Work Text:
the purple lava lamp is illuminating the smoke in the room, thick and shapeless. jeongguk laughs because the image puts new meaning in the song they're currently listening to "purple haze". there's a tap on his shoulder and when he turns, jimin is handing him the joint they've all been smoking from. he shakes his head.
"i should head home actually."
taehyung makes a noise resembling a growl and scoff hybrid. "admit it, you're only friends with us for the weed."
"you caught me," the youngest reciprocates, smiling widely as he steadies himself from taehyung's beanbag chair. he stumbles a little, his legs having had fallen asleep in the long hours he spent on taheyung's chair playing left 4 dead and getting high off his ass.
"you can barely walk home," jimin laughs. "just sit down and sleep over."
jeongguk moans as he stretches out, his joints cracking. "no."
jimin narrows his eyes. "why are so afraid to sleep over with us?"
"i'm terrified that i'm going to wake up in the middle of the night to you two performing the horizontal tango."
"oh my gosh," taehyung groans. "we don't have sex, you know that."
"coming from the same two people who share a celebratory kiss when learning that it is, indeed, pizza day in the cafeteria."
"a kiss is nothing!" jimin defends. "i kiss soonshim all the time, it doesn't mean i'm into bestiality ! besides we'd kiss you too if you're feeling left out."
"trust me, i'm good."
jeongguk watches his two older friends while leaning against the bedroom door. jimin is the oldest of the three, only older than taehyung by a few months which doesn't seem to stop him from trying to get the elusive redhead to call him "hyung" and, even a couple of times, "oppa".
for as long as jeongguk has known the duo, they have been attached at the hip. when he had first met them, he thought their relationship was not only bizarre but that it had to be unhealthy, some sort of real life example of over-attachment and codependency. but even more than that, he found it annoying. there were many instances when he would want to hang out with only one of them, times when he'd text taehyung or jimin separately to chill, only for the both of them to show up at the meeting place. when he had asked them once before why they didn't go anywhere without the other -- the exception being a few classes that they didn't have together and their separate jobs -- they simply met his inquisition with confusion.
"i don't know," jimin mumbled."i guess i just don't see the point."
despite their closeness, their state of always being together and the small pecks they sometimes exchanged, they would not admit to jeongguk that they were dating. that, more than anything, was annoying.
"why can't you two just admit that you're an item?" jeongguk asks again, interrupting the two from their respective dazes.
"an item?"
"you know, a package deal. a buy one, get one free kind of thing."
taehyung and jimin turn to each other, questioningly.
"not sure i agree with that," jimin answers.
"yeah," taehyung turns back to jeongguk. "i think it's more of a 'buy one, get one half off'."
"it's definitely not," jeongguk yawns. "but i won't make you explain your allegedly nonexistent romance. again. i have my first day to worry about."
jimin coos. "look at our kookie! all grown up and gradated from high school. ready to join our world of stress and term papers."
taehyung laughs and squishes jeongguk's cheeks while the target of their teasing rolls his eyes.
"don't forget to meet us on the quad early so we can show you where you need to go."
when he was in grade school and in high school, the day of graduation didn't seem like a day that would actually come. it was a day everyone knew about and was to prepare for but jeongguk never actually expected to graduate or to attend college. it wasn't that he didn't believe in himself or that he didn't have good grades, it was simply the element of planning that evades heaps upon heaps of adolescents.
after the graduation ceremony and the acceptance letter from the university, he was surprised to find that he wasn't at all nervous. he expected stomach flips and nightmares about walking into the wrong classroom but he found it impossible to be nervous.
he'd spent the entirety of the summer playing video games and smoking pot in taehyung's basement (which may as well have been jimin's basement too since he practically lived there). he'd done last minute supply shopping and last minute reading for his literature class only a couple of weeks before the first day.
and he was still calm.
maybe it's the large dosages of marijuana or the quiet night or the sound of his skateboard rolling steadily over the pavement keeping him from spiraling into the chaotic whirlwind of adulthood and college responsibilities. he opts for the former.
jeongguk groans internally as he shifts his weight from his right foot to his left and checks his phone for the nth time in roughly two minutes. there's still no response to his text messages or any returned calls to his voicemails. this is one of those times that taehyung and jimin's buy one get one free relationship especially aggravates him because it doubles as "can't get one on the phone, definitely won't get the other".
between his brewing anger and the nervousness that decided it didn't want to peak in until this morning, jeongguk barely takes in the campus surrounding him. the campus has an open layout that circulates like a miniature colosseum which jeongguk thinks is eerily fitting considering how many students have been slaughtered by finals.
a tall and lean young man, who jeongguk guesses is only a few years older than he, crosses his path, throwing a friendly, dazzling smile before disappearing in one of the buildings. jeongguk's eyes follow him the whole way, eyes stuck on the older's slender yet sinewy figure and his chestnut brown hair. his feet are urging him to fall into step, to follow the fleeting person but before he can take the action, strong arms are wrapped around his waist from behind.
he shuts his eyes.
"get off," he huffs out, feeling like, if he really wanted to, he could blow steam from his ears.
"why is it so hard for you to be affectionate?" jimin teases him, his voice muffled from the close contact with the younger's skin. jeongguk hears another laugh behind him and rolls his eyes because sometimes his brain manages to fool itself into thinking tweedledee and tweedledum could separate. he juts out his arm, elbowing jimin in the stomach. not rough enough to cause any actual harm but rough enough for the older to know he was pissed.
"we're sorry!" taehyung exclaims with a huge boxy grin, clutching his stomach like he was the one who'd been elbowed. "we overslept."
"something keep you active all night?" jeongguk mutters and jimin rolls his eyes but offers his hand to the younger who gently slaps it away. "i'm not holding your hand. what am i, five?"
taehyung steps up to him and brushes his hair out of his eyes, cooing as he does. "no of course not. you're six, did you think we forgot?"
jeongguk doesn't even have time to voice a snarky response before his two hyungs are dragging him into one of the buildings, starting their specialized tour.
jeongguk quickly learns that he is going to love college.
everyone there has come into their own, all of them overflowing with the kind of bold self expression that makes jeongguk want to dye his hair violet as taehyung had done once in his last year of high school. there’s a lounge area on campus, a couple actually, that has neon orange sofas and a plasma tv. it’s cool and uninhibited and feels like the very essence of adolescence. the library is huge and there isn’t a doubt in jeongguk’s mind that every book that had ever been written was stocked there. things were on such a grandiose scale but intimidation didn’t faze jeongguk, instead he was plagued by immense ebullience.
the classrooms are large and daunting and it makes jeongguk feel an itch of pride because he made it here from long nights bent over library desks, poring over heaps upon heaps of textbooks just so he could get the perfect score on his college entrance exam.
and he did it.
the anxiety he’d had the night before fades with an influx of excitement. this was going to be a great first year. he could feel it.
he makes it to his first class in the knick of time. it’s the only one he shares with taehyung which jeongguk had poked fun at him for (“how many classes did you fail to get held back and put in a freshman class?”) but, as it turned out, it wasn’t because taehyung had failed anything rather because he’d neglected to take this class when he supposed to. something about not wanting to take any classes that jimin wasn’t taking. but now that graduation would be nearing, he wanted to get all of the annoying credits out of the way as soon as he could.
it’s a basic class. a liberal arts class about career designing in which they’ll be made to write industry research papers, perfect their resumes, and cover letters — everything to help better prepare them for their future careers. upon reading the syllabus, taehyung mutters a quiet “how am i supposed to write an industry research paper about my own nonexistent company?” and jeongguk just ignores him.
the professor is a man in his mid thirties who is very relaxed, the kind of professor made popular by american sitcoms about adolescence, the kind of professor who wore his work shirt with the sleeves rolled up half way so everyone would know that he could be spoken to. jeongguk liked him already.
“okay,” the professor clapped his hands together. “why don’t we go around and you tell me what career you have in mind after you graduate?”
there were answers ranging from medical to law to entrepreneurship and jeongguk found that with every answer given, he sunk further into his seat because fuck…what did he want to do after this?
before he has a chance to let this thought consume him or to fumble with a poorly thought out answer, the doors swing open and a young man comes stumbling in. he laughs at his own clumsiness, covering his mouth as he does.
the professor smiles and gestures at him. “students, this is seokjin, he’s the t.a. and he’ll be the one you go to for any questions that i don’t want to answer.”
the students laugh and seokjin bows, his chestnut brown hair flipping forward as he does and jeongguk thinks it looks so fluffy, he clenches his fist because he’s itching to touch it. when seokjin removes his hand from his mouth, his smile is bright and blinding and jeongguk recognizes him as the student he saw on the quad earlier.
seokjin shuffles over to a desk at the very front of the room, closest to the professor’s desk, and sits his messenger bag on the floor. the professor decides to go on with the lesson instead of dwelling on the career thing, there’s a powerpoint put up on the huge screen but jeongguk’s eyes stay on seokjin.
“who is he?” jeongguk asks taehyung in a whisper when they’re shuffling out of class.
“who?”
“the t.a.”
"oh that's seokjin--"
“no,” jeongguk stops short, almost smacking his forehead. “he was introduced to the whole class, remember? i mean who is he? what does he do? how long has he been going here?”
taehyung raises an eyebrow. “why are you asking?”
jeongguk gawks. “were we seeing the same t.a.? are you seriously asking me why i would want to know anything about the guy who looks like a greek god?”
“that hyung is off limits,” taehyung chuckles quietly.
“i don’t care,” jeongguk scoffs. “he’s ridiculously hot. like i think if i were to introduce myself properly and shake his hand or something, i’d get burned.”
jeongguk is so busy making metaphors about seokjin’s attractiveness — and also making some crude suggestions at what he’d like to do with him — that he doesn’t notice taehyung’s eyes widening or the hard look he gives him which means to shut the fuck up.
“seriously,” jeongguk sighs. “i’d probably do very bad things to him.”
taehyung’s gone a little pale, eyes still stuck on whatever is behind jeongguk and jeongguk, finally noticing, turns to look. he sees someone shorter than him standing directly behind him, his dark eyes cutting jeongguk in half. the guy’s hair is platinum blonde and falls in front of his eyes, he looks like he could be attractive in another life where he didn’t have a scowl tattooed on his face.
jeongguk, maybe a little too high off his newfound college title and a little overconfident, responds roughly. “is there a problem?”
the guy doesn’t blink, his eyes never moving from jeongguk’s. he stares for a while, longer than jeongguk would think was humanly possible and before he knows it, the guy is walking away.
jeongguk turns to taehyung, ready to try to laugh the strangeness of the confrontation off but taehyung is just shaking his head. “what? who was he?”
taehyung sighs, patting jeongguk on the back. “he is the reason seokjin hyung is off limits. it was nice knowing you, guk. at least you don’t have to deal with the midterm chaos. he’ll kill you before then.”
“how was i supposed to know he was taken?”
taehyung laughs out loud. “because i told you!”
“you said he was off limits,” jeongguk clarifies. “really that could mean anything. it could mean he’s not interested in underclassmen so i shouldn’t even try. it could mean he’s as straight as a pin, it could mean many things!”
jimin laughs. “kookie, kookie, you’re not coming off on the right foot, are you?”
“i’ll have you know i’m doing fine,” the youngest of the three rolls his eyes. “i’m not off at a bad start on my classes and my professors seem to like me.”
“first of all,” jimin starts. “you just started today, you don’t even have any assignments to be graded so technically the entire freshman class is not off to a bad start with their classes.”
“secondly,” taehyung chimes in because it’s impossible for one of them to start giving a speech if the other doesn’t finish it. “all of the professors are nice to the freshmen in the beginning. it’s only to not freak them out, don’t take it personal. trust me, they’ll turn into horror movie villains a week before the midterm outbreak.”
“you guys are completely—“
wrong.
jeongguk was going to say wrong.
but then he’s hitting someone with a strong enough impact to knock them both on their backs. he grunts at the blow papers rain all around him. he hears a curse and sits up to see a tall, lanky guy with light brown hair scrambling to pick up the stack of files that are currently decorating the hall.
jeongguk scrambles to get up, reaching for papers and handing them to the guy who takes them but sneers as he does. apologies come out of jeongguk like a geyser and he wonders what happened to the macho confidence from earlier. the guy doesn’t say anything, doesn’t tell him it was an accident or that it was okay, just gathers the rest of his things up in his arms and sprints away.
taehyung is helping jeongguk up to his feet and they’ve ensured he’s really okay, his two friends start shaking from laughter and jeongguk feels his heart skip a beat.
“…who was that?” he asks, guessing that they must be laughing because he’s just royally fucked up.
“that’s namjoon,” jimin snickers. “he’s the valedictorian, he’s the one who holds majority of the tutoring sessions.”
“why is that funny?” jeongguk seethes.
the two don't answer him, just falling into another giggly spiel and jeongguk retains the urge to punch them both square in the face.
jeongguk's next class is one he has the most interest in. it's a psychology class that studies pop culture and its effect on society's thoughts and impressions. it's a class he's looked forward to because, as much as he feeds into pop culture, he also hates everything it stands for.
the professor isn't as cool as the one in his designing careers class but he doesn't mind.
as he settles into his seat, preparing for an intriguing analysis of the human mind, he thinks he'll enjoy this class.
then the doors open.
and in walks the same blonde guy who was glared at him so intensely the day before. somehow he spots him first in a sea of students and he glares again, this time a small smirk forming on his lips.
"oh," the professor gestures toward the blonde. "this is yoongi. he'll be the t.a. in this class and whenever you have questions or need help with any assignments, feel free to ask him."
jeongguk hates college.
all of the payments for university have left him strapped for cash and jimin gets him a job working at the smoothie shop on campus. as the weeks pass, his course work gets more complex and less easy to handle. his professors demand more of him and become less understanding. he's made to stay up until the crack of dawn to finish the perfect research paper ("with a properly works cited page this time," his professor scolds him) and he can't get any sleep because he knows if he has the intention to nap for two hours, he'll sleep through the whole day and he can kiss his good grades goodbye.
the psychology class he was sure he'd enjoy has been hijacked by min yoongi, the jilted and overprotective boyfriend of the incredibly attractive and incredibly kind t.a. in his designing careers class. yoongi has managed to "lose" three of his assignments causing his grade in the only class he actually gave a shit about to plummet.
the bastard really played dirty.
jeongguk didn't see the big deal. the way he saw it, it was obvious that seokjin was a rare beauty and he assumed it'd be expected that people would flirt (or make crude suggestions). he didn't understand why yoongi was being such a hardass about the situation.
but it was okay because after pulling a three day all nighter hopped up on sugary snacks and too many espresso based drinks from starbucks (thank god for taehyung's employment there because he really couldn't afford it otherwise), he'd managed to study exquisitely and got a perfect score on his midterm exam, one of the few things yoongi couldn't tamper with as a t.a.
so tonight he was prepared to sit on taehyung's beanbag chair, play left 4 dead, and smoke until he couldn't see straight.
but jimin and taehyung were both dry.
"it's because of you," taehyung says but it isn't harsh, it's actually saturated with light teasing.
jimin nods. "namjoon won't sell to us anymore because of what you did."
"what i did?" jeongguk gapes. "i ran into him on accident, bumped him in the hallway! you guys are talking like i stole his car or made out with someone he has a hard on for."
"namjoon is very particular," jimin shrugs. "he's a smart ass with a high iq and someone who takes pleasure in playing god ... which makes no sense considering he's an atheist."
jeongguk falls back on the chair and, like toddler in the midst of a tantrum, kicks his feet against the floor. "this sucks."
"think of the brightside," taehyung leans over him. "at least you pulled your grade up in your psyche class. if you didn't, he'd have to tutor you and..."
"...he'd do a much more impactful job of sinking your grades than yoongi."
the only good thing about college is seokjin.
seokjin is the greatest t.a. that ever lived. whenever there's a big test or a "surprise" quiz, every student is prepared because seokjin sends out a mass email to alert them beforehand. sometimes they receive study guides that are identical to certain exams and jeongguk knows seokjin is responsible. one time they walked into class to find homemade snacks sitting at each of their desks. seokjin says it was for their hard work and jeongguk's heart palpated with pleasure.
he didn't understand how an angel like seokjin was with a devil like yoongi.
jeongguk thinks seokjin is the best thing to ever grace the earth but he's never had a conversation with him that didn't take place through email and wasn't about what to expect on the final exams.
so when seokjin walks into the smoothie shop a few minutes before closing, jeongguk panics a little. not that he would admit.
seokjin looks just as great after dark. his hair is mussed and messy but it's charming. he isn't dressed in his semi professional attire as he is in classes, instead wearing a large black hoodie with black jeans. it's kind of overwhelmingly attractive.
"good evening," jeongguk greets with a pleasantness he didn't know his voice could have. "what can i get you?"
seokin looks up at him, already smiling politley but his smile widens and brightens when he recognizes him. "jeongguk! i didn't know you worked here!"
oh fuck, the hot guy knows my name. there are one hundred students in that class and he knows my name.
"yeah," jeongguk laughs, turning around to show off the uniform. "it suits me, don't you think?"
seokjin laughs and it sounds more pleasant than any jhene aiko song. "not really."
"ouch," jeongguk feigns hurt before breaking into another smile. "what are you doing up so late?"
jeongguk picks up the tiny change in seokjin's expression, how his smile falters for a fraction of a second before it's bright and inviting again. "just handling some t.a. responsibilities."
"professors," jeongguk clicks his tongue. "they're pretty lazy, huh? dumping all their work on you."
seokin tsks. "guk, that's no way to talk about your teachers, show respect."
jeongguk hates it when jimin and taehyung call him guk or any variation of it but coming from seokjin it sounds like an angelic chorus and jeongguk feels like he's melting into nothing, his insides all gooey.
after longer than necessary small talk, seokjin finally leaves with his watermelon aloe vera smoothie and promises to visit more often before disappearing into the night.
"this is ridiculous," jeongguk fumes. "isn't this ridiculous?"
"calm down," jimin nudges him. "you sound like you're going through withdrawal, it's just weed, you'll be okay."
"but i am stressed," jeongguk enunciates each word through clenched teeth. it was the truth. he was extremely stressed and espresso didn't help neither did stress eating. weed was the only thing that calmed him down. jeongguk listened to a lot of music from artists who smoked a lot of pot but he didn't know how much he identified with them until namjoon the genius drug dealer started holding out.
taehyung ceases typing for a moment to turn and suggest that jeongguk finds another alternative for stress release.
jimin's eyes widen. "dance with me!"
"what?"
"oh!" jimin exclaims, pretty much jumping up and down. "join dance club! it's great, i promise. and it'll help with whatever stress or...sexual frustration you might be feeling."
"fuck off, hyung, i'm not sexually frustrated."
taehyung hums in agreement. "now jimin, you know it's impossible for virgins to get sexually frustrated."
the two laugh like hyenas and jeongguk sinks into his chair, too annoyed to bother sniping back.
hoseok laughs too loudly and smiles too brightly but he is neither an asshole with a vendetta or an asshole playing god so jeongguk likes him. plus the dude has the sickest dance moves and the best taste in music. the two spend a better part of time after the initial club meeting talking about their favorite deejays and emcees.
when the club meeting had first started, hoseok introduced jeongguk to the members and gave a speech about adversity. he didn't think the speech was all that special but beside him jimin was beaming.
"isn't he great?" he asks in a whisper, nudging jeongguk but never taking his eyes from hoseok.
jeongguk bites the inside of his cheek because he knows jimin and taehyung always deny that there's anything romantic about their relationship but it feels wrong to see jimin so incredibly infatuated with someone else.
"how are you liking your first year?" hoseok asks as the three of them shuffle out of the practice room.
jeongguk shrugs. momentarily he thinks about mentioning the fact that he has not been able to smoke pot in over two months, that he was deeply infatuated with a graduate t.a. whose boyfriend was trying to ruin in his life, or that it felt like he was drifting from his friends. but he settles on a "not bad".
hoseok sighs almost relieved. "that's good. i know my first year went down horribly. i didn't do great in classes, i was stressed all the time, it felt like i was on autopilot and on overdrive at the same time."
"what did you do about it?" jimin asks and his voice sort of swoons and jeongguk thinks he might be sick.
"i just had to take it one assignment at a time," hoseok shrugs. "eventually i got the hang of it. it's still complicated some days but it's easier now."
a bright red color catches jeongguk's attention and he's stopping in his tracks to look at the source of it. it's a pair of jordans enclosed in a glass case, bright fiery red like the ones from wizard of oz. he raises an eyebrow. "what is this?"
"the red shoes," hoseok answers simply and leaves it at that. jimin stares at him like he just recited a sonnet and jeongguk wonders why the fuck college students are so weird.
jimin and taehyung spend less time together and jeongguk, for someone who was constantly complaining about their inseparable nature, found it offputting. he'd gone to study at the library with jimin and only jimin, taehyung busy meeting with the stargazing club. and now he was eating in the cafeteria with taehyung because jimin was busy with cryptic, red shoe aficionado hoseok.
neither one of them seemed bothered by it which only frustrated jeongguk more. he ran his hand through his hair and looked off in a distance. his eyes fall on yoongi who was currently being spoonfed by seokjin. jeongguk had know they were an item but this had been his first time seeing them together and it just made him angrier.
he looks to taehyung. "i'm gonna get namjoon to stop holding out on us."
"how are you gonna do that?" food falls out of taehyung's mouth as he asks this and jeongguk winces.
"i'm not sure," jeongguk admits, his sights settling on the severely mismatched couple. "but this is the last straw."
despite being responsible for jeongguk's current struggles in school and being the point of jeongguk's frustrations, yoongi was a mysterious person. he didn't talk much and when students asked him questions, he answered with the facts never joking or making small talk in between. jeongguk really didn't understand what seokjin saw in him.
but after seeing his grades in the psych class, jeongguk knew it was all going to change because he wasn't about to put up with this bullshit any longer.
"i'm giving you an ultimatum," he says evenly, blocking yoongi from leaving the now empty classroom. "either stop fucking around and fix my grades or i'm gonna tell."
yoongi narrows his eyes. "did you really come here from high school and not daycare?"
"if you don't," jeongguk continues as if he hadn't just been burned with the fire of a thousand suns. "i am going to tell and that's all you need to know."
yoongi steps closer. "the administration actually pays me money so they don't have to do any more work than they want to. they're not gonna take your word against mine, okay?"
jeongguk takes a deep breath. "i didn't say anything about the administration."
yoongi only raises a brow.
"hyung," jeongguk says a little more brokenly than he actually felt. "you said i could come to you for help anytime, right?"
seokjin looks really concerned, worry tainting his features and his forehead creasing as he stands. "of course. what is it?"
jeongguk starts telling him about the t.a. who was bullying him, how the t.a. was telling the professor that his assignments hadn't been turned in, how it was sinking his grades which was all true. but jeongguk also decides to get creative and tells seokjin about his strict his parents are about his grades and how much they'll hate him when they see his marks in that class.
jeongguk tries to break out into tears but it's a lot harder than taehyung makes it looks so he just sniffles as much as possible.
he's surprised but not disappointed when he's pulled into a hug and the older comforts him with a quiet promise that he was going to take care of everything.
jeongguk had discovered in his first week at university that he studied better when the instrumental to A$AP Rocky's "fuckin problems" was playing. he didn't understand why it seemed to work better than mozart but it was helping him get good marks so he was in no position to complain.
right now he's got it blasting in taehyung's basement, sprawled out on the floor. jeongguk is writing diligent notes from his readings and taehyung is throwing darts at his most recent essay, one that had been given the measly grade of a c-minus.
"is jimin coming tonight?" jeongguk asks from the floor and he feels like a child asking his parents why daddy spends all his time at work, not knowing their marriage was failing.
taehyung shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowed and his tongue peaking out, an expression of his that meant the most intense concentration. "he's going to the movies with hoseok."
he throws the dart and it lands right on the big red "C" and he cheers. "victory sandwich!" as he walks up the stairs.
"do you want one?" he calls over his shoulder and jeongguk can only get himself to hum in response because he doesn't trust his voice.
the cold truth of it was that jeongguk didn't like change and right now his life was full of it. his tweedledee and tweedledum friends were spending more time apart and it was affecting him more than he'd like to admit. for a greater part of his life, he's known them as a duo but jimin was off partnering up with someone else.
when taehyung comes back down carrying two blt sandwiches, jeongguk asks him if everything is okay.
"what do you mean?"
he asks the question with his mouth full and jeongguk almost rolls his eyes because the habit doesn't disgust him anymore.
"i mean," he picks at the lettuce. "you and jimin don't...you guys aren't an item anymore. hoseok is replacing you."
taehyung surprisingly doesn't frown or break out into tears, he simply quirks his eyebrow before laughing a little too loudly, food spewing out. "not possible."
"what?"
taehyung shakes his head. "hoseok could never replace me. just like how anyone i was dating could never replace jimin. look, i get that it's weird for you but trust me, we're okay. he's my best friend and that won't ever change. hell, one time he had a girlfriend who told him to choose between her and me and you know what he did? he broke up with her!"
he shakes his head again. "i thought he was stupid because she was a really beautiful girl and she was super smart and knew all these things about space but he broke up with her. because, as he said, i was too important to him. hoseok isn't replacing me. he could try but...well, it just isn't possible."
his laughter dies down and eventually he settles.
"but are you okay?" he asks and jeongguk blanches because was he really?
this time, instead of saying everything is okay, he shrugs. "i'm really not sure."
taehyung may be a little annoying at times and a little obscure but he's great at reading people and even better at reading jeongguk so he just nudges his shoulder instead of pressing for more information. "i know what will cheer you up."
jeongguk just watches as taehyung grabs his neon yellow laptop, settling down next to him when he flips it open.
"let's pursue operation: get weed."
through the use of social media and extensive research and a wee bit of light hacking that taehyung claims he learned by watching the girl with the dragon tattoo, they learn where namjoon lives. it's a relatively fancy apartment downtown that makes jeongguk briefly consider becoming a drug dealer if it meant the pay was this good.
both taehyung and jimin are with him as he stands in front of namjoon's door, unable to bring himself to actually knock on it.
"what are you waiting for?" jimin jabs him. "let's get our weed."
"well now that we're here and now that taehyung's made me watch a few episodes of the wire, i don't really feel comfortable knocking on a drug dealer's door."
taehyung shakes his head. "he has a reputation to think about plus i may or may not have posted a status saying we were hanging out with him."
jimin squeezes jeongguk's shoulder as a form of reassurance. "if he hurts us, he can't get away with it."
"comforting," jeongguk mutters and knocks on the door.
jeongguk thinks it must be a funny sight. he imagines himself in his own living room and there being a knock on the door. and when he opens it he finds three college students holding their hands out before the youngest one, at the center, says: "we're tired of gwen stacey. we want mary jane."
taehyung and jimin were the ones who came up with the line but jeongguk is the one who gets smacked upside the head for it. all three of them get dragged inside and jeongguk hears jimin whimper like a kicked puppy.
"what the fuck are you doing?" namjoon hisses. "do you want me to get arrested?"
"oh come on," taehyung boasts. "that wasn't obvious at all. it's clear we're a part of the comic book club and came to get the spider-man editions you borrowed from us but never returned."
namjoon shoots a glare at taehyung who takes the note to shut up. namjoon just continues glaring at all of them and it's silent for a long time until jeongguk breaks.
"i said i was sorry."
"what?"
jeongguk shrugs. "i said i was sorry when we ran into each other."
"and?"
"well," jeongguk trails off. "you're being kind of immature. you're honestly acting like...you're in daycare and not college."
jeongguk feels weird stealing a burn from yoongi but he feels kind of satisfied with the way namjoon gawks at him. the elder steps forward and jeongguk steps back.
"excuse you?" he leans forward like a predator and even bares his teeth but jeongguk only leans back. he huffs. "you really want the weed, huh?"
jeongguk nods and namjoon shakes his head, scratching his hair. "all three of you are stoners, you have a problem."
jeongguk resists the urge to say "i love bad bitches that's my fuckin problem". he bites his tongue, why is that song always stuck in his head?
"but fine," namjoon crosses his arms. "but you have to something for me."
jimin looks around the fancy apartment. "i'm not sure, it looks like our 'problem' has done plenty for you."
"do you want the weed or not?"
namjoon's favor surprisingly doesn't involve stealing a ridiculous amount of money or dealing drugs to middle schoolers (something he apparently doesn't condone). jeongguk had something about being surprised a drug dealer had moral standards and that earned him another smack to the back of the head. all he wants is for jeongguk to test something out.
taehyung had protested that their precious child wasn't going to test out any wonder drugs and namjoon just rolled his eyes.
namjoon then explained that along with being a drug dealer, he was starting a laminating business to supply minors with illegal ideas. when jimin asked what was so hard about getting a job that was, you know, legal, namjoon just said people paid more for what they couldn't have.
his next session in the psych class ended with the professor praising his excellent grades and yoongi shooting a glare at him which jeongguk only reciprocated with a knowing smile and a wink.
namjoon's favor lead jeongguk to where he is now, a 21 and older club, with a fake ID an all the access to the open bar.
the plan was to go in and go out, just to make sure the ID was legit enough that the bouncer wouldn't give it a second look. but jeongguk has never had alcohol that wasn't bought by jimin and taehyung (and they only bought the dirt cheap and only ever let him have the last sip).
so he uses his fake ID and buys a g&t, giddy but doing his best not to let the excitement bubble over. the bartender slides the drink over but before jeongguk can take a sip, the club is plunged into darkness, a single blue light striking center stage.
jeongguk looks, his attention totally hijacked and what he sees makes his heart shatter.
seokjin is center stage, his hair messy, what jeongguk once called charming and his lips glowing with what looks like lip gloss. a song with a heavy bass and sensual vocalizing starts and jeongguk knows why he's up there. the shirt goes first and, as seokjin body rolls, the music is momentarily drowned out by loud cheers.
jeongguk looks around the club and sees plenty of people gawking at seokjin, they're drooling like they're looking at a steak and not a perfect angel.
his face heats up and he clenches his fists but he's not sure why. he can't make himself look on stage, he thinks it would be disrespectful so he keeps his eyes down. the cheers get louder progressively until the song ends and the house lights turn back on.
when jeongguk does look up, seokjin is staring right back at him, his expression mirroring jeongguk's own panic.
the drink stays untouched on the counter.
jeongguk's pace is picking up and he quietly thanks jimin's suggestion to join dance club because his legs aren't burning from the sensation yet. he hears footsteps behind him but he can't make himself slow down. something deep down wants to be caught.
and he is.
seokjin stands in front of him, blocking his way but not really because jeongguk could easily maneuver around him but he doesn't. seokjin is draped in that black hoodie again with those black jeans. and suddenly jeongguk doesn't think it's hot as anymore because seokjin was using it to shield his own shame.
"guk," the older pants. "i...i can explain."
jeongguk shakes his head.
"i'm sorry," seokjin breathes out, his shoulders slumping. "i'm really sorry, please don't hate me."
jeongguk shakes his head again because seokjin is misunderstanding. "no, i don't...why are you apologizing to me?"
"because you think less of me now. everyone does."
"i don't," the younger's voice breaks. "i don't hate you, hyung, i hate them."
he gestures behind him at the club.
"they just...they look at you like you're nothing more than," jeongguk stops, not wanting to finish the thought. "why do you do it?"
"college is expensive," seokjin's intake of breath is shaky. "this pays pretty well."
jeongguk is about to respond but then it makes sense. yoongi knew what seokjin did for money. that's why he reacted the way he did. every night people treat seokjin look at and talk about seokjin like he wasn't a person but some sort of sex toy.
and jeongguk had done the same thing. his heart sinks.
"i'm so sorry, hyung."
his voice breaks and he shudders and he thinks if he wasn't so great at guarding himself, he'd break down and cry but he doesn't. he does lean into seokjin and lets the older hug him close. "don't be."
as always seokjin is unbearably kind and he takes jeongguk to a late night diner and buys him a milkshake. they talk about what seokjin does and seokjin confirms, yes, that is why yoongi is so ridiculously protective. jeongguk opens up like a fountain and tells seokjin about how much he hates all the changes in his life and seokjin just smiles reassuringly.
"life is all about change," he says gently. "if you lived the same day over and over, do you think you'd be happy?"
jeongguk shakes his head and seokjin pats his hand.
at the end of the night, seokjin gives jeongguk a ride back to his house and gives him a hug and doesn't let him go before whispering:
"since you're so upset i'm not going to mention the fact that you're 18 and somehow got into an over 21 bar," he squeezes his shoulder. "but expect a lecture the next time i see you."
the infatuation jeongguk had for seokjin fades into something much better. he goes to the older for comfort, for advise, and runs to him whenever yoongi is being harsher than usual.
namjoon has started selling to them again, after much pressing and a few more annoying visits. hoseok and jimin do become an item but oddly enough that doesn't stop jimin and taeyhung from sharing a celebratory kiss when they find out that it is, indeed, pizza day in the cafeteria.
"it's totally platonic," they still insist.
hoseok calls jeongguk the scrappy to yoongi's scooby and that they're both ridiculously protective guard dogs of the "princess" jin. and it's true. yoongi and jeongguk have developed a strange bond. the next semester, when jeongguk and yoongi overhear a freshman make a comment about seokjin under their breath, yoongi stares them down while jeongguk asks them to repeat themselves.
and even though there are more people in his tight circle, even though taehyung's basement starts to include hoseok and the occasional appearance from namjoon (because yoongi claims hanging out in an underclassmen's basement is a little too creepy for him and seokjin), jeongguk is okay with it.
not all change is bad.