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Jungkook had many things he was proud of, it became a sort of habit to list them from time to time.
Like the fact that he was the youngest boxing champion in South Korean history, eventually to be a world champion if his manager had anything to say about it.
With such fame he could afford to live in one of the best apartment complexes in Seoul and provide for his family back in Busan.
But what topped them all was the fact he had been able to walk past his neighbor this morning without becoming a complete and utter stuttering mess.
It wasn’t exactly what he had signed on for when he had bought the apartment and he wished that he had toured the place before putting his deposit down.
While luxurious, whoever had designed the penthouse floor had been an absolute idiot. The doors to numbers 1 and 12 were angled in such a way by the shape of the hallway that there was barely five inches to step out of the door. Thankfully, the doors swung into the apartments, the only grace the builder had given them, but it didn’t help Jungkook’s situation of nearly falling into his neighbor’s house every time they happened to be leaving at the same time.
If it had been anyone else, Jungkook knew he’d be a little more careful but sometimes he just couldn’t help himself. He never intentionally caused any run-ins with his neighbor, but if they happened to bump into each other at least once a week, well that was just for him to know.
He didn’t know his neighbor well, they barely spoke more than a few words to each other. He wouldn’t have even known his name if it weren’t for the constant mail sticking out of the door slots, but there was just something about Kim Namjoon that drew him in.
Was it the dimpled smile? The honeyed complexion? The deep voice that always said a quiet ‘sorry’ when they bumped shoulders in their tiny doorway? All of the above. And it didn’t help that Namjoon was nearly as built as he was, only taller. Jungkook had yet to figure out what the man did for a living though.
He knew that Namjoon biked to wherever he worked, his calf and thigh muscles spoke for themselves on that front. He knew that the satchel Namjoon carried around was always full of papers, of which he was prone to nearly dropping across the floor every time he stepped outside. And he knew that the man smelled so fucking good because of the amount of times he had nearly fallen into his arms.
In conclusion, Jungkook had a massive crush on his neighbor and he couldn’t do a single thing about it. Because the only place Jungkook was confident was inside the boxing ring, mainly because there was no talking involved. He didn’t need to be coherent, or suave, or anything but good with his fists.
Outside of the boxing ring, he was every bit of the shy kid from Busan that had come to Seoul with a simple dream. It worked for the persona his manager had built for his career, but it in no shape or form helped his dating life. It didn’t matter how many trophies or belts he had on the shelves, if he couldn’t get in one coherent word with his neighbor they were practically useless.
And they would not help him in his current situation.
Jungkook peeks through his peep hole, lifting himself onto his tippy-toes to see through it clearly. There was still mail in the slot, but that didn’t help him, Namjoon was notorious for forgetting his mail for weeks as he went in and out of his door. He gives it a minute or two before sucking in all his courage to leave the comforts of his apartment, there was a package down in the lobby waiting for him.
He cracks his door open slowly, then darts into the hallway with a swift pull at his door to shut it behind him. He walks swiftly to the elevators, feeling his heart pound in his chest; leaving his apartment really shouldn’t be this stressful.
He hums to himself as the elevator descends, tapping his fingers in a gentle rhythm against his side to the beat of a song he had long forgotten. When the door opens to the spacious lobby, he pokes his head and breathes a quiet sigh of relief to see it empty, apart from the person at the front desk.
He bows the connoisseur as his package is handed to him, tucking it under his arm as he walks back to the elevators. He doesn’t notice the other figure going to the desk behind him and then running to catch up until he catches the sliding doors.
“Sorry,” Namjoon mutters, sliding into the elevator and pressing the button to close the doors.
Jungkook makes a nonsensical hum in his throat as his heart pounds, already feeling the blush come to his cheeks as the silver doors close and trap him inside before he can even think about darting back out.
The air is tense, at least in Jungkook’s mind, as they rise up the floors. Namjoon looks completely unbothered as he shifts his bag across his shoulder and holds onto his package as he checks his phone.
“A storm is coming,” Namjoon mutters, almost to himself until he looks over at Jungkook. “There might be a power outage, do you have any candles?”
Jungkook blinks as he processes Namjoon’s question, his deep voice making his brain go fuzzy. He clears his throat and shifts his package into his arms, “That’s actually what this is, I’m very picky about my scents so I ordered one especially.”
Namjoon’s eyebrows quirk in amusement, “Lucky timing then, what kind of scent did you get?”
Jungkook feels his ears burn as he hugs the package to his chest, “The description said that it was a soft linen scent, I just hope they didn’t lie. If you hear violent sneezing, just know not to buy Fresh Linen from Lulu Candles.”
Namjoon gives a bark of laughter, nearly dropping his own package to the floor as he covers his mouth, “I’ll keep that in mind, I’ll make sure to have some tissues on hand if I happen to hear it.”
“Thanks,” Jungkook chokes out, following behind Namjoon slowly as the doors open to their floor.
The walk down the long hallway seems endless until they finally come to the end where their door frames nearly kiss in the corner. Namjoon sighs as he looks at his door, shifting his bag as he bends to grab his mail in the slot. Jungkook swallows back a whine at the sight of his ass curving in his blue jeans.
Jungkook sees it before Namjoon can feel it, his bag slipping off his shoulder and threatening to spill its contents all over the floor, he moves without thinking; leaping forward and snatching the bag up before it falls but also almost pressing his crotch completely against Namjoon’s ass.
“Sorry,” Jungkook squeaks as Namjoon gives a little jump at his sudden movement, holding the bag firmly by the strap as he stands straight. “Sorry, I just didn’t want it to fall.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Namjoon assures him, nearly dropping his piles of mail as he waves his hand. “Just surprised me is all, you have fast reflexes.”
Jungkook shrugs, still holding the bag up as Namjoon fumbles with his mail, “I can hold it, if you need to get your door open.”
Namjoon groans as a letter flutters to the floor, he relinquishes his slight hold on his bag as he slips his arm out the strap. He shifts his package and letters under his arm as he pats his pants, “If I forgot my keys, please just shoot me.”
Jungkook blinks as he holds the bag in the air with his arm fully extended, “It wouldn’t be a fast death, I have terrible aim without my glasses.”
Namjoon snickers as another letter falls to the floor, he makes a triumphant noise as he pulls out a small set of keys from his pocket, “Guess we won’t have to suffer this time.”
“Shame, I was hoping to give you a good funeral,” Jungkook teases, his mouth quirking into a smile when Namjoon laughs heartily. He can feel the knot lessen in his stomach as he catches sight of Namjoon’s dimples in his cheeks as he slides his key into his door.
“I didn’t realize you had such a good sense of humor,” Namjoon says, swinging the door open and plopping his mail down onto the small table right next to the door. He holds it open with his foot as he turns to pick up the fallen mail and take the bag from Jungkook’s hands, but he pauses when he sees Jungkook still holding it out at arms length. “Have you been holding it like that this whole time?”
Jungkook nods, shrugging through the slight burn in his arm, “It’s not that heavy.”
Namjoon quirks an eyebrow as he takes the bag and Jungkook is pleased to note that his hand does not tremble once as he lowers it back to his side, “Well, thank you, Jeon-ssi. I hope we can bump into each other more often.”
“Likewise,” Jungkook squeaks, giving a slight bow to him. “And you can just call me, Jungkook, Kim-ssi, Jeon-ssi is my father.”
A smirk ghosts across Namjoon’s face as he shoulders his bag once more, “Then you can call me Namjoon, I’ll see you around Jungkook.”
Jungkook squeaks out a quiet ‘bye’ as the door shuts on Namjoon’s amused face, he cautiously opens his own door with the feeling against his neck as if someone is watching him.
Once Jungkook is back inside the safe haven of his apartment, he bangs his head against the wall next to the door, muttering ‘stupid, stupid’ under his breath. He thumps his head once more to try and jerk some sense back into his stupid brain, but pulls back to rub his forehead as it throbs.
He shakes himself from the mild embarrassment and picks up his box as he heads into the kitchen. His bare feet slapping against the white marble as he flicks in the light in the bare room, he goes straight for the junk drawer and pulls out his letter opener.
The tape across the cardboard easily gives way to his knife as he opens the package, he grins at the sight of the candle laying amongst the packing peanuts. With eager fingers he plucks it out and opens the lid, taking a gentle, hesitant, sniff of the contents. It smells exactly like his favorite laundry detergent and he’s bolting across his kitchen to get a lighter to have this smell across the entire house.
He places his lit candle down on his coffee table as he sits down on his couch to order at least another twenty of them. Overboard? Maybe, but no one could call Jeon Jungkook a denier of things he liked. At least where purchasing items was concerned.
After placing his order of twenty-five more candles, he flicks over to the weather app, remembering Namjoon mentioning that there was going to be a storm coming. Sure enough, the sonar showed a large cluster of storm clouds heading to the center of Seoul. Jungkook felt himself shrink into his couch at the sight of lightning being predicted, it may be a childish fear but he had always cowered at thunderstorms. The slightest loud noise had him shaking under the covers of his bed even to this day.
Jungkook bites his lip as he considers his opinions, he always felt better when he spent a storm with someone else but most of his friends were out of town. Hoseok and Jin wouldn’t be back from their trip in Japan for another week. And if they didn’t come back married Jungkook was going to take them to the courthouse himself. His twin brother, Taehyung, was in Paris for fashion week, he would be completely unreachable until he was back in Korea.
Beyond them there was no one else that he trusted with his deepest, most embarrassing secret. So, he gets to work on trying to make this as easy on himself as possible. He goes to his emergency cupboard and pulls out the essentials; two more unscented candles, his favorite weighted blanket, and his DVD player. He carries all of this into the living room, along with a few DVD boxes of his favorite movies from his movie shelf. With the possibility of the power going out, he wanted to be absolutely certain that he had a means to distract himself.
After setting it all up across the coffee table and couch, he heads to the bedroom to change into his most comfortable sweats. He checks the charge on the DVD player before setting it aside to start watching some random YouTube videos; using the charge before the storm had even started wouldn’t be very smart.
He hooks the weighted blanket around his shoulders as he flicks through his suggestions before settling on a random ASMR video, hoping that it will help him calm down instead of constantly anticipating the storm’s arrival.
Just as he starts to settle in and almost convinces himself that the storm won’t actually be that bad, the sky rumbles outside and the lights flicker above his head. He gulps as an alert goes off on his phone to warn the residents about the power outage just before everything goes dark.
He shivers under the warmth of the blanket as the rolling thunder outside increases and a flash of lightning illuminates the room for a brief moment. His fingers tremble as he reaches forward to turn on the DVD player and he fumbles as he places the disc inside. He flexes his hands around the blanket as he tightens it around his body as the movie begins to gently play across the small screen.
He doesn’t even realize how much he’s trembling or that tears have started to streak down his cheeks until the sound of a knock at his door makes him jump out of his skin. It’s a soft, familiar knock that has him on his feet, wiping away the wetness on his face as he shuffles to the door.
Jungkook holds his blanket around him with one hand as he pulls his door open, praying that the thunder pauses for a moment while he tries not to make a fool of himself for a second time today.
“Hey Jungkook-ssi, sorry to disturbed you, again, but I just wanted to make sure that you…” Namjoon blinks as a crash of thunder sounds through the hall and Jungkook jumps violently at it, nearly making the door slam in his face if Namjoon hadn’t caught it. “Hey, hey, are you okay?”
Jungkook can only make a negative noise in his throat as he shakes his head, the tears streaking back down his face. Another clap of thunder sounds, making him duck as if to dodge it and clasp his hands over his ears. Maybe getting a penthouse apartment wasn’t a good idea after all, oh well, at least he’ll die on marble floors in this life.
He whimpers as another crack of thunder echoes behind him before he feels warm hands covering his own. He blinks through the tears as he looks up to see Namjoon’s kind face at eye level with his.
“Not a fan of thunder?” Namjoon guesses gently, smiling softly when Jungkook shakes his head. “Would you like some company?”
Jungkook gulps as he nods, holding himself back from falling straight into Namjoon’s arms as he tries to stand back to his feet. He wobbles on his shaking knees and he nearly falls on his face if it weren’t for Namjoon catching him. Before he can attempt to try again, the choice is taken from him as Namjoon just scoops him up into his arms.
“You’re much lighter then I thought you’d be,” Namjoon mutters as he stands to his feet with ease, closing the door gently with his foot as he walks into Jungkook’s apartment. He hums in approval as they come into the living room, his eyes flickering over his cluster of candles around the small DVD player. “You’ve got quite the set up here, you’re more prepared than I thought.”
“Don’t like storms,” Jungkook whispers, hesitantly clutching onto Namjoon’s t-shirt as he sits them down on the couch.
Namjoon hums as he gets them comfortable, adjusting the blanket across Jungkook’s body and shifting him in his arms to be cuddled against his chest. “Storms used to scare me too, but then I took a trip to Japan and realized that it was much scarier being on a tiny island in the middle of a tsunami then inland during a small storm.”
Jungkook shivers at the very thought, somehow missing the second loud crack of thunder as he tucks his head down against Namjoon’s neck, “Sorry if this is weird, I shouldn’t have bothered you with…”
“Hey Jungkook-ah,” Namjoon says gently, running a soft hand through his hair and making Jungkook absolutely melt against him. “It’s okay, really, I don’t mind. If the worst thing to happen to me today is cuddling with my hot neighbor on his couch because he’s scared of the storm, then I think I’m having a pretty good day.”
“You think I’m hot?” Jungkook mutters, letting his hands rest against Namjoon’s sides, blinking slowly in shock at the feeling of firm muscles under his fingers.
“You would hear that,” Namjoon mutters and Jungkook can feel a bit of heat against his forehead from his blush. He gently trails his hand down Jungkook’s neck and down his spine before bringing it back up into his hair, “I’m not sure how anyone couldn’t find you attractive, I swear I’ve become ten times more clumsy since you moved in. Yoongi-hyung, my friend, has threatened to kick me out of our studio more than once after I’ve nearly knocked over our coffees across the desk.”
“Is that the small blonde that comes by sometimes?” Jungkook asks, remembering vividly the sleepy blonde that had looked like he hadn’t slept in a week by the heavy purple bags under his eyes. And if he hadn’t seen Namjoon literally toss a pile of papers in the man’s face, he would have been worried that the pair were together.
“Yeah, that was him,” Namjoon sighs, shuffling them around to lay flat across the couch. “He’s been telling me for weeks to ask you out, but it never seemed like the right time. Plus, you’re always running in the opposite direction so I assumed that you weren’t interested.”
“Interested, just shy,” Jungkook mumbles against the side of Namjoon’s neck. He grins at the sound of Namjoon’s chuckle directly in his ear.
“Yoongi-hyung said as much, kept telling me ‘just talk to the kid, Namjoon-ah, he’s shy as hell and he likes you. Don’t you see how red his face gets when you smile, stop being an idiot’. He’s never going to let the ‘I told you so’ go now,” Namjoon grumbles, tightening his grip around Jungkook’s waist as he giggles.
“I think I’m going to like meeting your hyung, he sounds smart,” Jungkook muses, shivering slightly as Namjoon idly traces a finger over the number seven tattoo under his ear.
“I’ve always wondered what this means, do you think you could tell me?” Namjoon whispers, brushing Jungkook’s hair behind his ear after it falls against his cheek.
“It’s not as deep and meaningful as some people think,” Jungkook mutters, tracing his thumbs idly against Namjoon’s ribs. “It’s just for the number of times my coach had to convince me to go national, I didn’t think I was good enough but he was convinced that I would be a success. I got it in honor of him when I got my first belt.”
“I don’t know why it’s just clicking for me now,” Namjoon murmurs, tilting his head to the side to gaze at the trophy case across the room. “But are you The Jeon Jungkook, South Korea’s youngest boxing champion.”
“I don’t know about ‘The’,” Jungkook mutters, blushing as Namjoon cups his cheek, tilting his head up to lock their gazes together. “But, ah, yeah, that’s me.”
“No need to be so modest, Jungkook-ah, your career has been quite impressive. At least, that’s what my friend Jimin tells me, I don’t really follow many sports.” Namjoon admits, looking sheepish when Jungkook grins at him. “I guess I shouldn’t have admitted that.”
Jungkook shrugs, lifting his arm to lay across Namjoon’s chest to rest his chin atop his wrist, “It doesn’t bother me, it’s not a sport for everyone. People are still surprised that I walk away from fights with minimal damage to my face, but none of my opponents have stayed in the ring long enough to hit me.”
Namjoon raises an impressive eyebrow, his thumb gently tracing the small scar on Jungkook’s cheek as his eyes drift across his face, “I guess I don’t have to worry about your face then, what about the rest of you?”
“The occasional bruise is kinda part of the job, I’m not that good.” Jungkook dismisses with an embarrassed chuckle, feeling his cheeks burn as Namjoon’s eyes drift lower. Not that he could see much with them lying down and the blanket covering him, but Jungkook’s heart wasn’t quite clued into the program. “You said something about a studio earlier, I don’t think I’ve ever asked what you do.”
“Considering that this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had in the past six months,” Namjoon teases, chuckling softly when Jungkook whines and hides his face back down against Namjoon’s neck. “I’m a music producer, I’ve dabbled in rapping in the past but I’ve found that I like guiding others more. Giving them the spotlight, rather than being in it myself.”
“Would I have heard anything that you’ve produced?” Jungkook asks, racking his memory for a hint of something. Namjoon’s name had always been a bit familiar to him, he just couldn’t quite place it.
“I’m not sure,” Namjoon mutters, his hand drifting across Jungkook’s exposed tattooed arm; tracing the skin lightly, creating goosebumps across in their wake. “Have you heard of Muse Entertainments? That’s the company I work for.”
Jungkook hums in thought, before it clicks in his mind. He leaps from his lying position to straddle Namjoon’s hips to look at him in excitement, “Are you RM? TXT’s producer and the underground rapper?”
Namjoon rubs the back of his neck, “I’m not just TXT’s producer, but how do you know about my underground days? I thought I had Yoongi-hyung wipe all those files.”
“Not the ones I recorded myself,” Jungkook states proudly, a wide grin on his face when Namjoon blinks at him. He gazes across Namjoon’s face in disbelief, “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you, I went to your last show a few years ago. I heard rumors that you had been picked up by an agency, so I jumped at the chance to see you in Seoul before you became famous. I never expected your music to get wiped afterward, otherwise I would have made better downloads.”
“I still have the original recordings,” Namjoon admits, laughing when Jungkook looks at him in excitement. “Tell you what, after our first date, I’ll give you a CD.”
Jungkook narrows his eyes, “A signed one?”
Namjoon quirks an eyebrow, “If you’re insistent on it, sure.”
“Yes,” Jungkook cheers, pumping his fist in the air. “Taetae is going to be so jealous.”
“Who?” Namjoon asks, placing his hands on Jungkook’s hips, lightly tracing the exposed skin on his hip bones.
“My twin brother,” Jungkook answers, suddenly realizing how compromising the position he had placed himself in was. He desperately tries to distract himself from Namjoon’s dark eyes, “He’s in Paris at the moment, for fashion week, he’s a model. He, ah, got the good looks in the family, fraternal twins and all.”
“I wouldn’t say that, not from where I’m sitting,” Namjoon murmurs, sliding his hands up to gently pull Jungkook’s hands away from his ears.
“You haven’t even met him yet,” Jungkook mutters, allowing Namjoon to pull him back down against his chest.
“Don’t need to,” Namjoon dismisses, pulling the blanket back over his shoulders and sighing as Jungkook tucks his head back down against his neck. “I’m curious though, who’s the oldest?”
“Tae is, by like five minutes,” Jungkook grumbles sleepily, snuggling himself completely against Namjoon. “But he’d make you think it was a whole two years.”
“Older brothers can be like that,” Namjoon chuckles, brushing Jungkook’s hair away from his forehead as he gives a wide yawn. “You can sleep, Jungkook-ah, I’m sure the storm will be over by the time you wake up.”
“Forgot all about the storm,” Jungkook slurs, his lips curving into a smile when Namjoon places a soft kiss against his forehead.
The movie on the DVD player had long been playing its credits as the pair turned over on their sides on the couch, the options screen played on a loop until the battery died completely. Outside, the storm raged on, shaking the inhabitants of Seoul and filling the streets with water, but the couple across the couch inside apartment number 1 were none the wiser.
Yoongi had a field day when he finally met Jungkook properly and found out they had gotten together on South Korea’s worst thunderstorm in recorded history. And Jungkook had something else to add to his list of things to be proud of; being the boyfriend of Kim Namjoon and having his signed album displayed proudly among his trophies.