Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Around the corner there… nice!”

“Good calls, good calls. Let’s wrap this up guys.”

Jeongguk grinned at the screen, finding time to wink at the facecam set up before focusing back on the game in front of him. On his second monitor, there was a flood of comments from his viewers. When he first started, they were slow enough that he could read and answer them as he played. Now they were too fast.

Jeongguk leaned back and cheered when the victory banner flashed across the screen. His teammates for the round jumped in on mic, congratulating each other.

“It was nice playing with you GoldenSeagull.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to smile. “It was certainly a pleasure. Good luck on your next games.”

He pulled himself into the next queue, taking the time to grab his water and take a few sips. He turned his chair towards the comments, smiling as they zipped across the screen faster than they had when he was playing. He caught a few ‘welcome back’s and ‘I missed you’s. He saw one question and chose to answer it, laughing.

“Yes, you guys. I am back for good. I’m all done moving.”

It was his first appearance after two months of not doing any videos or streams. His roommate abruptly ditched him, leaving Jeongguk with the full brunt of the rent. Jeongguk was popular enough that he received enough money to pay for his expenses, but getting appendicitis recently wiped his savings down to nothing, so having to pay full rent was too much of a risk financially.

Jeongguk began to look for a roommate. Since it was the beginning of the spring semester, most if not all of his usual options were taken by desperate college students hoping to get out of the dorms.

He was saved by an old friend he made in his attempt to go to college himself. (He lasted one semester before dropping out). He and Taehyung sort of kept in contact, though it dwindled as they both moved through life. It was only after Jeongguk’s tweet that he wasn’t going to be doing videos for the unforeseeable future as he found a place to live that Taehyung reached out.

Apparently, he recently moved out of the house that he shared with his best friend. (“Yes, Jeongguk, I said house.”)  Said best friend was looking for a new roommate, and once Taehyung saw his tweet he knew Jeongguk would be perfect.

Jeongguk genuinely thought Taehyung was pulling his leg after hearing how much his friend was renting out the extra room for. Jeongguk was only expected to pay a small room and board fee, half of the utilities, and for his own food as well as any damages to the house that he caused during his stay.

He wasn’t going to pass up only having to pay roughly five hundred thousand won a month for a two bed, two bath house with full access to an office space along with a kitchen, dining room, and living room. There was also a front porch, back patio, and a small yard. It was a lot of space—more than one person needed—and the dream for someone who had spent months cramped in a tiny box apartment.

It took very little convincing for Jeongguk to choose to meet with Taehyung’s friend and see if he was willing to rent to Jeongguk. Worst that could happen was that Taehyung was being a jerk and lying to him or his friend could say no.

Or, you know, Taehyung’s friend could be really cute and Jeongguk would spend the whole meeting in gay panic because Park Jimin was… indescribable.

Jimin had been serious and calculated—wearing a suit, might he add; Jeongguk had shown up in an oversized hoodie and sweats—while asking Jeongguk multiple questions and making sure he wasn’t a student. (Jeongguk didn’t understand that one until later, when Jimin woke up at an unholy hour of the morning to get ready for work, in which he explained that he had been hired right after getting his masters to teach at Yonsei.) He made Jeongguk nervous in a bunch of different ways because he was super intimidating but also because it was really hot and Jeongguk was a mess throughout the whole interview.

Jeongguk thought he had really messed up when Jimin asked what he did if he wasn’t a student and he showed Jimin his channel. He gave Jeongguk a weird look and questioned why Jeongguk needed a roommate if he had enough views to be steadily making enough to have his own apartment. Jeongguk, not wanting to explain having surgery as well as still needing to pay off the student debts he collected during his semester at college, turned the question around on him. Jimin had grown incredibly quiet, and Jeongguk had almost apologized when he said, 

“I’ve never really lived alone,” he murmured. “I’ve lived with my family, roommates, and then my best friend moved in with me after I got the house. He recently moved out to live with his boyfriend. I didn’t think much of it, but I’ve never really been the type of person to spend my time in silence. We’re constantly surrounded by noise. And… noise is the presence of people. I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself an extrovert, but I’ve always enjoyed having people around me. Not necessarily going out and doing something, or even talking, but just… existing together?”

Jimin flashed him an empty smile. 

“I guess the short answer is I didn’t realize how much I don’t like silence until I had to deal with it for a few weeks. Pretty embarrassing, isn’t it? A twenty-five year old not liking to live by himself.”

The thing was, Jeongguk understood that. He tried living by himself after dropping out, but he quickly found that living by himself was tiring. Due to his career choice, Jeongguk didn’t leave the house often aside from going to the gym and the grocery store. The lack of contact with other people started to drain on him. He found himself ‘forgetting’ to buy something at the store just so that he could be in the presence of other people again. To have a cashier smile at him even though it was a service smile and held little to no genuity behind it.

The next noise complaint he got (Jeongguk tried to be quiet, he really did, but he sometimes forgot that it was two in the morning and not noon anymore) convinced Jeongguk that he should move and find a nicer apartment with thicker walls. That meant getting a roommate.

And Jeongguk enjoyed it far more than he thought, simply because there was another living soul in the space with him.

He could almost forget that the guy was homophobic and broke Jeongguk’s computer in retaliation when he found out.

Anyway, Jeongguk understood the not living alone thing. 

Knowing Jimin basically bore his heart and soul out to him, he eloquently replied with,

“I don’t get out much, so having a roommate is the only human interaction I get.”

And just like that, the stern, strict, almost strident Park Jimin bled away to reveal a laughing, adorable man that Jeongguk kinda wanted to carry to his bedroom and cuddle the days away with.

Jeongguk almost couldn’t believe it when Jimin smiled at him and asked when he wanted to move in.

So, here he was. All set up in his new bedroom. Living with Park Jimin.

There was another explosion of comments before they died down, allowing him to answer a few more questions.

“I’m not disclosing just yet why I had to move, but let’s just say I’m in a much better situation than before.” Loads better. Indescribably better.  “And as you can see,” he gestured to the room around him, unable to stop his wide excited smile. “I definitely upgraded.”

No doubt his viewers could tell the difference. He went from an old, tiny cramped room that barely had room for a desk and his equipment to a big room that allowed him to section off his filming area from his actual bedroom. It still left him plenty of space, and Jeongguk was excited to start filling it with things he wanted for a long time. He felt guilty for taking the bigger room, but Jimin waved off his protests with a small smile, saying that since he was keeping the office for himself, it was only fair that he took the smaller room. Jeongguk tried to argue that it was his house, but he was ignored and instead was ordered to decide what he wanted for dinner.

“With this upgrade I get a steadier schedule too, so once I figure that out I’ll let you guys know.” He got another round of excited exclamations and he nearly choked on his water in laughter at the more dramatic responses.

He continued on answering questions while waiting to be queued. “I’ll do a bedroom tour when it’s set up better. It’s still a little messy.” “Apartment tour? I’m not so sure about that one.” “I should play Ashe next round? Let’s see what the team setup is first.”

Jeongguk saw a few questions asking if he lived alone now or if he had a roommate. Jeongguk debated answering it. While it wouldn’t do any harm, Jeongguk didn’t want to unintentionally put attention on Jimin without asking him about it first. Jeongguk’s viewers were protective of him—not an unbiased feeling with the amount of luck Jeongguk has with roommates—but he didn’t need them stalking Jimin’s social media accounts. 

The sharp ding of his phone going off jerked him back into reality, making him realize that he trailed off mid sentence. Since his viewers were used to Jeongguk sometimes staring off into space, he only laughed and offered a small, “sorry” before looking down at his phone.

Jimin-hyung [7:21 p.m]
youre streaming today right???

He picked up his phone, quickly answering as a smile bloomed over his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, the chat started zooming again.

You [7:22 p.m]
yes. i’ve actually already started
don’t worry about being extra quiet. i put up the sound panels today

Jimin-hyung [7:22 p.m]
oh crap
SORRY!
i didn’t mean to interrupt

You [7:22 p.m]
no worries hyung! I’m inbetween games

Jimin-hyung [7:22 p.m]
ahhhhh im nervous
i dont want to bother you by coming in…

You [7:23 p.m]
hyung, don’t be nervous!!
it’s your house
just come in like usual.
only don’t shout i’m home at the top of your lungs because they will hear you XD

Jimin-hyung [7:23 p.m]
i did that once you brat

You [7:23 p.m]
and that’s the reason you have a coffee stain on your couch
which, the cleaners for that will be coming by tomorrow while you’re at work
sorry hyung

Jimin-hyung [7:24 p.m]
ahhh jeongguk i told you not to worry about that and id take care of it
but thank you
do you want anything specific for dinner?

The game sounds in his ears changed, indicating that he finally had been queued. Glancing up at the screen, Jeongguk quickly typed out a final message ‘i’ll be streaming for another two hours so go ahead and eat without me’ before setting down his phone and gearing up for the round.

He glanced at the chat once more before jumping into the game, cheeks flushing when he saw a few comments he wished he could unsee.

[guuukkiiee who was THAT?]
[guys gusy guys did you see his smile???]
[hdoahfodasdjshf DOES OUR GOLDEN BOY HAVE A CRUSH]

Jeongguk did not reply.

.o0o.

Before filming his bedroom tour video, Jeongguk asked Jimin if it was alright for his viewers to know he was rooming with him. Jimin gave him permission and even told him that it was alright for him to do a house tour as long as he didn’t show off Jimin’s room.

“You got something in there that they shouldn’t see?” Jeongguk asked teasingly, although a bit hesitant because they were still sort of strangers with each other.

He stilled when Jimin flashed him a smirk and then leaned in to whisper,

“Yeah, my limited edition BTS albums. I don’t want them to get jealous.”

That made Jeongguk laugh, and the little bits of ice still between them melted a little bit more.

Jeongguk filmed the house tour, showing the space and speaking about it with pride. He didn’t have to worry about not filming Jimin, as he was at work, but he supposed it didn’t matter. When he was editing the video, he said Jimin’s name so many times he lost count. It was embarrassing to see his infatuation right in front of him like that and he was tempted to refilm the whole thing. But Jimin came home, asked if he filmed it, and sighed in relief when Jeongguk said yes.

“Now I don’t have to be so paranoid about keeping everything squeaky clean. I don’t want your viewers to think I’m a slob.”

“That’s the real reason you didn’t want me to film you room, wasn’t it?”

“Hush.”

Jeongguk posted the video.

Two days later, someone had edited it with a ‘Roommate Mention Counter’. 

He’d mentioned Jimin one hundred and twenty nine times.

It became very clear that his viewers picked up on his little crush. And they were intent to tease him. In every single following stream or video, there was always a question about Jimin. Most of them were sweet about it, asking how Jimin was doing and telling Jeongguk that he looks happy with his roommate. Others were less sweet, throwing subtlety out the window to ask him if he confessed, had plans to confess, or if he was in love.

Jeongguk ignored them all.

It was a really good thing that Jimin didn’t watch his videos and streams—not really having an interest in the types of games Jeongguk played—because that would have been one really awkward conversation to have.

II.

One of the first things he and Jimin talked about after he moved in was Jeongguk’s streaming schedule. Jimin didn’t want to get in the way of it and Jeongguk didn’t want Jimin to feel like he had to tiptoe or be quiet in his own house. Because of Jimin’s long workdays, Jeongguk could easily stream and record while he was teaching.

But Jeongguk’s viewers also had jobs and school, so not everyone go to watch him during the week. Jeongguk wanted to give them the opportunity to grab a little fresh content.

For weekends, Jimin and Jeongguk came up with a plan. Friday nights were off the docket completely. No streams and Jeongguk couldn’t ask Jimin to be quiet if he was recording a video. Mornings were also non-negotiable, not that Jeongguk would argue against sleeping in. He slept in longer than Jimin did. From then on, Jeongguk could either do two hour streams on Saturday and Sunday as long as there were no conflicting schedules, or he could do a long one on one of those days and let Jimin have the other. If either of them had plans, they’d talk about it and rearrange.

The biggest conflict that made it difficult for him to get along with his previous roommates was their inability to give Jeongguk any compromise. Jimin, on the other hand, made it so easy. In the beginning he always asked Jimin if he was really okay with the system they had set up because he felt guilty about it. Jimin answer was always the same.

Rolling his eyes and ignoring him.

But now that Jeongguk didn’t have any conflict with his roommate, it made it so much easier for him to want to get to know Jimin. 

(It helped that he was attractive and Jeongguk had a tiny crush on him.)

((Yes, it was a tiny crush.))

He found himself doing what he could to spend time with the older man. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Jeongguk would end his stream a few hours early so that he could make dinner for the two of them. (They started combining their money for grocery shopping and if they made it under the budget for the week, the leftover money would go into a savings jar for takeout when they were feeling lazy). He began editing videos on his laptop on the couch to make himself available for conversation, which was almost never refused. Most evenings they could be found on the couch, either quietly working on their respective jobs or abandoning them to talk.

Roommate movie nights became a tradition for the first Friday of every month. Jimin would come home with an array of snacks, Jeongguk would order the takeout, and then they’d each pick a movie.

Taehyung joined them one time, and he commented more than once on how close they’d become in only a few months. Jimin shrugged and asked him to pass the popcorn from where he had his legs tossed over Jeongguk’s lap while the younger absently massaged the muscles in his calves. (Standing in front of a room and teaching for hours took it’s toll, okay? Jimin did a lot for Jeongguk so he was going to ease his pain as best he could.)

((Jeongguk may not have smirked at Taehyung when he grumbled and complained about Jimin cuddling up to Jeongguk during the movies instead of him. He got to smirk back when Jimin fell asleep on Jeongguk and he spent the next five minutes telling Taehyung to shut his mouth when he tried to give Jeongguk the shovel talk—blatantly calling out his feelings—when Jimin was literally right there.))

The point was that Jimin and Jeongguk got close and comfortable with each other. They fell easily into a routine and rhythm that had yet to be broken.

But with that ease came mistakes.

.o0o.

Jimin liked to sing.

The first time Jeongguk heard him sing was when he woke up uncharacteristically early and walked past the bathroom while Jimin was in the shower.

Half-asleep Jeongguk had paused at the smooth voice seeping out from under the door. He didn’t know how long he stared at the door, blinking in Jeonshookedness, as he listened to the sweet, beautiful sound. It was a BTS song—not surprising with Jimin’s obsession for the band—and he sang it effortlessly as if it had been made for him. It was only when the water shut off that Jeongguk realized he was standing outside the bathroom, creepily listening to his roommate sing while he was very much naked on the other side of the door.

Face burning, Jeongguk had retreated back into his room and ignored the grumbling in his stomach. He didn’t resurface until Jimin had left for work.

But Jimin had apparently grown comfortable enough around him to sing normally around the house. He liked doing it when he was cleaning and occasionally did it when he graded papers. Once he helped Jeongguk with the dishes and randomly started humming a Blackpink song. And. Well. It would be a sin for Jeongguk to not join in.

That night, he and Jimin abandonded their responsibilities (Jimin grading a bajillion essays and Jeongguk editing a bajillion videos) to have a random karaoke night where they tried to outsing each other and got really competitive and into it.

(That night Jeongguk also learned that Jimin could dance.)

The point was, Jimin liked to sing. He did it unconsciously all of the time. And with the ease that came from their normal routine… well, Jimin seemed to have forgotten that Jeongguk was streaming that Saturday afternoon.

At first, he didn’t think anything of it. It was a distant acknowledgement. A mere fact. Jimin was singing. Jeongguk remembered him saying something about wanting to deep clean his bathroom so it wasn’t surprising to hear. And Jeongguk, as zoned out as he was into the game, didn’t really realize that he was humming and half singing along. It was only when the round ended and he looked over to the comments that reality crashed down on him hot and heavy.

[omggukandhisroommatesoundsogood]
[HOLYSHITISTHATHISROOMMATESINGINGINTHE BACKGROUND???? JIMIN SOUNDS SOOGOODANDSOPRETTY?!]
[0_0 is this what heaven sounds like]
[The harmonization is like??? On point?]
[I came here to watch GS play Overwatch but I’m getting a concert instead. I’m not even mad though.]

Crap, Jeongguk thought, panicked, as he scrambled for his phone. He sent Jimin a frantic string of texts, making sure that his phone was out of sight of the camera. Jimin wasn’t being particularly loud, but his bathroom was close enough to Jeongguk’s room that the walls didn’t hide it well enough. And if they could still hear Jimin over Jeongguk joining in…

Jimin was still. Singing. Jeongguk tapped his phone anxiously, wondering if he should just panic end the stream or-

“I’ll uh. I’ll be right back you guys.” Jeongguk flashed a non-convincing smile to the camera before bolting out of his chair. He made sure to shut the door behind him, regretting not arranging his set up to hide the entrance to his room.

He scrambled down the hall, pushing open the half closed bathroom door with a hissed, “Hyung!”

Jimin looked up, eyes wide before he reached up to take out an earbud.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Hyung, you’re singing,” Jeongguk blurted in an attempt to explain.

Jimin blinked. “Yeah? Do I sound bad or something-?”

“No! You sound beautiful, but that's not what I-” A pink little tint took over Jimin’s face and Jeongguk realized what he said. Flustered, Jeongguk stumbled over his thoughts. “Well, uh, you always are beautiful- your singing! That is. Not that you’re not beautiful! You’re actually really pretty-”

Jimin let out a little laugh at that, tilting his head with a shy smile.

“Thank you?” he said it with a slight questioning tone, obviously teasing him.

Jeongguk kind of wanted to crawl into a hole and die in embarassment, but they had bigger problems.

“I meant to say that I’m streaming!” he exclaimed. Jimin’s smile only grew.

“I know. Which makes me wonder why you’re out here instead of…” he trailed off. His smile dropped, eyes growing wide. He clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Could they hear me?” he whispered, horrified. Jeongguk nodded miserably. Jimin let out a few choice swear words.

“I tried texting you, but uh. The damage has been done,” Jeongguk announced sagely. “You just debuted on my channel with singing.”

Jimin looked Jeongguk square in the eye, his entire face blank.

“Kill me now.”

“Ah, hyung, it’s not that bad,” Jeongguk offered in an attempt to cheer him up. “They really liked it.”

“Still!” Jimin exclaimed, pulling at his hair. He looked miserable. “I’m really sorry, Jeongguk. After I made all that effort to stay out of the way and not bother you while you’re working-”

“Woah, wait, hyung.” Jeongguk grabbed his arms, gently tugging them out of his hair so that he didn’t rip out the delicate strands. “I thought you were worried about being on the stream.”

“I am, but when I comes down to it I don't really care as long as my face isn’t broadcasted to the world.” He bit his lip, grasping at Jeongguk’s forearms. “But I just didn’t want to make things awkward or difficult for you and I’ve gone and messed that up-”

“Hyung, you didn’t make things awkward or difficult,” Jeongguk said, bewildered. “I don’t mind if my viewers hear you in the background. I just tried to avoid it because I thought you didn’t want to be heard or seen at all.”

“I don’t,” Jimin sighed. “But it was more in the way of I don’t want to intentionally make myself known.”

Jeongguk let himself process the words.

“So you’re okay?” he finally asked. “You’re fine with my viewers hearing you?”

“It’s not like I can say no and they can suddenly unhear me.” Jimin rolled his eyes. But he smiled. “No, I don’t mind, I guess. And hey, there are worse ways to accidentally interrupt your stream.”

Jeongguk snorted. “Yeah? Like what?”

“I dunno. I could have burst into your room yelling at you for not doing the dishes.”

Jeongguk openly laughed at that before realizing that Jimin wasn’t laughing along. He just stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh. It was my turn to the do the dishes?”

“Yeah, yeah it was.”

“...sorry.”

Jimin shook his head, grinning. His eyes were nearly gone when he looked back up at Jeongguk. He poked at his shoulder.

“You should get back to your stream. Unless you turned it off…?”

“Er. I didn’t.” How long had it been? Five minutes? Ten?

Jimin nibbled on his bottom lip again, suddenly nervous and shy.

“Tell them I’m sorry? For being loud. They were probably annoyed-”

“They really weren’t,” Jeongguk reassured, squeezing the one elbow still in his grip. “There were more than a few comments about how they loved your voice. I think one of them said that they came to watch me play games but ended up getting a concert and they weren’t even mad about it.”

Jimin covered his mouth as he laughed, still shy but looking a bit more pleased now.

“Okay, I’m going to go now hyung. Do you have anything else that you want to say to them?”

“Ah. Song requests?”

“Hyung.”

Jimin laughed again. “No, just my apology and thank them for their compliments.”

“Alright.” Jeongguk started to back out the door, but paused. “Jimin-hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I- can I talk more openly about you on my channel now?”

Jimin gave him a weird look before smirking. “Are you telling me that I was a dirty secret?”

Jeongguk spluttered.

“Keeping me locked away in the closet? Am I just a side chick to you-”

“Hyung,” he whined, pained. Jimin broke into another fit of giggles.

“Sure, Jeongguk-ah. I trust you.”

Jeongguk returned to his stream, cheeks aching from the force of his smile and cheeks painted in a lovely blush.

III.

Ever since Jimin was heard singing on the stream, he was lot more relaxed. Jeongguk didn’t even realize how stressed Jimin was when Jeongguk was live until that stressor was gone.

Now, he did little things to say hello to the viewers.

The first time Jimin came home shouting, Jeongguk tensed again, thinking that Jimin forgot, but he followed up his “I’m home!” with “Hello Jeongguk and Jeongguk’s viewers.”

The chat exploded that day.

After telling Jimin that his viewers constantly asked after him, Jimin started slipping notes of how he was faring that day under Jeongguk’s door for him to read aloud to them. Usually cute little things like, “I’m resting and eating well, please do the same.” or “Jeongguk-ah and I are getting along!”

Jeongguk nearly combusted on camera when one day the note said,

“Jeongguk takes good care of me! Please don’t worry about my health.”

Jeongguk may or may not have kept that one.

He found out that they were insanely protective of him too.

During a Sunday evening stream, there was a crash from somewhere in the house. His paused to listen for Jimin’s call of “I’m alright!” that usually happened when the elder dropped something.

It came a moment later along with a sqeaked apology and he relaxed, yelling back that he was fine.

“As I was saying…” he trailed off, eyebrows raising at the flood of concerned comments, followed by demands that he go check on Jimin in person. “He said he was alright guys.”

They didn’t relent.

With an exaggerated sigh, Jeongguk stopped his queue and got out of his chair to go check on him. But the smile on his face was clear.

He approved.

.o0o.

That protectivness came in handy when another mistake was made, one that was a much bigger deal.

Jeongguk texted Jimin that he’d be doing a longer stream than usual and probably wouldn’t be available to cook or eat dinner with him. Jeongguk was trying out a new game that his viewers had begged him to play.

So far, Jeongguk was enjoying the game a lot. Platform games weren’t his usual gig—he liked FPS—but the art and storyline were absolutely fascinating and breathtaking.

“I gotta say, I wasn’t too sure about this at first, but I’m really enjoying this.” Jeongguk grinned, leaning back in his chair to stretch a bit. At that moment, he heard Jimin shout his usual greeting and raised his voice to greet him back.

Jeongguk was about to dive right back into the game when he heard a knock on his door, and then it opening.

His jerked in his chair, head snapping towards his door as his eyes widened in alarm.

Jimin half stepped into the room, clad in his usual black suit that never failed to make Jeongguk look at his thighs before anything else. He tugged at his tie a bit, looking at something on his phone as he asked. “Hey Guk, are we doing take-out today or am I cooking this time?”

He looked up.

And promptly froze.

That jolted Jeongguk into action. He slapped his hand over the camera to hide Jimin and ended the stream with three simple clicks.

Heart-stopping silence filled the room.

Jeongguk swallowed harshly, afraid to move his eyes from his screen that cheerily said stream ended!

“Jeongguk?”

Jimin’s voice was trembling.

“Please tell me that you weren’t live.”

Jeongguk forced himself to look at him, grimacing. Jimin went pale. A second later, he sagged against the door.

“Shit. How many people were watching?”

“...over ten thousand. At least… when I checked an hour ago.”

Silence.

He watched a myriad of emotions pass over Jimin’s face, waiting for the one.

And it came.

Jimin set his jaw, lips pressing into a thin line as he asked with a slightly snappish tone, “Why didn’t you tell me that you were streaming for longer today?!”

“I-”

“If you forgot to text you could have told me when I came in through the front door-”

“Hyung-”

“Now my face has been seen by who knows how many people!” He pulled away from the door to run an anxious hand through his hair. “And it could have been avoided if you had just texted me-”

“I did!” Jeongguk finally exclaimed, his own anger rising to meet Jimin’s. “I texted you but apparently you never check your phone!”

“I never check my phone?! I check my phone all the time and I never got a message from you!” Jimin waved the device at him, the other hand falling to his hip. “And didn’t we agree that you needed a confirmation text before going forward?!”

They did agree on that.

But Jeongguk was too caught up on Jimin’s beginning words to pay attention to the second part.

“But I did text you,” he insisted, anger dipping into confusion. “I texted you before I even started streaming.”

Jimin took a deep breath, breathing through his nose. Jeongguk recognized it as him trying to calm down.

“I didn’t get a text, Jeongguk,” he said more calmly. He crossed the room, opening up his phone to show Jeongguk their messages. Sure enough, there wasn’t a text from him.

Something twisted in Jeongguk’s gut.

“But I- I sent you- I did, I promise I-”

He cut himself off, reaching for his own phone. He nearly dropped it—his hands sweaty from panic—but managed to pull up his and Jimin’s messages.

There in the chat box, was Jeongguk’s typed out message telling Jimin that he was going to be streaming longer.

Unsent.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk rasped, body going numb. “Hyung I didn’t send it. I-”

He revealed Jimin’s face in front of thousands of people. People that he had no control over. He couldn’t tell them to just ignore that they saw him. He couldn’t stop them from making and posting videos regarding the ‘reveal of the mystery roommate’. Sure, he could sue the people that did, but he couldn’t sue everyone and that didn’t change the fact that Jimin’s face was out there and connected to him.

And what if… oh gosh. What if they were mean to him? Jeongguk remembered the complaints of his old roommates—most of which thought it was cool to have a YouTuber roommate and revealed themselves—who had their social media bombarded with rude comments and defensive threats. No matter how much begging Jeongguk did on his streams for people to leave them alone, there were always a couple hundred that never did. It didn’t matter how terrible they treated Jeongguk, no one deserved that.

Especially not Jimin, who was the kindest soul Jeongguk had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

His eyes flooded and spilled over with tears.

“Jimin-hyung, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault,” he choked out, head bowing under the weight of what he’d done. Worse, it could have been avoided if he had followed they system they set up to avoid things like this happening. But he didn’t wait for Jimin’s confirmation text. And now thousands of people had seen him.

Jeongguk wouldn’t be surprised if Jimin asked him to move out. Heck, Jeongguk would start packing right now and be gone by the morning. It was his fault and Jimin probably hated him-

“Jeongguk. Jeongguk-ah look at me.”

He didn’t even have to raise his head. Jimin had crouched in front of his chair, hesitantly putting his hands on Jeongguk’s knees. Jeongguk’s shoulders hiccuped with a sob, and he watched Jimin’s expression falter.

“Oh Jeonggukie, it’s okay-”

“No it’s not!” he wailed, pressing his hands into his eyes. “I just revealed you in front of thousands of people when you didn’t want to be! All because I didn’t send the text and didn’t wait for the confirmation and-”

“Jeongguk,” his voice was firm. “We can cry and panic about it later, but right now you need to tell me every trick you have in the book to keep your fans out of my personal life, okay?”

Damage control. Jeongguk wiped frantically at his eyes, dragging himself together as fast as he could.  The weight of Jimin’s hands on his knees helped.

“T-the first thing you need to do is make all your social media accounts private…”

For the next hour and a half, Jimin and Jeongguk worked together to try and control the situation as much as they could. As expected, thousands of people followed Jimin’s accounts. (They managed to make everything private before they found him—there were a lot of Park Jimin’s). Jeongguk ignored all tweets directed at him with links to Jimin’s accounts, focused on creating his own addressing what happened. He and Jimin wrote it together, reading it over multiple times before posting it. The post simply asked people to not harrass Jimin and protect his anonymity as much as possible as he didn’t want his face to be shown.

Then, he and Jimin shut off both of their phones and rearranged Jeongguk’s set up to where the camera didn’t show the door at all, making an accident less likely to happen.

Neither of them ate that night, both of them too stressed to even think about food.

And Jeongguk… he was too stressed to sleep.

He didn’t know what possessed him to get up and pad to Jimin’s door. But he stood there a moment before knocking.

“...come in.”

Jeongguk hesitated another second before letting the door creek open. Jimin was sitting up in bed, reading by lamplight. Bare faced and wearing glasses, he looked more cuddly than ever.

But he also looked exhausted.

They stared at each other for a long moment, neither saying anything.

Jimin set aside his book and glasses, pulled up the corner of his covers, and looked at Jeongguk expectantly. He didn’t hesitated as he crossed the room and crawled into bed next to him. In bravery or stupidity, Jeongguk cuddled close, tucking himself under Jimin’s chin. He could feel Jimin’s heartbeat against his ear.

“I’m really sorry,” he rasped, breaking the silence.

“I know.” Jimin’s hand found his hair, fingers sliding through the strands gently. Jeongguk closed his eyes. 

This was the closest they’d ever been to each other. Jeongguk was half lying on him, their legs pressed together under the covers. Usually it was Jimin curled against his side, head on his shoulder. But Jeongguk liked this. He didn’t really have a right to enjoy it after ruining Jimin’s life, but Jeongguk was only human, and a selfish one at that.

“Taehyung texted me,” Jimin whispered before Jeongguk could drop off. He tensed.

“...what did he say?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jimin smiled. Jeongguk tilted his head up to see it fully, breath catching in his chest.

“He watched the reactions of the fans and apparently your post is flooded with your viewers promising not to bother me. There are a few who aren’t being as kind, but the rest of your fan-base is coming down on them pretty hard.”

Jeongguk’s jaw dropped.

“They—they’re protecting you?”

He pouted. “Is that really so surprising? I thought they liked me.”

“They do,” Jeongguk whispered, awed. “I just… you’re the only roommate they’ve done this for. Any of it, really.”

Jimin shrugged and shifted so that he was laying down. Jeongguk followed him.

“What can I say,” Jimin hummed, pressing his cheek into Jeongguk’s hair. “I’m a likeable person.”

Jeongguk didn’t correct him, but he thought it.

You’re loveable.

.o0o.

Jeongguk took a two week break from streaming so he and Jimin could recover from what happened. But true to his viewer’s words, Jimin wasn’t bothered. If anything, he received a lot of love and a following just for him being himself. Jimin was confused by it, but Jeongguk could understand his fans’ fascination.

It wasn’t hard to love Jimin.

The biggest indication that everything had smoothed over was when Jimin came home Friday night, practically beaming as he showed the gift basket that had been left on his desk.

Apparently, a group of Jeongguk’s viewers that attended Yonsei had dropped it off. It was their own little apology for what had happened. Filled with a myriad of his favorite things—everything Jeongguk had off-handedly mentioned in videos and streams—Jimin was practically preening.

“I guess being GoldenSeagull’s beloved roommate has it’s perks,” Jimin sighed into his wine glass, filled halfway with Bordeaux. His head fell to Jeongguk’s shoulder, soft hair tickling his neck and chin.

They had gotten touchier with each other since the night Jeongguk crawled into bed with him. He didn’t know if the lingering touches meant something or if it was just the way Jimin was. (The first time Jimin put his head on Jeongguk’s lap he had an entire crisis before Taehyung rolled his eyes and told him that Jimin liked physical touch). Jeongguk didn’t want to read too much into it. He certainly didn’t want it to stop because he was a bit touch-starved.

Or he just liked being able to touch Jimin and be touched in return.

“Should I set up a donation box on my channel so my viewers can keep buying you expensive wine?” he teased, bringing his own glass up.

“...can you?”

Jeongguk was glad that he hadn’t taken a sip yet because he probably would have had it go down the wrong pipe.

“I–I can?”

Jeongguk would probably be able to buy him a lifetime supply.

Jimin laughed into his hand, slowly shaking his head. “I don’t need expensive wine.” He pulled away from Jeongguk’s shoulder, demanding eye contact. In a lower voice he murmured, “But I do need you to stop feeling guilty.”

Jeongguk swallowed.

“Hyung, I-”

“It would have happened eventually.” Jimin put a hand on his knee—it was higher, but Jeongguk refused to admit that Jimin had a hand on his thigh. “I don’t think either of us should have expected to never have me seen or heard on a stream. We were lucky to have lasted as long as we have. In a way, I signed up for it when I asked you to move in.”

“Jimin, you didn’t-”

“Yah, you’re forgetting a ‘hyung’ in there.” He opened his mouth to correct himself, but Jimin barelled on through. “I knew the potential consequences and I’ve know them. Now those consequences have happened and there’s nothing I can do to change or fix it.

“And besides…” He tucked a strand of dark hair behind his ear, clearing his throat self-consciously. “...all of the attention isn’t too bad.”

It took a moment for Jeongguk to get it.

“Oh, so you like the attention.”

Jimin’s cheeks started to color.

“I see how it is. You act all shy and coy but you enjoy being in the spotlight, don’t you?” Jeongguk teased, poking at Jimin’s side. He squirmed a little, reminding Jeongguk that he was ticklish. As if sensing what Jeongguk was about to do, Jimin quickly set his wine glass aside and scooted to the other side of the couch.

“Don’t you dare, Jeongguk-ah,” Jimin warned, raising an eyebrow. “Or I’m going to make a post to your fans that you’re being mean to me.”

They would most definitely take Jimin’s side.

“This is blackmail. Treachery at it’s finest,” he grumbled. His roommate threw his head back in laughter.

Ten minutes later, a picture of Jimin and Jeongguk smiling at the camera, cheeks pressed together, was posted on Jeongguk’s social media.

Thank you, everyone for being so nice. I’ll be back to streaming next week! Also, Jimin-hyung says he loves you guys. <3

IV.

Just because everyone already knew what Jimin looked like did not mean that he was comfortable showing his face. He wasn’t suddenly appearing on Jeongguk’s streams and videos. Things went on as normal—or as normal as possible.

Jimin still greeted the fans and still slipped notes under the door. He still gave Jeongguk the space to film and stream. Jeongguk still played games for the entertainment of the internet. He still answered questions and he still streamed and posted videos. They still had FFMN,—First Friday Movie Night—and worked together in silence on the couches.

There may have been a few more pictures of Jimin and Jeongguk together circulating on the internet. There was one video of Jimin and Jeongguk dancing and singing in the middle of a store, filmed and posted courtesy of Taehyung. Maybe now instead of doing their respective work on the couches outside they would sometimes migrate to each other’s rooms.

Jimin once came into the room while Jeongguk was live, tapping his phone. Jeongguk looked down at the message sent to him, asking if he could sit and listen while grading papers. Jeongguk was quick to nod and send his own message back, asking if it was okay to let the viewers know he was in the room. Jimin nodded, flopped down on Jeongguk’s bed, and proceeded to stay there for the next two hours until he fell asleep.

When asked why Jeongguk was suddenly being so quiet, Jeongguk whispered,

“Jimin fell asleep. It’s been a long week for him because of midterms. I guess this is now an ASMR live.”

They demanded he get him a blanket.

He also got several requests for more ASMR lives.

.o0o.

There was a crash somewhere in the house. It was loud enough that Jeongguk was sure their neighbors could hear it.

It sounded like pots and pans falling, but it was also accompanied by glass shattering. Jeongguk moved one of his headphones off of his ear in worry, waiting for the usual call.

A second passed.

“Hyung?” Jeongguk questioned, raising his voice.

“I’m fine! Sorry!”

There was something off about Jimin’s tone. Jeongguk wanted to go check on him—the chat, as usual demanded it—but he was in the middle of a comp game. Resolving to check on him afterwards, Jeongguk focused back on the game, maybe being a bit more reckless than usual in an attempt to end it faster.

He didn’t expect his door to open a few minutes later, just as they got to the final checkpoint.

“Oh.” Jeongguk’s eyes flickered up in surprise. “Hey hyung. Is there something you need-”

He did a double take.

Pale and cradling his hand to his chest, stood Jimin. Jeongguk wondered why he had a towel wrapped around his hand before he saw the red bleeding through.

“Is that blood?!” he exclaimed, completely abandoning his game and nearly knocking his whole computer over. He didn’t care, swiftly crossing to Jimin’s side.

“It might be,” Jimin squeaked nervously. “One of the shelves in the kitchen cabinets kind of collapsed and I was trying to clean it up but I accidentally put my hand on a shard of glass-”

Jeongguk took his hand, gingerly moving the towel. His stomach twisted. Blood steadily flowed from the deep wound, heavy dark drops sliding against honeyed skin.

“Pressure,” Jeongguk ordered, throwing the towel back over it. “We’re going to the hopsital.”

“Ah, Jeongguk it’s not-”

“Don’t you even dare argue,” he growled. “Go get in the car.”

“But you’re streaming-”

“Do you seriously think that the stream is what I care about right now?” Jeongguk said incredulously. “Jimin, you’re a million times more important.”

He gasped quietly at the words, eyes going wide and cheeks going pink, but Jeongguk barely paid attention, mind too muddled with worry.

He ended his stream, closed out his game, and herded Jimin out the door.

.o0o.

Jeongguk paced the waiting room anxiously, apparently looking worried enough for one of the other people to ask him if his wife was in labor. Jeongguk blushed to the tips of his toes and stuttered out an explanation that his roommate was getting stitches.

He was about to go ask the receptionist for the fourth time if getting stitches usually took this long, but he was stopped by Jimin coming out with his hand bandaged and a little packet of care instructions.

“Jimin!” Jeongguk exclaimed, practically tripping over himself to get to him. “Are you okay? How is everything? Did it hurt? Does it hurt? Are you-”

“Calm down, Jeongguk.” Jimin grinned, an amused glint in his eyes. “I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.” He lowered his voice, giving Jeongguk a wicked smile. “They gave me some good painkillers. Want some?”

He shook a bottle between them, and Jeongguk spluttered. Jimin broke into giggles, swaying forward. He leaned heavily on Jeongguk’s shoulder, sighing when Jeongguk automatically wrapped an arm around his waist.

“I’m just tired. Can we go home?” Jimin mumbled, breath hot against Jeongguk’s collarbones.

“Yeah,” he rasped, skin tingling. “We can go home.”

.o0o.

After calling for takeout, Jimin slouched over the counter, watching while Jeongguk cleaned up the mess left behind. Jimin tried to help, but after Jeongguk threatened to smack him with the broom—and he would—he stood back.

“I’m going to buy and install new cabinets—these are clearly too old.” Jeongguk ranted. “And I know that you’ve been wanting to paint the kitchen a different color so we can do that and pick out new cabinets to match-”

“Jeongguk, it would be cheaper to just replace the shelf,” Jimin pointed out calmly, raising his bandaged hand. Seeing it made Jeongguk shove the last piece of splintered wood harshly in the trashcan.

“I’d rather get new cabinets.” He sniffed, glaring at the broken one. “These aren’t trustworthy anymore.”

“Guk, my grandparents refurbished the house before I moved in, and that was only five years ago. The cabinets are practically brand new-”

“We’ll go the store on Thursday-”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“-and we’ll look around there for a few hours-”

“Of course you’re not listening to me.” There was a screech of a chair being moved.

“-I’ll do some research on which place has the better cabinets-”

Jeongguk cut himself off as a hand slipped into his, tugging his arm to get his attention. Jimin stared up at him, unimpressed.

His other hand rose to Jeongguk’s face. He stilled as Jimin brushed a few strands of hair behind his ear.

“Are you going to listen to me now?” Jimin murmured. Jeongguk nodded dumbly. “The cabinets don’t need to be replaced, Jeongguk.”

“But-”

“But nothing. It was a bad shelf. It probably had a few loose screws and there was a lot of weight on it.” As he spoke, his thumb brushed over the back of Jeongguk’s hand. It would have felt better if Jeongguk couldn’t also feel the press of bandages against his skin.

“You got hurt though,” he whispered. “I don’t- I don’t want it to happen again.”

“It won’t.” Jimin’s hand pressed against his cheek, small yet warm against his skin. Jimin beamed up at him, eyes scrunching into waning crescent moons. “Because you and I are going to spend tomorrow tightening all of the screws down.”

The tight little bubble in Jeongguk’s chest—all of his built up emotions regarding what happened—burst. He chuckled lowly, making Jimin’s smile widen.

Without thinking, Jeongguk turned his head to press a tiny kiss to the side of Jimin’s hand.

They both stilled.

Jeongguk drew away slowly, feeling like a creaky robot with how wooden he suddenly felt. Jimin’s lips were parted slightly, eyes searching as he started up at him.

“If you…” Jimin stopped. Cleared his throat a little. He looked away. Uncertain, Jeongguk thinks. “If you were trying to kiss my hand better, that’s the wrong one.”

It was an attempt at a joke, but Jeongguk also saw it as an opportunity.

Slowly, he adjusted the grip Jimin had on his other hand, changing it so that Jeongguk was the one holding him as he lifted their hands. He watched Jimin’s eyes widen. He listened as his breath caught when Jeongguk softly pressed his lips to the bandages covering his injury.

He lingered.

“Jeongguk.”

His name was said in nothing higher than a whisper and it made a shiver race down his spine. The look that Jimin was giving him wasn’t anything he’d seen from him before, but yet it was recognizable. 

Desire.

Jeongguk hadn’t thought about confessing. He was still kind of denying the fact that he had a crush on his super hot professor roommate that made him want to squeal into a pillow every time he pouted or laughed.

But he wasn’t against the idea now that it was in his brain. Especially not when Jimin was giving him that look, effectively convincing Jeongguk that maybe Jimin thought about him the same way.

Maybe—just maybe—confessing would be the right move here.

“Jimin, I-”

The doorbell rang.

Jeongguk’s confidence fled.

“Wow!” He dropped Jimin’s hand, backing up as he babbled on. “Look at that. Delivery is so fast nowadays, isn’t it? But uh- you see, I’m not very hungry so I think I’m just going to go to bed.” He spun on his heel.

“Jeongguk-”

“You eat well, hyung. And uh- go easy on those pills, okay?” He took quick, unsteady steps to his room, scared to look over his shoulder. “I think you were kind of high in the car. They really did give you some strong stuff.”

“Jeon Jeongguk I swear-”

That was Jimin’s stern upset tone. Any other day it would glue Jeongguk’s feet to the floor, but not today. Not when Jeongguk wanted to remove himself from the situation as fast as possible. Not when he realized that his emotions had probably been plastered all over his face for Jimin to see and he most definitely misread Jimin’s facial expression.

“Have a good night, hyung!” he yelled over his shoulder as he finally darted into his room, closing the door behind him.

He waited for Jimin to come bursting in, angry and disgusted.

He didn’t.

Jeongguk sank down to the floor, his back against his bedroom door. He buried his face in his hands, heart starting to quiet from where it raced in his chest.

After an unidentifiable amount of time, there was a small knock on his door.

“You hate sleeping with the lights on, so I know you’re awake,” Jimin’s voice was muffled through the door. “I left your portion of the food on the counter, so you better go eat it or put it away. I’m going to bed.”

Jeongguk waited for Jimin to move away from the door, but he didn’t. A few minutes later, he heard Jimin sigh.

“Goodnight, Guk.”

It was only when Jimin moved away from the door that Jeongguk whispered,

“Goodnight, hyung.”

V.

They weren’t avoiding each other. No, Jeongguk tried that and then realized how shitty it was after he missed FFMN and found Jimin on the couch the next morning. His roommate was sprawled out in an uncomfortable looking position. Familiar snacks spread out across the table with the T.V on but nothing playing.

Jimin’s eyes were puffy and swollen, dried tear tracks evident on his cheeks.

Jeongguk woke him up right then and there and they had a conversation that involved far too much snot and tears for Jeongguk’s liking. Following that conversation they spent the whole day cuddled up together on the couch having First Saturday Movie Day instead of First Friday Movie Night and pretending that their stinging eyes were from staring at a screen all day.

So no, they weren’t avoiding each other. But they also didn’t talk about what happened. They didn’t talk about the undercurrent of tension that was always present the minute they stared at each other for too long or when touches began to linger.

They most certainly didn’t talk about the night Jeongguk came home a little drunk from a night out with his friend Seokjin and almost kissed him, changing directions at the last minute to kiss his cheek instead.

Jeongguk couldn’t look him in the eye the next morning. Especially not when Jimin teased him relentlessly about it.

They never talked about the following Monday. Jeongguk was pouring coffee into a mug, feeling like crap because his sleep schedule was screwed up. He was trying to fix it by forcing himself to wake up early. Jimin had slipped into the kitchen, hugged Jeongguk from behind, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and moved away, snatching the coffee out of Jeongguk’s stunned hands.

They didn’t talk about how cheek kisses became a regular thing before Jimin left for work.

Jeongguk never told anyone how his tiny crush became a mass of feelings. His chest ached with longing everytime Jimin smiled or laughed. When he would curl up on the couch or in Jeongguk’s bed, reading. When he wore his glasses. When he focused hard on something, lips naturally pursing in a pout. When his humming or singing rose from the kitchen or bathroom. When he fell asleep on the couch and Jeongguk was forced to carry him to his room.

When Jimin did anything, really.

Jeongguk was in deep.

And he didn’t know what to do about it.

.o0o.

“Can I sit in?”

Jeongguk startled, looking up from his computer.

“Of course.” Jeongguk blinked at him, wondering how he missed the door opening. He was very concerned about the deep circles under Jimin’s eyes and the tired slant to his mouth. He knew that Jimin was stressed because of finals, and the older man had decided it was a good idea to host a bunch of study sessions with his students in the campus library. He  hadn’t come home yesterday night until two a.m. Jeongguk postponed the stream he had scheduled that afternoon to wait until Jimin woke up so he didn’t disturb him.

It was now nearing ten in the evening. Jeongguk had been contemplating ending the stream early, but he’d took a break last week to go visit his parents. This stream was his way of making it up to his viewers.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jimin starfish onto his bed, an exhausted groan leaving his lips. Jeongguk couldn’t help but tease him.

“Just reminding you that I’m live, Jimin.” Jeongguk readjusted the camera since it caught the edge of his bed. “And some of my viewers are kids. Keep it PG-”

Jeongguk spluttered as a pillow smacked into the side of his head. “Hey!”

“It’s hyung, you brat.”

Jeongguk’s chat was zooming. He was vaguely aware that this was the first time he and Jimin really interacted together while he was live. Of course, Jimin wasn’t in the camera, but he was still talking when he usually stayed silent.

“It’s finals month,” Jeongguk explained after he tossed the pillow away. “Jimin-hyung is kind of dead.”

“I am dead.”

“There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead means slightly alive-”

Jimin threw another pillow at him.

“Don’t quote The Princess Bride at me.”

“Quit throwing pillows at me! You’re making me look bad.”

“You do that all on your own.”

Jeongguk pouted. “Hyung, you’re mean when you’re grumpy.”

Another pillow smacked into his face.

“Why do I have so many pillows!?”

Jimin giggled from his place on the bed. Jeongguk had a chance to glance over at him.

Only he couldn’t quite look away when he saw what Jimin was wearing.

“Is that my hoodie?” he blurted.

Jimin, dragging a blanket over his legs, didn’t even look down at the black fabric covering his torso.

“Yeah. It was over the back of the couch and I was cold.”

“So you just decided it was okay to wear it?”

Jimin raised an eyebrow. “Yessss? Is it not?”

No. No is is not.

“It’s fine.”

“No, really, I can take it off if it bothers you-”

“No stripping during my live, hyung.”

Jimin’s choked coughing could be heard even though Jeongguk’s headphones.

“You said this was PG!”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m telling you not to strip. Now shush, you’re interrupting.”

Jimin huffed but obediently fell quiet. Jeongguk did his best to focus on the game and keep up a steady stream of commentary, but it was hard when his eyes kept wanting to slide over to Jimin.

His roommate had barely been in the house the whole week. The times Jeongguk did see him had been short and quick exchanges. Harried goodbyes and sleepy goodnights. Jimin hardly took any time to relax and had apologetically disappeared into his office so that he could focus fully on finishing up the semester.

This was the first time Jeongguk was seeing him for more than ten minutes.

Jimin shifted on the bed, and Jeongguk glanced over to find Jimin leaning over, trying to peer at Jeongguk’s screen.

“Careful there. Any further and they’re going to see your panda eyes.”

“Rude,” Jimin huffed.

“I’m kidding, hyung,” Jeongguk snickered, catching his eye. “Even as a finals zombie you’re gorgeous.”

Jeongguk tried to say it as a joke, but the truth bled into his tone. Jimin blinked at him before smiling. Shy and pleased.

“Thank you.”

Jeongguk was mesmerized.

It was only the sound of his character dying in the game that brought him back. He tore his attention away from Jimin, clearing his throat and apologizing into the mic.

He managed to pay attention long enough to win the game. As the victory logo flashed across the screen, Jeongguk leaned back in his chair with a little, “Yayyy.”

Jimin snorted.

“What?” Jeongguk asked defensively, queuing for another game before turning to Jimin and crossing his arms.

“Nothing,” Jimin grinned at him. “You’re just cute.”

Jeongguk had never blushed faster in his life. He refused to look at the other screen that showed his live and his face in the bottom right hand corner.

Thankfully he was saved from responding as Jimin yawned.

“You should probably go to sleep, hyung,” He prompted gently. Jimin fixed him with an empty glare.

“It’s the weekend. I have all the time in the world to sleep.”

“But you need to stick with your schedule or you’re going to be exhausted next week.”

Jimin rolled his eyes, but he softened. “I’ll be fine, Guk. I want to be awake and spend time with you.”

Oh.

“But I- this isn’t really spending time with me,” Jeongguk forced out, trying not to let his voice crack. He felt the urge to remind Jimin yet again that they were live. He was being really… shameless.

Jeongguk shouldn’t find it as attractive as he did.

“I can end the stream if you want to do something.”

Jimin was shaking his head before Jeongguk finished.

“You promised them you’d be on here until midnight. I’ll have all day with you tomorrow so don’t deprive them.”

“But hyung-”

“You really like arguing with me don’t you?” Jimin bit out, though there was no heat to his words. Then he sighed. “Let’s compromise then.”

He reached out, grabbing the arm of Jeongguk’s chair and pulling him towards the bed. Jeongguk froze up as Jimin plopped his head on Jeongguk’s shoulder and wound his arms around his stomach.

“They can have you when you’re actively playing,” he mumbled into Jeongguk’s shoulder. “I get you when you’re queuing for a game.”

“O-oh,” Jeongguk stuttered. “But I usually pay attention to the comments when I’m queuing. They’re too fast for me to read during games-”

“I’ll read them to you.”

Jeongguk was feeling all sorts of things right now and he couldn’t properly process them with Jimin laying on him and knowing that the camera was right there though they were out of sight.

“Hyung,” he whispered in Jimin’s ear. “You do remember this is live, right?”

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“No? You’re just being… I don’t know. I think you’re very tired and not really thinking-”

“Jeongguk,” Jimin’s voice was firm. “I’m aware of what I’m doing. And if your viewers want to complain about me stealing you away to cuddle then they’re going to have to take it up with me.” He pulled away from Jeongguk and fixed him with a pleading look. “I haven’t seen you all week. I miss you. I don’t want to get in the way of your job, but I also want attention.”

“You always have my attention,” Jeongguk blurted. He immediately knew that it had been too loud.

Jimin didn’t react to the change in volume. “Then give it to me when I’m asking for it.”

Jeongguk couldn’t breathe.

“Okay,” he whispered.

“Good!” Jimin beamed, smacking a kiss on his cheek. Dazed, Jeongguk didn’t feel Jimin push his chair back. “You’ve got a game.”

“What?”

Jimin laughed. “You’ve got a game!”

“Oh!” He spun towards the monitor, quickly picking his character. He slid on his headphones, greeting the people on mic smoothly.

Inside, he was dying. And not the mostly dead kind of dying.

After Jimin asked, Jeongguk tilted the second monitor towards him so that he could read the comments. Jimin read them easily and smoothly, laughing at a few of them. In no time it became Jimin just chatting with Jeongguk’s viewers while Jeongguk rolled his eyes and pouted, whining about no one paying attention to him.

The only time they were silent was when Jeongguk was waiting for a game and pulled himself off camera so that he could give Jimin his ‘attention.’ It mostly consisted of Jimin flopping over Jeongguk on his chair, humming as Jeongguk combed through his hair or scratched his back. Sometimes it was Jeongguk putting his head in Jimin’s lap and letting himself receive the same treatment. (That started after Jeongguk complained one too many times about not getting any attention).

When Jeongguk announced that the next game would be the last for the night, he lingered to read a few comments on his own. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jimin cross his arms petulantly and pout at him.

Jeongguk read a few more just to spite him.

“Alright, I’m going to disappear again. Jimin is glaring at me.” He laughed, rolling over. “You’re quite needy, hyu-”

His words cut off with a startled noise as Jimin unceremoniously dropped himself into Jeongguk’s lap.

“Payback,” Jimin smirked. “Now you have to deal with my heavy ass.”

It’s not payback if you’re not heavy.

It would have been the perfect response, but it was nothing more than a passing thought. Because there were a lot of thoughts screaming through Jeongguk’s brain right now as he stared wide eyed at the man. Jimin continued to smirk at him, but it began to fade along with his teasing expression.

That look came back.

The one that made him think that Jimin wanted Jeongguk just as much as he wanted Jimin.

But then Jimin was gone.

He slid off of Jeongguk’s lap faster than Jeongguk could even try to stop him.

Within one second and the next, he was at Jeongguk’s desk, stopping his queue and then turning to the camera with a sickly sweet smile.

“Sorry guys, I know Jeongguk said one more game, but I’m overriding his decision.” He started clicking at the stream, pulling up the end stream button. “He’ll see you guys on Monday though! Hope you all have a good Sunday. Bye~!”

He promptly ended the stream.

Jeongguk gaped.

“Hyung, what the hell-”

Jeongguk sucked the words back in when Jimin dropped himself into his lap again, hands cupping his face. Almost desperately he said,

“Jeongguk, I’m halfway in love with you. Can I please kiss you?”

Jeongguk’s jaw dropped.

“Please just tell me if I can kiss you or if I need to get off your lap and then go hide in my room to wallow in self-pity because you don’t like me back-”

“Don’t like you back?” Jeongguk choked out. “How could anyone not like you back? Jimin, I’ve been gone for you since day one-”

His words were drowned out by an enthusiastic, “Thank goodness” before Jimin leaned down and kissed him.

The feeling was electric, sending every single nerve Jeongguk had on fire. He immediately melted, pressing up into the kiss eagerly. The tension that had been between them for goodness knows how long drained away.

After a moment, when air became something they needed, Jimin pulled away.

“You like me?” he breathed, warm against Jeongguk’s mouth.

“In your own words,” he murmured, pressing his lips to Jimin’s again, hands tight on his waist. “I’m half in love with you.”

Jimin made a noise in the back of his throat before surging forward to kiss him again. Their teeth knocked but neither cared, only laughing before trying again.

They got it right that time.

.o0o.

“How’d you figure it out?” Jeongguk whispered into the dark, his arms tight around Jimin. He snuggled closer to Jeongguk, humming into his shirt.

Neither of them wanted to be apart, so it wasn’t even a debate when Jimin crawled into bed with Jeongguk.

“Aside from you being painfully obvious?” Jimin laughed at the offended noise Jeongguk made. “Well, let’s just say that your viewers were very eager to let me know how much you adored me.”

Jeongguk flushed, burying his face into Jimin’s hair. He had forgotten that everyone and their dog on the internet knew about his crush on Jimin. He should have known that they would tell him the exact moment they got the chance to. They were probably telling him long before today.

“I guess I should thank them then.” Jeongguk muttered.

“You should. They’re the reason I sat in your lap in the first place. I think they could tell that I didn’t quite believe it since…” he trailed off.

“Since what?”

“Well,” he sighed. “You didn’t really made a move after the day we went to the hospital. Even after all of the cheek kisses and all of that.”

“Hyung, I tried to kiss you when I was drunk.”

“Jeongguk, a lot of people try to kiss others while drunk. It’s not exactly an exclusive thing,” he teased.

“You didn’t make a move either.” Jeongguk pouted.

“I didn’t,” Jimin agreed easily. “Because I was doubting. I was thinking that I was imagining things or, I don’t know, projecting my feelings onto you.”

Jeongguk leaned down to kiss him blindly. He caught the corner of his mouth before readjusting. Jimin sighed against him, kissing him back languidly.

“You weren’t imagining,” Jeongguk promised. “I definitely have feelings for you.”

“I believe it,” he breathed. Jeongguk felt his eyelashes flutter against his skin and smiled.

“Go to sleep, hyung.”

“Can I kiss you in the morning?”

“We might want to brush our teeth first, but if you want-”

Jimin shoved a pillow in his face.

+I.

“Welcome everyone! Before we get started, I’d like to make a quick announcement.”

He grinned widely at the camera, waving his hands excitedly. “Jimin is no longer my roommate!”

He paused for dramatic effect, watching the chat explode into panicked questions.

[What? Why not!!!! WHTA HAPPENED TO JIDNFIEOHFJIMINIE???]
[whatisthisblasphomy]
[ARE YOU moving again????]
[NOOOOOOOOOOO]

Jeongguk couldn’t help but burst into giggles. He leaned breathlessly over his desk, head nearly smacking onto his keyboard.

Just off camera, a familiar huff could be heard.

“You’re cruel, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk lifted his head, grinning. He reached over to grab the chair sitting to the side, pulling it into the camera’s view. Jimin sat regally, legs crossed with his head resting on his bent arm. He raised on eyebrow at the camera before looking up at Jeongguk.

“Was that dramatic enough for you?”

“No.” He smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s temple. Jimin rolled his eyes when he pulled away, making Jeongguk laugh.

“I’m still Jeongguk’s roommate,” Jimin deadpanned to the chat. “He’s a liar.”

“But…” Jeongguk prompted, wiggling his eyebrows. Jimin poked him in the stomach.

“Goof.” He couldn’t keep his serious face for long, lips quirking up into a fond smile. He didn’t take his eyes off of Jeongguk as he explained, “But now I’m also something a lot more.”

“He’s my boyfriend!” Jeongguk squealed, leaning closer to the camera. “Can you guy’s believe it? This beautiful, sweet, gorgeous man is my boyfriend.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jimin buried his face in his hands. Either he was flustered by the announcement or the way Jeongguk made it.

“Today is kind of an unofficial Q&A. Jimin and I will be answering your questions while playing Stardew Valley together—I know, not my usual game but Jiminie doesn’t play a lot of what I play. Though! He does like the game you guys recommended a while back. Maybe he and I can play that one with you guys at another time.”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll join you on another stream.”

Jeongguk didn’t even bat an eye. “Bold of you to assume you can resist my pleading doe eyes.”

Jimin’s silence was telling.

They stared at each other, Jeongguk grinning like a fool. It took a few seconds, but Jimin’s mouth started twitching, eventually blooming into a huge smile.

“Alright, fine.” He shook his head, still smiling. “You’re right, I can’t. Happy now?”

Jeongguk smacked a kiss onto his cheek, nuzzling his nose into the spot affectionately.

“I’m always happy when I’m with you,” he murmured.

“Sap,” his boyfriend whispered back. Jeongguk could hear the endearment in his tone, solidified by Jimin shifting to press a chaste kiss to his mouth. 

He smiled into it.

[oahdofhapdhofandophfpshDREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE]
[*dies in singleness*]
[SUPPORT THEIR LOVE FOREVER]
[screechingparodactylesinheat]