me.” 

Jeongguk frowned at Yoongi’s dejected form. “What makes you say that, hyung?” 

“I’ve been trying so long, Jeongguk-ah…spent a lot of money I didn’t have trying to get into positions I wasn’t qualified or skilled enough for. I’ve accepted now that music will only ever be a hobby for me. I know that sounds sad but it’s kind of comforting to see it that way now.” His lips curled up into a small smile.

“I understand, hyung.” Jeongguk nodded, “If you ever want to give it another shot though, I’ll be right there cheering you on.”

Yoongi snorted, “Thanks Jeongguk-ah, but you’ve never heard my music before. You might think it’s terrible.”

Jeongguk shifted on the bed to properly look at Yoongi. “I’m not sure I could think anything you do is terrible, hyung.”

Despite Yoongi’s lack of clothing he began to grow quite hot under Jeongukk’s gentle gaze and kind words. He cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Jeongguk, you’re very kind.”

“Honest.” Jeongguk corrected him. 

“Yes. Well. Thanks.” Yoongi said awkwardly.

Jeongguk squinted his eyes and one corner of his lips lifted up, both suspicious and amused. “You’re really bad at receiving compliments, aren’t you?”

“Shut up, paint boy.” Yoongi huffed and flipped back around to present Jeongguk’s canvas to him once again.

Jeongguk hummed. “Are you sure you even need me to paint you, hyung? Your back is as beautiful as any piece I’ve painted before.” He ran a finger down Yoongi’s spine, leaving a flurry of goosebumps in its wake. Jeongguk doesn’t say sorry this time.

Yoongi was in utter turmoil. A very kind and very beautiful stranger kept calling him pretty and now he’s going to have to let this stranger have free rein on his back for the next few hours. He really didn’t think this through. He could always back out. Jeongguk wouldn’t hold it against him, he may not know too much about him but knew that. But- but , even though Yoongi felt awkward and uncomfortable, it was a good kind of awkward and uncomfortable. The sort of awkward and uncomfortable that makes you feel warm and fuzzy too. So he wants to stay. 

“Paint me, Jeongguk-ah” 

Jeongguk smiles to himself and grabs his paintbrush.

Goosebumps rose on his skin once more when Jeongguk first made contact on his skin with the brush. Yoongi knew in his mind that it would feel wet and cold but his body was still surprised at the sensation. Yoongi felt the brush move from shoulder to shoulder, down one side to his hip, across his tailbone to his other hip, and then back up to his shoulder again as Jeongguk mapped out an outline for the boundaries of his painting. It felt so odd but equally as satisfying . 

“You’re so sensitive, hyung.” Jeongguk teased as he dragged his brush along Yoongi’s skin.

In any normal circumstance Yoongi probably would've been able to think of a rather smart rebuttal. Currently though, what with Taehyung’s soporific voice sounding from the speaker, the soft mattress and squishy pillows underneath him and Jeongguk’s soothing brush strokes, Yoongi’s mind had all but turned to mush. It was all he could do to squeeze out a “Hmmm.” in acknowledgment. 

Jeongguk chuckled quietly to himself, endeared by Yoongi’s sudden docility. 

Neither of them said a word after that. Jeongguk had warned Yoongi that when he starts concentrating on something he doesn’t speak at all and Yoongi didn’t want to distract him so he decided not to say anything either.

For a while Yoongi tried to keep track of the traces Jeongguk painted on his skin and picture it in his mind, but eventually gave up when it just looked like a massive squiggle. He really didn't have a painter’s vision. So, instead, he let his mind wander for a bit. 

He thought of what Jeongguk had said to him about his music. “If you ever want to give it another shot though, I’ll be right there cheering you on”. Maybe he should give it another shot. Visiting Jeongguk’s studio and seeing the amount of love and passion Jeongguk had for art was truly inspiring. Not to mention the fact that Jeongguk knows Kim Taehyung and had offered to introduce them. Perhaps Yoongi’s music career wasn't a lost cause afterall. 

He thought about Jimin, and how Yoongi definitely wasn't as good of a friend to Jimin as Jimin was to Yoongi. Jimin was the one person who stuck by his side through all his ups and downs. He should make more of an effort to tell Jimin how much he appreciates him. Perhaps Yoongi will invite him over tomorrow. He can cook his favourite meal and give him full rein over the remote control. 

He thought of his parents and the unread texts from his mother and father sitting in his inbox. He really should delete them, block them even. Something in his heart makes that task impossible though. He thought of Jeongguk and how he didn’t have a mother anymore, and here Yoongi was, willingly ignoring his. 

He thought of life and how woefully unfair it all is. Everyone longing for things they could never have. Seeing people grow bitter and resentful as they watch those who have what they so desperately desire treat it so carelessly, so impudently, so ruthlessly. How some people’s ordinary is another person’s extraordinary. Yoongi is grateful for what he has and the life he is now able to lead, he knows not everyone can afford the same luxury, and yet, he wants more . He deserves more. Jeongguk deserves more . Jimin deserves more .

It’s hard to tell at what point Yoongi fell asleep but it was definitely before Jeongguk noticed a frown on Yoongi’s face and smoothed out his furrowed brows with his fingertips because Yoongi didn’t feel that at all. Jeongguk smiled to himself, happy that Yoongi was comfortable enough in his company to fall asleep. 

Jeongguk reached a point in his piece that needed time to dry a bit before he could move on so he thought he could use this time to clean up a little and replenish his supplies. He left Yoongi a little note to explain his absence should he wake up- not that he thought he would, he seemed very far gone, but still, just in case. 

It seemed the note was unnecessary after all because when Jeongguk came back Yoongi was still fast asleep. In fact, Yoongi only stirred when Jeongguk was adding the finishing touches to the painting.

“Hey sleepyhead.” Jeongguk teased softly.

Yoongi groaned. “Your bed is very comfortable.” He muttered into the pillow.

Jeongguk hummed, “Glad it could satisfy your standards, hyung.” He smiled down at the unruly mass of hair.

Yoongi turned his head towards Jeongguk, “Are you nearly finished?”

Instinctively, Jeongguk reached out a hand, brushed the hair from Yoongi’s face and tucked it behind his ear. “It’s all done.” He whispered.

Yoongi perked up at that, “It is?? Can I see??” 

“Of course, hyung!” He giggled, “Here, gimmie your phone.”

Jeongguk snapped a picture of his masterpiece and laughed at Yoongi kicking his feet impatiently. Jeongguk handed over his phone and Yoongi immediately sat bolt upright to see it properly. In his post-sleepy grogginess and sudden excitement Yoongi hadn’t realised that he’d left his chest uncovered. As soon as he did, he snatched the blanket up and pulled it to his neck, but it was too late, Jeongguk had seen, and it looked like he knew what they meant. 

“Sorry!” Jeongguk had covered his eyes at the same time Yoongi had covered his chest. “I’m so sorry, hyung!”

‘Hyung’ ... That was a good sign. Yoongi sighed and let the blanket fall to his lap, “It’s okay, you can uncover your eyes Jeongguk-ah.”

“I didn't mean to see, hyung.” Jeongguk’s voice was small and his face was full of shame.

“It’s fine, honestly.” Yoongi held out his hands to hold Jeongguk’s and guide him to sit on the bed next to him. 

“I guess that's why you didn’t want to take your shirt off earlier?” 

Yoongi nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to you before, I just-”

Jeongguk shook his head, “No, no, hyung, you didn’t need to tell me anything. We barely know each other hyung. I understand why you didn’t. I would’ve done the same. I’m just sorry that you weren’t able to tell me on your own terms.”

“Thanks Jeongguk-ah,” Yoongi smiled warmly at the boy, “that means a lot to me. But enough of all this, you spent hours painting and I barely even saw it!” He laughed. He picked up his phone which had fallen on the floor in all the commotion. The picture was still open on the screen and- gosh . It really was beautiful . 

“You’ve outdone yourself, Jeongguk.” Yoongi gazed at the image in awe. His eyes ran over every detail. Jeongguk had painted an old but clearly very well loved, wooden swing- mid-swing, like an invisible person was sitting there. All different types of flowers and vines had woven themselves around the rickety posts, tying them together, making sure that the worn out structure still stood strong. The swing itself was on top of a grassy hill full of wild daisies and buttercups, at the bottom of the hill was a sandy beach. Yoongi could make out a few small footprints walking to the sea and walking back out but no people. The sky was cloudless and blue, and the sun made the scene sparkle, or rather Jeongguk’s shimmery gold paint did. 

Yoongi was silent as he studied the little image on his phone screen and Jeongguk was silent as he studied Yoongi. He only snapped out of it when Yoongi turned to him.

“Tell me about it.” He said softly.

So Jeongguk does. He tells him that the swing is representative of a human and the flowers and vines wrapping around it are the love and aid of their loved ones because we can’t and we shouldn’t deal with life on our own. “We’d fall apart if we tried.” He tells Yoongi that he chose to place it on a hill by the sea because he remembered an old family holiday he went on where he stood in a spot just like that and it was the windiest place on earth, “I swear hyung, I almost blew away!”. The swing wouldn’t need anything other than the wind to fulfil it’s purpose and yet the wind was the very thing that threatened to rip it apart day after day. 

“But it never would…because of the flowers…” Yoongi said quietly. 

“Exactly.”

Yoongi sniffed and Jeongguk looked over in alarm. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked gently.

Yoongi gave him a watery smile. “Thank you, Jeongguk-ah. I think I really needed to be reminded of this. That I can rely on people sometimes, ask for help when I need it. And that, if I do, they will. Because they care about me. Because I would do the same for them.”

Jeongguk smiled and gently nudged him with his side, “I’m glad I could help, hyung.”

Yoongi wiped his damp cheeks with the back of his hand, “Does it have a name? This piece?”

“‘May your trials end in full bloom’.”

Yoongi looked at him with wide eyes which Jeongguk interpreted to be an indication to explain the name. “Something that Jimin hyung told me once, I’ve been meaning to paint a piece with that title since then. I suppose I thought today was the day.” He chuckled.

“That little shit plagiarised me! I can’t believe this!” Yoongi burst out.

Jeongguk was suddenly very confused. “What??”

“That quote is a Yoongi Original, thank you very much!”

The cogs in Jeongguk’s head spun round and round in his head but to Yoongi he was just sitting there with a rather bewildered expression on his face. Eventually, Jeongguk stopped buffering enough to let out a breathy, “ what the fuck ”. 

“My sentiments exactly!” Yoongi exclaimed.

“Wait, hyung-” Jeongguk furrowed his brows and shook his head slightly, “what your saying is, your words, inspired the painting that I just made on your back…the one that you were literally just in tears about…and neither of us knew until right now…?”

Yoongi sat in silence for a moment and then broke it by saying, “Man…this whole time I thought fate was a load of bullshit but, I don’t know, this could sway me I think.”

“I’ve always believed in fate, hyung.”

Yoongi looked him up and down. “Yeah, that checks out.” He concluded.

“Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!” Jeongguk laughed and lightly pushed Yoongi with his shoulder.

“Well- you’re all whimsical n’ shit aren’t you?” Yoongi laughed too.

“I like being whimsical.” Jeongguk rested his chin on Yoongi’s shoulder.

“I like you being whimsical too.” Yoongi turned his face towards Jeongguk who backed away a little at their sudden proximity. “ Don’t go” Yoongi whispered. Their eyes met and flitted down to each other’s lips. A silent exchange of ‘do you want to?’/ ‘yes, I think I do’. They slowly inched toward each other until their noses touched. Yoongi playfully nuzzled Jeongguk but his antics were interrupted by Jeongguk catching his lips with his own. It was soft and slow, and it made Yoongi acutely aware of his lack of shirt as his goosebumps added texture to Jeongguk’s work of art. 

“You really are so beautiful, hyung,” Jeongguk whispered an inch from his face. Yoongi blushed so deeply that the redness even reached his chest. “Can I photograph you?”

Usually, Yoongi hated having his picture taken, but how could he deny the request of such a pretty boy? Especially since he asked so nicely. Which is now why Yoongi can be found posing for said Pretty Boy’s very official-looking camera. Jeongguk had cleared the window ledge and directed Yoongi to contort his body in every which way to get the most artistic shots he could. Jeongguk all but moaned in artistic satisfaction when golden hour came and made Yoongi’s skin glow and the gold paint shimmer. Most of the shots were focused on the painting but Jeongguk did get a bit carried away and ended up with a fair few shots of Yoongi rolling around in his sheets. After a while Jeongguk called it a night and they went through the photos together which really consisted of Jeongguk complimenting Yoongi as much as he could and Yoongi gradually turning a deep shade of fuschia. In the first batch of photos Jeongguk had done an excellent job of avoiding Yoongi’s scars but then they came across one with them on full display. Jeongguk could feel Yoongi stiffen a little beside him.

“I can delete it if you want. Or edit them out.” Jeongguk suggested gently.

Yoongi was quiet for a moment as he looked at the photo, but then he shook his head. “No…they're a part of me.” He said quietly, “keep it but-” he looked at Jeongguk, “don’t show anyone. Not yet at least.”

“Of course not. I promise.” Jeongguk held out his little pinky. Yoongi laughed softly but still played along and wrapped his pinky around Jeongguk’s. “I could always paint your chest and stomach next time.” Jeongguk suggested, grinning. 

“Hmm, we’ll see.” Yoongi squinted at Jeongguk’s mischievous expression but his heart skipped a beat at the casual mention of “ next time” .

Just then Jeongguk’s stomach growled loudly. “Speaking of stomachs, mine’s just yawned. Food?”

“Food.” Yoongi nodded.

Jeongguk started to lead the way out of his room but stopped just before the door, “You can put your shirt back on now by the way. It’s all dry.” 

“I um…don’t really want to…”

“Oh!” Jeongguk looked surprised, “that's cool too. Just thought you might be cold, that's all.” He shrugged.

“I am a little,” Yoongi admitted, “but I dunno, I don’t want to cover it up.” He said shyly.

Jeongguk smiled, “Well then. To the kitchen!”

An hour or so later found the two boys huddled up on the sofa under a blanket with empty bowls on the coffee table and full bellies, watching High School Musical 2. If you asked Yoongi, he would tell you that it's the best movie in the series. Jeongguk however…

“There’s just no beating the first one I’m sorry. Get your head in the game?? Status quo?? Come on, they’re classics!!”

“Wrong. Loud and wrong . I won’t deny there’s great songs in the first film but the second one is just so much better in every single way. Fabulous alone beats at least half the tracklist in the first one single-handedly, don’t play with me right now.”

They continued to squabble over which was the superior movie, poke fun at the characters and the plot and sing their hearts out because they had specifically chosen to play the sing-a-long version, not that either of them really needed the lyrics up on the screen but they had fun regardless.

“Admit it.” Yoongi said when the credits rolled, “The second one is better.”

“Never.”

“I’m not leaving until you say it.” He threatened, crossing his arms defiantly.

“Is that a promise?” Jeongguk winked.

“God, you are such a flirt.” Yoongi groaned and stood up, the blanket falling from his shoulders.

“Only with you.” Jeongguk gazed upon Yoongi’s exposed skin. “You do believe me, don’t you?” 

“What?”

“When I tell you you’re beautiful, you believe me, right?”

“I…believe that you believe it.”

Jeongguk squinted at him. “No, that's not good enough.” He muttered to himself. He suddenly got up, walked straight past Yoongi and to his to-do list that he had hung up beside his calendar. He grabbed the pen from the holder and scribbled ‘make yoongi-hyung believe he is beautiful.’

Yoongi could feel his very soul blushing. “I hope you've got a lot of patience because that’s gonna take a while.”

Jeongguk walked back over to him, hugged him, whispered- “ We have all the time in the world.” and kissed him on the cheek.

—

[Epilogue- From that moment on, Jeongguk vowed to make Yoongi feel beautiful in every single possible way he could. They had many more painting sessions, some of which ended up with Jeongguk and his bedsheets covered in paint too. Yoongi became somewhat of a muse for Jeongguk and in turn, Jeongguk became a muse for Yoongi as well. Yoongi held up his end of the bargain and helped Jeongguk find a wonderful therapist. It's still early days but Jeongguk is sure that there has already been a huge improvement. Jeongguk introduced Yoongi to Taehyung and the song they made together is now Taehyung’s most popular track. Oh! And the members of Seoul’s Foundation for Arts and Culture reached out to Jeongguk and decided that he would a great fit for their upcoming project! They still have movie nights whenever they can and Yoongi cooks for them both every time.]