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It honestly baffled Taehyung. He was twenty-one years old and by now he’d been going to college, living on campus in a small dorm apartment, for the entirety of his first school year and the first couple of months of his second. And yet, he’d never once met his room-mate.
He had to admit that he was probably partly at fault. Taehyung was a social butterfly and as a member of many clubs he spent a lot of his time out. He loved being engaged with different hobbies, and while he wasn’t always the most active club-member, (who said you have to be able to rap or dance to join the hip-hop club?) he always tried to contribute with what he could and be as supportive as possible. When he wasn’t at one of those get-togethers, he tended to hang out with his older friends. The first being Kim Seokjin, whom he’d known for many years as they grew up on the same street. Jin had practically functioned as on older-brother figure to him throughout the entirety of his life, not to mention that Seokjin was one of the main reasons that Tae was properly fed and hadn’t died from scurvy at some point during his last year and a half in college. Then there was Min Yoongi, the grumpy producer Seokjin had made friends with in his second year of college and had kept in contact with after he graduated. Yoongi had become Taehyungs friend through Seokjin and he couldn’t say he minded. Yoongi was quiet and collected most of the time which would make it seem like he should be incompatible with the younger boy. However, they worked together unexpectedly well. Yoongi was good at calming Tae when he got too hyped about something and Taehyung was good at dragging Yoongi out to do things, turned out they naturally balanced each-other out, especially in terms social interactions or lack thereof. And finally, there was his friend Kim Namjoon. Namjoon was like an older brother to him as well, albeit in a different way than Seokjin. If Seokjin was the protective mom-like brother, Namjoon was the cool older brother who took you to cool parties with his cool friends and watched out for you while there so he could drive you home just before you got too wasted. Both Yoongi and Seokjin, who had actual older brothers, told him no siblings would be like that in real life, but Taehyung wanted to believe in the goodness of other people.
Still, even with Taehyungs many endeavors he did spend a good amount of time at his own dorm-room. More specifically sunken into his bed with a bottle of his favorite soda and whatever junk-food he felt like having that day while staring at his computer-screen. Even as an extrovert he could enjoy a movie and a pizza-for-one sometimes. That most people don’t believe him when he says that doesn’t matter. But his room-mate, Park Jimin, as the rent-payments and the door-sign friendly to remind him, never seemed to be home when he was. Which is to say that he was either a weirdo or he just really liked to party because what normal person is never home watching some crap TV-program at eight pm on any of those boring, rainy Tuesday nights? Only those two types of people. Taehyung guessed he was probably the latter.
It might be considered weird, but over the last year he’d developed small stories about his elusive roommate. He’d tell them to himself when he got gored, it was good entertainment. Taehyung liked stories, both watching them fold out on screen and reading about them in books (but only if necessary because he didn’t really like reading that much. He only got reading done because Namjoon insisted it was good for the brain and when it came to things that were good for his brain Taehyung tended to listen to his genius friend.), so it was fun to come up with them. It was hard when you mostly had small post-it reminders, that Jimin seemingly wrote for himself and pasted onto the fridge, and the occasional clothing item that had snuck out from his room-mate’s bedroom to go by. But that didn’t matter. The theories didn’t have to hold true or be one-hundred percent realistic, they just had to be fun. By now Taehyung had concluded that Jimin was probably a crazy, frat-boy like, party guy, who possibly grew up in America? If the American cd’s and books he saw on their shelves were anything to go by then that seemed right. Jimin was seemingly way too aware of what he ate as well. There was kale in their fridge, Taehyung would never eat kale. Where do you even buy kale in Korea? And he was probably an athlete or something. When the guy forgot his ripped tank-tops on their couch they always stunk of sweat and Tae knew the guy had a deodorant. There had been too many days where he came home from classes and found their bathroom stinking of Axe. Taehyung wasn’t stupid, he knew that you have to be a beast to sweat through that venom-like magic spray.
He also seemed like a nice guy though. Taehyung had once noticed a small note on the fridge with a very sweet message. ‘Remember to bring Chocolate chips and that raspberry soju to Seokies pity party’. Poor Seokie, if the raspberry soju was the one Namjoon had once made him try it was horrible and whatever break-up he was going through it had to be really bad if he wanted to subject himself to that atrociousness. It didn’t even taste like raspberries, and it wasn’t sweet at all! Now, Taehyung didn’t know Seokie, but he could still feel bad for him. Luckily for Seokie he had a friend like Jimin to be there for him. Yoongi sometimes joked Taehyung was too empathetic, but Taehyung didn’t care. He made lots of friends by caring for other people and when you’re studying so you can work with kids, more specifically be an elementary-school teacher, you need to be nice anyway. Besides Yoongi didn’t mean it, they all knew that, he just liked making Tae smile by joking around. He’d never admit to that out loud if you asked him though.
Taehyung had tried to ask his friends if they had ever heard of anyone having a similar experience, but they’d all answered that they didn’t and it wasn’t like any of them had tried it. Seokjin had lived in a dorm room with his friend Hyosang until he finished his studies, and Yoongi had lived in a little shitty one-room apartment before he managed to get into a dorm on his second year where he ended up having Namjoon as his room-mate. Yoongi constantly insisted that living with a roomie who was never there was better than having to put up with Namjoons incessant snoring whenever Taehyung asked. “I can hear him when I’m trying to sleep and the rooms don’t even share walls. What are you Joonie, a freaking fog-horn? I swear It shakes the entire building. Tae, You better be happy you don’t live in the dorm for creative-arts students.”. That always made him laugh, but it still didn’t change the fact that Tae felt empty whenever he returned to a void apartment.
That particular day when Taehyung came home he was just done. So, done. It rarely happened, with his smiley and positive attitude is was almost hard for him to have bad days, but even Taehyung had his limits. He’d been late for his first class (staying over till late at Yoongi- and Namjoon’s the night before to drink beer and swallow down three family-sized, sweet-potato pizzas together maybe hadn’t been his best idea) and then he was held back to have a talk with the teacher, which resulted in him being late to his next class as well. He’d forgotten his lunch. The store bought kimbap he’d hurriedly thrown into a plastic bag together with a banana earlier that morning had been left at home. That meant that when it was finally time for lunch he had to run all the way across campus to get his lunch, only to run back desperately after he’d finished eating. Taehyung hurried so much, thinking that he was once again late, that he’d completely forgotten that the rest of his lessons that day were cancelled due a sick teacher. So there Taehyung was, feeling close to defeated after such a disastrous day, practically falling face first into his apartment when he finally managed to turn the key. He was sweaty, tired, and still short of breath from the (for him-) insane amount of running and the only thing he wanted to do was come home, take a shower, and then crash on his bed where he would preferably be able to sleep undisturbed till tomorrow morning. The last thing he’d anticipated was suddenly noticing a small guy with blonde hair standing right in front of him after he’d balanced himself and kicked his flip-flops somewhere into the deep, all-consuming, sock-eating, darkness of the closet that held all his, and his always absent roomies, shoes.
The two young men’s eyes met as they stared at each other, face to face. They were standing closer than you normally would to a stranger, but Taehyung couldn’t find it in himself to care about that now (he was having a hard time not just falling over and passing out right there on the carpeted floor so honestly it couldn’t be expected of him to care about personal space at the moment.). The blonde was attractive; anyone would have to admit that. His hair fell, seemingly styled in a way that was meant to make it seem like it hadn’t been styled at all, casually, looking flowy and soft and like the smaller boy had just been running his hand through it. His eyes were a light brown color (probably contacts), and although they were wide with shock they looked friendly and nice overall. The guy was also equipped with one of the sharpest jawlines that Taehyung had even seen and his lips were so plump that it was honestly kind of baffling. Still, Taehyung had no idea who this fuck this guy was. So, he asked-.
“Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my apartment? If you’re one of Jacksons friends, I know I told him that I haven’t gotten laid in forever, but that wasn’t an invitation for him to send all his frat-bros here to try and fuck me. I already sent Jaebum away last week, and he brought Japanese, peach beer and fried-chicken so it was a very tempting offer.I almost considered it.” Taehyung blurted out before even thinking about what he was saying. He did that a lot. Seokjin often told him he had to learn how to filter the words that flew out of his mouth, especially when he was tired (or drunk), but as much as Taehyung tried it’s hard when your brain works at 120 miles per hour. To his surprise the small guy in front of him blushed violently at those words. Weird. Tae was convinced that none of Jacksons friends even knew of the word shame and those who did surely wouldn’t show up at his apartment like that. He narrowed his eyes, staring even more intensely and curiously as the blonde in front of him spluttered, his cheeks still turning redder, and Taehyung was almost afraid he was choking or something when the stranger managed to finally say something coherent.
“I-I’m Jimin. I don’t kno-know who Jackson is, it’s just- this is my apartment and I was on my way out for my classes and who even are you? How did you get a key...” The smaller man paused, his eyes widening even more as his jaw dropped, a flicker of disbelief and, weirdly enough, understanding flitting through his eyes. “w-wait are you.. I uuh.. I’m-.. you’re Taehyung?“ the blonde, Jimin, asked, turning even more red if that was possible.
Taehyung stared open-mouthed at the.. Jimin. He knew that name. How did The Jimin know his name though? Wait. “Wait… Jimin? The other guy who lives here, Jimin?” Taehyungs jaw dropped, mouth now hanging open. The guy in front of him slowly nodded, and Taehyung, Taehyung he panicked. This was The Jimin. This was Jimin, his room-mate Jimin, the Jimin whom he’d been wondering who was for literally over a year, the Jimin who sometimes left the bathroom smelling of Axe Extreme and the kitchen like pancakes, the Jimin who’s booty shorts he’d once under a couch-pillow, the Jimin whom he’d wanted to befriend ever since he first moved in here because who doesn’t want to be friends with their room-mate, Jimin. “I’m Taehyung.” He muttered, still in shock.
A moment of silence went by. Then Taehyung felt dumb. Jimin knew that, of course Jimin knew that he’d just said his name. Christ this was a mess. Taehyung was not ready for this, literally any other day would’ve been better. Okay almost any other day because if this had been that one day last year where he’d come home still drunk at 5pm from having way more jelly shots than any human should be able to physically consume the night before, wearing high-heels that he would have no idea how he’d gotten the next day, and with a face painted in the pattern of a tiger he’d probably have been less ready, but that beside the point.
Taehyung was at once convinced the universe hated him and seriously trying to figure out what he ever did, in this or a previous life, to deserve this. He’d just told his room-mate, a stranger, someone he almost desperately wanted to befriend, that one: he hadn’t gotten laid in forever. And two: He almost fucked a guy because said guy was offering him free beer and fried chicken.
“Hi Taehyung.” Jimin chuckled, his red cheeks returning to a more normal color by now. “It’s nice to uhh.. Finally meet you?” Yea, no shit Taehyung thought. They’d literally been living in this apartment for so long that Taehyung was on a first name basis with the old moldy toast bread in the in the back of their fridge. Jimin seemed nice. just how the fuck hadn’t they accidentally run into each-other before now, and more importantly, why now?
“Yea, nice. Great. Fantastic.” Tae answered, wincing as a headache was now setting in, pulsing behind his forehead like someone was trying to pound their way through his skull. Yea, this was not the best time to run into your elusive mole-rat/possibly-frat-boy-party-guy of a room-mate. Fuck.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jimin asked worriedly, seeing as Taehyung had now closed his eyes, holding a hand to his forehead, while looking like a person who was in immense pain. Or maybe just someone who was contemplating the meaning of his own existence. Both would be accurate.
“Mhmm. Sure. I’m fine. Just- just a headache” Taehyung explained, opening his eyes and gazing towards Jimin again, attempting to send him an apologetic smile. The smile turned out more or less successful, or it seemed that way as Jimin nodded in sympathy, before slinging his bag further up his shoulders. Bag… Was Jimin leaving already, no, no, no, but they’d just met. Taehyung finally met the guy and now he was on his way out the door. “Are, are you going?” He asked, genuinely hoping that the answer would be no. If it was no they could go down to the local Burger-king, special-order gross milkshakes off the “secret” menu, and get to know each other.
“Yea, uh, I’m sorry. It’s really weird, this, now, but y’know. It’s great, was great, to meet you. And I hope we can talk sometime else, but yea, as I said I have class, so I kind of need to go if I don’t want to be late.” Jimin explained, shifting his weight back and forth nervously. Taehyung nodded dumbly, waving slightly and then in the most unsatisfying and awkward sequence, Jimin moved past Taehyung, shoved his feet into a pair of jogged out sneakers and then moments there was the sound of a door closing behind Tae. He missed his chance.
That night Taehyung went to bed tired, and exhausted, but most of all disappointed. He skipped eating dinner because even though the cold pepperoni pizza in his part of the fridge would normally be tempting, he’d completely lost his appetite. It was only reluctantly he mustered up the energy to brush his teeth and take a quick shower. And when Taehyung finally landed on his soft mattress, his brain started working overtime. It was late when Jimin left, did he really have classes or was it just an excuse? What if he thought Taehyung was weird now and hoped never to run into him again? Taehyung wasn’t normally insecure (being friends with Seokjin for so long meant that at some point his confident attitude had begun rubbing off on Tae), but for some reason Jimin seemed to get to him. Why, Taehyung wasn’t sure. He seemed like a nice guy, Taehyung liked it when nice people liked him, and he was also someone who Taehyung felt like he should be close with since they technically lived together (although their contact with each other had been non-existent until today). Yea it was probably just that. Taehyung chose to believe it was just that. Nothing else would make sense. He ended up staying awake till later than he’d planned. It was only till around 10, which on other days wouldn’t have been that bad, but the day’s events had tired him out and Taehyung was exhausted. He looked through his tumblr, mostly filled with cat pictures, idols, and aesthetic pictures. He also quickly checked youtube to see if there were any new videos, but nothing interesting seemed to have been posted. He contemplated stalking some of his old high-school friends on Facebook or Instagram, but before he had the chance he was dreaming. Dreams filled with room-mates, pancakes, and shoe-eating closets.
“You said what?! Taehyung! You finally meet the guy you’re living with after, what, literally a year and four-and-a-half months? And you tell him you’re not interested in fucking him because he didn’t bring you fried chicken? We’ve talked about this! You seriously need to learn how to filter yourself! Just, oh my God!” Jin cried the next day at noon after Yoongi and Namjoon had dragged him over to their eldest friends’ small bakery-slash-café to eat their lunch. After the other three (well mostly Namjoon and Seokjin) had attempted to pry the reason for Tae being so down out of him for a little over half an hour, Taehyung had finally given in and told them everything that happened.
This was what had caused the red-faced Jin that was now sitting in front of Tae, including the Yoongi and Namjoon that were both spread over the rest of the table as they were unable to control their laughter.
A low desperate whimper left Taehyung before he also let his face hit the table, only he did it in exasperation as opposed to Namjoon and Yoongi’s cramping from laughing so hard. “What am I supposed to do now? I messed everything up and he probably thinks I’m super weird now and I just wanted to befriend my room-mate so I could Netflix and popcorn with him.” He sniffled. Why did life have to be so unfair.
“Tae, I’m sure it- it’s fine”, Yoongi hiccupped, still trying to stop the last of his laughter before continuing, “you’re really sweet and funny and nice Tae-ah, if he doesn’t end up loving you then he has a problem, not you.” The smaller man finished, lightly patting Taehyungs back.
Taehyung exhaled deeply, sniffling once again, feeling another hand taking a hold of his shoulder as if to comfort him. Even Yoongi was being nice to him, he must’ve seriously messed up. But he knew that at the end of the day Yoongi was right, Tae was a real catch as a friend. He always was fun and had lots of interests. He liked going out, but he was also okay with staying in and doing more relaxed things. Not to mention the fact that he was practically a professional cuddler. A real catch for sure.
“What are you going to do if you run into him again?”...