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He probably looked like a fish out of water, the roof of his mouth drying from the humid air of the backstage madness, people constantly brushing past him or fixing his hair. He should probably close his mouth, but his brain doesn’t seem to be cooperating with him and all because a certain someone has caught his attention and this certainly wasn’t the first time…
Thinking back on it, he could understand why they called him “Angel”. The first time they’d ever met it had been because of stupid Taehyung-hyung and his “overly friendly wanna touch everything and everyone” self.
Last year at the annual event MBC threw for idols to compete in sports he and his hyung walked past tons of girl groups with pretty faces, clear skin, and flowy hair that they would gently push out of their eyes with their small dainty hands.
And yeah Taehyung-hyung had grabbed him by the arm to walk around and check them all out..Nothing out of the ordinary, they were still boys and pretty things were what they craved. Even he couldn’t deny the urge to stare at the popular girl with long black hair and sparkly eyes from AOA as she stretched her legs and laughed with girls from some other group.
Seo…Seol—Seohyun….? Her name was something like that, and the way she gave him a small smile made Jungkook quickly look away his face heating up, his posture feigning ignorance as he refused to meet her gaze just before Taehyung suddenly stopped, then just as quickly and excitedly pulled him over to where a group of boys stood.
Jungkook raised an eyebrow, snatching his arm away from his Hyung as he looked around at the slightly familiar faces.
Seventeen
They all bowed when Taehyung greeted them, holding onto their hands like he’d known them for years. Jungkook followed suit, but only bowing, his mouth quirked up in a half smile.
It turned out that they were close in age and Taehyung had instantly gravitated towards one Jungkook couldn’t yet see because this particular member was encircled by the rest of the other members almost like a protective hedge.
And once Jungkook stepped around Mingyu (he thinks it was) he could see why Taehyung was drawn to the pretty Hyung with long hair. He would’ve mistaken him for a girl from behind had he not been standing with a group of rowdy boys.
His hair was an orangey red and long; way past his shoulders, his features were soft and amused. He smiled brightly, bowing to Taehyung-hyung before looking over at Jungkook and giving him a small smile that made his heart do somersaults.
He tried to be as neutral as possible but failed miserably as his mind seemed to lose connection to his mouth because the sides of his lips were beginning to ache with the nervous energy twisted into the huge smile on his face.
Fuckhesreallypretty
The leader of the group whom Taehyung had made friends with pretty quickly raised an eyebrow at Jungkook before snorting and laughing under his breath as did a few others which positively made him internally want to combust in embarrassment.
He stepped back; clutching the sleeves of his shirt just about ready to jog over to where Namjoon-hyung had been lounging on the grass looking absolutely invested in whatever he was watching….probably porn.
“Jungkook get over here and hold this for me!”
His thoughts were interrupted by his Hyung’s loud voice; where he stood next to..the pretty one, one hand beckoning for Jungkook to come closer and the other one twirling the base of the umbrella between his fingers.
He swallowed thickly, walking over as slowly as he possibly could thinking he should’ve made a break for it when the pretty one tucked a long lock of hair behind his ear and looked over at him expectantly.
An umbrella was pushed into his hands but he couldn’t take his eyes off of the pretty one who was biting his lip and looking down a bit embarrassed for some reason.. Jungkook could’nt lie..it made him look even prettier, especially with the tint of pink warming across his cheeks.
Taehyung Hyung looked over at the pretty one, hands on the verge of reaching up before he elbowed Jungkook who faltered for a second, eyes narrowing at him annoyance in his expression.
Taehyung-hyung only smiled that aggravating know it all smile that made Jungkook want to crush something between his fingers.
“You’re staring Jungkook-ah…”
Someone, he doesn’t remember who; slapped him across the shoulder and even more laughter could be heard in the background..Damn seventeen were just as bad as his other Hyungs they saw right though to his emotions like he was transparent and it was then that Jungkook quickly looked away clutching the umbrella between two hands and clearing his throat loudly.
He can’t remember how long it took him to stop staring or how many of the other seventeen members had been snickering behind him, but he does remember holding an umbrella and watching Taehyung-hyung reach up and finger through the pretty hyung's hair….whom he later learned as Jeonghan.
He watched, slack jawed as small strands fell into Jeonghan’s eyes as Taehyung- hyung tried to put Jeonghan’s hair up into a ponytail eyes bright like a five year old as played with the silky colored stands between his fingers.
Jungkook felt the umbrella in his hands nearly slip when Jeonghan-hyung looked up at him through dark lashes a gentle expression gracing his features.
So when he muttered a quick 예뻐요 (yeppeyo) without even thinking he was sure the words were soo low that no one would be able to hear him, but the sharp way Jeonghan-hyung’s head snapped up to look at him told him otherwise.
He was on the verge of getting ready to make a quick exit but another subtle blush graced Jeonghan-hyung’s cheeks and it did something to Jeongkook’s confidence; a rush of endorphins raced through his veins and a small fog came over his senses.
He said nothing else but watched attentively as Jeonghan eyes brightened in a small smile, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear, only to have the moment ruined when Taehyung-hyung tossed the rest of his hair in front of his eyes, still trying to figure out how to keep Jeonghan’s hair from slipping out of the high ponytail he’d worked so hard to create.
Jungkook laughed for a second, smiling when Jeonghan-hyung huffed; exasperated as he slapped Taehyung’s hands away tiredly.
“It’s been seven minutes and you still can’t put it up..?” His voice is soft, joking, light, easy going and very smooth on the ears.
It’s the last thing Jungkook remembers from their last meeting and now being face to face with Jeonghan-hyung he thinks he might suffocate from his own shaky nerves and the heat of the room.
There’s soo much noise everywhere and he can hear ‘I just wanna dance the night away’ blasting away on stage along with the muffled voices of managers, groups and staff chirping away normally as they do at every performance location.
He’s pretty sure Jeonghan has spotted him first, unraveling himself from whatever member he’d been walking around with he’d made a beeline straight for Jungkook.
He was thinner than the last time, his face framed by an extremely flattering dark bob that emphasized his slim jaw line. He dressed in a collared long sleeve shirt two sizes too big that in some strange way Jungkook found cute; his eyes watching the way the shirt flowed past his wrist enveloping most of his hand and in another direction went down to the middle of his thighs clad in light wash jeans, giving him a sort of causal, easy going look.
“Jungkook hi!” He sounded a bit winded as he spoke, Which was strange considering they’d hadn’t even gone up on stage yet. His hands clasped together in front of him as he greeted just a few steps between them now.
Is he just as nervous as I am…?
He scratched the back of his head bowing a bit as he smiled cheekily, not bothering to even try to control his expression…It never worked in front of the pretty hyung anyways
“Hi Hyung..”
He watched with curiosity as Jeonghan-hyung looked intently at his face, his hand coming up to rest on Jungkook’s forehead, palm soft and cool against Jungkook’s skin.
He jumped a bit and at the same time leaned into the touch.
So much had changed in a year and the nerves he remembered eating away at his confidence before had all but dissipated. Now all he felt was an excited tingly rush of happiness race through each and every layer of skin everywhere..
Jeonghan’s voice came out once more this time sounding worried and borderline curious as he dropped his hand with a sigh of relief.
“Are you feeling better? Taehyung told me-“
“Youlookreallyprettywithyournewhair.” He blurted out in a mess of words strung together said so quickly he hopes wasn't understood at all. His own eyes went comically wide, hands coming up in an attempt to hide his face. once his brain caught up with his mouth, which took much longer than anticipated all thanks to the pretty one standing in front of him who’s ears were slowly turning red as he bit on his lower lip with a chuckle in that soft sweet voice of his.
Jungkook’s cool confidence flew away to some other dimension Far far away in another galaxy. He shuffled backwards nearly colliding with one of the staff who had their back to him, his hand slapping over his own mouth as a slew of curses muffled against his lips.
Shitshitshitshitshit
He didn’t expect for a hand to encircle around his other wrist and tug him forwards, almost falling forwards onto Jeonghan-hyung’s face; who was so close Jungkook could feel the warmth of his breath against his own chin as the pretty hyung looked up at him with big brown hopeful eyes that made Jungkook’s chest hurt.
It should be a crime for someone to be this pretty
The soft hand curled around his wrist loosened, but not completely; the pad of Jeonghan’s thumb stroking the inside of Jungkook’s palm in a strangely comforting intimate gesture.
Jungkook watched with a slack jaw and wide eyes as Jeonghan-hyung clears his throat, looking a bit jittery as he tugs Jungkook down to him by the front of his shirt and leans up, his lips close enough that Jungkook shivers from the warm cinnamon sweet breath that tickles the shell of his ear extremely close to his cheek.
He can feel Jeonghan-hyung hesitate for a moment before whispering.
“I…I like you too..”
Jeonghan pulled back, looking down at the ground with a huff, his eyes refusing to meet Jeongkook’s but his hand tightening around the hand in his own, clutching it more tightly in hopes of keeping Jungkook from stepping away.
In that moment Jungkook’s pretty sure his eyes snapped down to Jeonghan-hyung’s lips, rosy from being bitten in the heat of nerves and then to his fluttering eyes mirroring them; hopeful and timid at the same time.
Out of the corner of his eye could see that they'd attracted minimal attention to themselves; the other seventeen members smiling and elbowing eachother as they looked on, a few girl group members passing by with contained giggles. Everyone else could've cared less or was too busy prepping for stages and thank god He'd decided to ditch the rest of his Hyung's, leaving them in their waiting room to their own entertainment.
It was somewhat dark where they were standing but stage lights even though far away made them extra hot in their jackets and shirts and he could see the shininess of the tip of Pretty hyung's nose sparkle with sweat slightly pink from the spread of a flush on his skin.
He really really wants to kiss him, but know's he can't and Jeonghan-hyung is still latched onto his wrist and looking up at him with a contemplative gaze.He needs to do make a move...pull him away into some secluded corner to explore the softness of his lips or latch onto him in a tight hug, but its way to humid and sticky and he's pretty sure there's not a secluded corner in this building in the heat of performances in the middle of the day.
So instead with a steady hand he sighs and reaches up to tuck a dark loose strand of hair behind His Pretty Hyung’s ear, finger tips only slightly grazing the smooth sharp planes of his cheekbone, smiling softly when it illicits a soft shiver that he can feel through their connected skin, Jeonghan-hyung's cheeks warming against the sides of his hand when those suspenseful words tumble out of Jungkook's lips.
“I like you more.”
He thinks about their lips smashing together sweetly and how soft and slim pretty hyung is going to feel like under his hands when they hug in crowded streets or cuddle in the safety net of jungkook's bed after a long days of practice and performances. He imagines secret dates and stolen kisses, And it's then that he decides that pretty hyung is all he's ever wanted in life.