#vmin is dead

[theharrowing]

With You Always

When Taehyung dies tragically and winds up stuck on earth, he decides to watch over Jimin—his best friend, and the person he loves more than anyone in the world. Concern for his grieving best friend turns to jealousy as Jimin begins to move on and meet new people, and Taehyung's once passive presence becomes more and more dangerous.

💔 Taehyung x Jimin

💔 word count: 13k 💔 dead dove, major character death (ghost taehyung), noncon, hurt/comfort, horror, slash, explicit smut, nsfw, 18+ 💔 warnings: 🕊 dead dove, grief & mourning, masturbation, recreational drug use, jealousy, voyeurism, mutual masturbation, jimin in a crop top with pink hair, ouija board use, haunting, poltergeist, fear, taking advantage of a drunk person, ghost sex, non-consensual somnophelia, oral sex, mental breakdown

💔 written for the Ardour: Dead Dove Fest!

💔 thanks to @neoneunnajimin for beta reading! moodboard created by the mods at the Ardour: Dead Dove Fest (text added by me with permission.) 💔 posted oct. 2022

💔 notes: i cannot stress how dark this story is. please read the warnings and don’t interact with this story if you are sensitive to any of those topics!!! i do not condone the actions in this fic; it is a work of horror fiction.

나는 날 잃은 걸까 아니 널 얻은 걸까

Taehyung's death affected everyone pretty hard, but no one more than Jimin. 

Since they were kids, Taehyung and Jimin were inseparable. They did everything together, often hand-in-hand, taking on the world with wide, curious eyes and open hearts. 

As teenagers, they were even closer, dealing with the awkwardness of puberty together and making various life pacts, including a pact to wait until college for their first kiss, a pact to wait until college to have sex, and a pact to go to the same college and live together. 

For as long as he could remember, Taehyung harbored feelings for Jimin, and he thought from a somewhat young age that Jimin felt the same. But aside from Jimin coming up with those kiss and virginity pacts and other small but possibly innocuous tells, the topic never came up between them. 

Taehyung always had the inkling that Jimin wanted them to put those events off to share them with each other, and he hoped it would be something they could explore—if they really were, in fact, on the same page—in college, as planned, when the two of them were away from home and didn't have to worry too much about the pressures of being caught by their parents. 

But then Taehyung died a month after high school graduation, and so did his chance to tell Jimin of his true feelings. 

The accident was pretty bad. 

It was a gorgeous summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Taehyung drummed his fingers against his steering wheel to the beat of an old jazz tune as another car somehow wound up skidding sideways into his lane, flipping him several times off the road and into a deep ditch. There were no survivors at the scene, and by the time emergency personnel arrived, both mangled cars had caught fire. 

Even from the moment of impact, Taehyung didn't remember the accident. One minute he was alive, driving in the countryside on his way back to the city and the next, he was floating above the scene, watching as police attempted to barricade the area and keep others away from the wreckage.

It was surreal, and Taehyung spent a considerable amount of time thinking he was dreaming and that at any moment, he might wake up. But then, as time went on and his body was taken away before the site of the accident was gradually getting cleaned, Taehyung realized it wasn't a dream.

At first, Taehyung couldn't figure out why he stayed on earth rather than continue on to some kind of afterlife. Sure, he didn't spend his life necessarily believing in any specific type of afterlife, but he always assumed there would be something. Or even nothing. 

But that—floating with an aimless feeling while wearing the same beige oversized button-up short-sleeve tucked loosely into the front of wide-leg brown slacks—that just felt strange. Taehyung ran a hand through his long, wavy dark brown hair and felt as the strands pushed back from his forehead and fell into place. He couldn't quite figure out the extent to which he existed and didn't, feeling both weightless and solid, responsive to his own physical touch.

Taehyung wondered if his new existence really was like the movies, where ghosts would hang back on earth to try to solve any unfinished business they had, but ultimately that notion seemed pretty stupid to Taehyung. Life, and by extension, afterlife wasn't some drama. And anyway, how would he be able to finish anything? The only thing he left unresolved was his feelings for Jimin, and it didn't seem as if Taehyung could be seen by humans as they drove straight through him on that dark country road.

But that didn't stop Taehyung from trying. Slowly, he made his way into the city the way he would have gone if he had driven. He walked down busy streets and through residential neighborhoods, allowing the night to fall around him. And when he made it to Jimin's apartment as the sun began to break over the horizon, Taehyung went straight through a familiar building, through a familiar front door and found himself standing in a familiar living room. 

Taehyung hadn't been in a rush that night because he wasn't sure Jimin would be home. Perhaps, he thought, Jimin would have been at a hospital or a police station desperately searching for answers about his dead best friend the night before. Perhaps Jimin would have been asleep as Taehyung arrived, exhausted from the anguish of losing a best friend. But a sniffle coming from Jimin's bedroom confirmed that he was home and that he was not asleep. 

"Jimin?" Taehyung called out, but his voice was wispy in the air, hanging around him in a manner that didn't seem to echo out to reach the ears of the living. 

Taehyung approached Jimin's room to find him curled on his bed, crying. He was still wearing a black long-sleeve henley shirt tucked into blue jeans that Taehyung assumed he had worn the day before. Clutched in Jimin's arms was a stuffed bear that Taehyung had kept since he was a child. A stuffed bear that Jimin could only have gotten if he had visited Taehyung's family after the accident or if someone had brought it to him. 

The sight of Jimin's body wrapped tightly around the stuffed bear sent a chill through Taehyung, and all he could do was stand and watch as his best friend—as the boy who he loved more than anyone in the world—cried and cried and cried. 

"Jimin," Taehyung tried once more, but the sound didn't reach him. 

Taehyung suspected it might be useless to attempt to touch Jimin, so he stood still. No other humans were alerted to his presence as he walked that night, so he assumed Jimin also wouldn’t be. Finally, when Jimin had cried himself to sleep, Taehyung curled up atop Jimin's bed and watched him through the morning.

Over the course of the few days following his death, Taehyung discovered that he could somewhat interact with objects in the living world, using his energy to move a curtain or a door just a bit, as if there was a strong breeze. He had considered trying to get Jimin's attention, but with how distraught his best friend was, he felt it was better off to not do anything to shake his fragile mental state. 

Jimin wasn't getting out of bed much. He wasn't feeding himself more than once a day, and he didn't shower until the morning of the funeral. And although attending his own funeral felt surreal, Taehyung stayed by Jimin's side. 

On the bus to the train to the bus to the hospital, Taehyung followed along, eyes on Jimin, who wore a black suit and tie with a white undershirt and had his short dark hair brushed but unstyled. Taehyung told Jimin over and over that he was there and that Jimin was not alone, that Jimin would never be alone again, but Jimin fell to his knees in front of photos surrounded by flowers and candles, appearing as if he felt more alone than ever, and he cried until his eyes were dry. Taehyung couldn't have said with any certainty who else attended his funeral because he never took his eyes off his beautiful, heartbroken friend.

"I'm here, Jiminah," Taehyung muttered softly. "I won't ever leave you."

Sometimes Jimin would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and sobbing. He would grab onto the stuffed bear that belonged to Taehyung and hold it close, begging for answers, begging to know why Taehyung was gone. Taehyung would sit beside Jimin and reach a hand out, almost touching but always pulling back at the last second, never risking knowing whether or not they could touch—never wanting to face the ache that would accompany fingers passing through fingers like a whisper in the wind.

It hurt Taehyung to see his best friend so upset. And as weeks went by where Jimin didn't seem to improve, Taehyung began to worry about his physical health. Someone needed to be helping him, but Jimin didn't reach out to anyone, and he continued to mourn heavily. 

When school started a few months following the accident, Jimin decided that he needed to push forward and attempt to have a normal life. It filled Taehyung with affection and pride, knowing Jimin was getting out of bed and trying to grieve in a more healthy manner. 

"You should be here with me, Tae," Jimin would say to himself in the mirror as he fixed his hair—which was becoming overgrown—and stared into his sunken eyes. "You should be starting college with me too."

"I'm here, Jiminah," Taehyung would always whisper back. "Even if you can't see me...even if you can't feel me...I'll never leave you."

It wasn't easy at first. Jimin would have outbursts in public, moments where the distractions of school and socializing would lull, and Jimin's mind would seem to allow itself to wander back to Taehyung. In these moments, Taehyung always wished he could hold Jimin and tell him it would be okay. Taehyung knew that, ultimately, Jimin would be fine and that he just needed time to heal, and with each new day he hoped that the healing would come soon.

"I'm feeling a little better today, Taehyungah," Jimin says into the mirror with a smile. It isn't a smile that reaches his eyes, but it is inching closer these days. Jimin speaks aloud to Taehyung often on the off chance he is listening, reasoning that Taehyung always spoke to his angel, so maybe now Taehyung has taken up ranks as Jimin's angel.

And, of course, Taehyung is listening; Taehyung hasn't left Jimin's side. Everywhere Jimin goes, Taehyung follows. To school, to the market, he's always there. 

"It's been about six months since that day, and I'm...I'm still in shock, and I don't know how to go on without my best friend, but I'm doing my best, and I think you'd really be proud of me."

"I'm so proud of you, Jiminah," Taehyung responds with a kind smile, standing behind Jimin and watching him through the mirror. 

Jimin's gaze turns down, and he fidgets with his fingers, rubbing them together anxiously. "I miss you so much," he whispers.

"I miss you too."

It's not entirely true that Taehyung stays by Jimin's side everywhere. Over the last six months, Taehyung has done his best to give Jimin privacy when he's in the bathroom, when he's changing, and more recently, when he jerks off. 

The first time, it takes Taehyung by surprise, and he nearly falls out of the bed. Jimin runs his hands over his chest, stopping to dance his fingers over his nipples through his thin nightshirt. He lets out a soft exhale, and Taehyung lets out a loud gasp and stares wide-eyed at his best friend before he realizes he should very much not be watching this. 

One of Jimin's hands trails down with his fingers dancing over his crotch, and Taehyung's vision falls to discover a sizable tent in his pants, pushing another gasp from him as he backs out of the bed quickly, arm catching on the bedside lamp and knocking into it. Jimin's hands halt, and he looks up, eyes landing directly where Taehyung stands. But, of course, Jimin can't see anyone there.

"Fuck," Taehyung spits under his breath. He's been so careful not to alert Jimin to his presence, worried he might get scared, and now here he is, carelessly bumping into shit.

But it doesn't deter Jimin, whose eyes move to the window that is opened a sliver and seems to write it off as wind being the culprit. Jimin's fingers continue to tease himself over his clothes, and Taehyung spins on his heels and leaves the room, running partially through the wall when he can't reach the doorway fast enough. 

If Taehyung could sweat, it would have coated his neck and forehead in a thin sheen, giving a chill to his once warm form. He breathes deeply and runs his hands over his face and down his neck, and walks over to the small brown sofa, sitting with such a force he nearly sinks through it. As Jimin's gasps turned to whimpers, Taehyung curls up on the cushions and puts his hands over his ears. 

The longer Taehyung continues to exist in this form, the more he's able to interact with things, honing the energy he exerts to control various objects. Before, it was enough to rest atop Jimin's bed rather than sink into it, but now he can switch off the bedside lamp and pull Jimin’s blanket over him when he stumbles into bed from a night out with his new friends and falls against his mattress in a slump. Still, he’s careful to never try and touch Jimin.

Taehyung's...body...? Or whatever his form is...is also beginning to respond. As soon as Jimin's fingers begin to explore his body, Taehyung feels a shift in his energy and a tingle in his cock. He fights the urge to touch himself from the sofa whenever he takes refuge, locking his hands tightly over his ears. He will not jerk off to his best friend jerking off, even if he’s in love with that best friend. That crosses a line...right?

Taehyung does not like Jimin's new friends. They're all older than him, they drink way too much, and one boy in particular—the one with a crooked smile and sharp feline eyes—he likes to get a little too close to Jimin, especially with alcohol in their systems. 

Taehyung also does not like how Jimin has changed his appearance to hang out with these new friends. Although the tight tee shirts, even tighter skinny jeans and black leather boots flatter his figure, Taehyung thinks he just looks like he's trying too hard to fit in. His hair is short again and parted neatly over his forehead, and he's begun wearing rings and earrings. The Jimin who Taehyung knew never cared so much about fitting in or looking this good, and he certainly never wore all black, from head to toe. 

It's a Thursday night—a school night—and Jimin is at some shitty nightclub with four guys, all older than him by two or three years, and he's throwing back shots. The sadness in his eye that Taehyung had gotten so used to—that he wished for months and months would fade—has all but been replaced with mirth, albeit glazed over and somewhat absent.

Jimin had fussed extra hard with his hair before meeting them here, and he immediately gravitates to the one who touches him so much while Taehyung stands with his arms crossed over his chest and glares. Sure, this Min Yoongi boy is pretty, but what does he have that's so god damn special?

Taehyung watches as the night progresses, and Yoongi's hand caresses the small of Jimin's back. He watches as Jimin leans in a little too close to talk to Yoongi over the loud music, and he watches as they sneak away from the group and out into the alley for a smoke. 

Jimin doesn't smoke, but of course, he accepts the joint because Yoongi offers it to him. Handsome, charming fucking Yoongi with his combat boots and his bleach blond hair. Yoongi, with his dangling silver earrings and his black eyeliner, who leans in close—too close—as he lights the joint that sits between Jimin's perfect lips. Too close as his mouth tugs into a smirk while Jimin coughs through his first inhale of smoke. 

If Taehyung had a heart, it would surely be pounding. He grips onto his hair and tugs at the strand as he watches Yoongi gently touch Jimin's cheek and mumble, "Inhale slowly and hold the smoke in." 

If Taehyung had a stomach, bile would surely rise into his throat as Yoongi leans in, one knee dipping between Jimin's legs as he mutters, "Now blow," and connects their lips, taking the smoke from Jimin's mouth into his. 

Taehyung watches in horror as Jimin giggles and he grabs onto Yoongi's red flannel shirt gently with his fingers to pull him closer, slotting their lips together for a real kiss. Jimin's first real kiss. Taehyung turns away and shakes his head, trying to focus on anything but Jimin's lips and his sounds and his body, pressed against some boy in a fucking alleyway of all places. 

And, for the first time in six months, Taehyung leaves Jimin's side. 

It takes five and a half months for Jimin and Yoongi to get into a relationship and ultimately break up, and in those five and a half months, Taehyung is in pure agony. He can’t help his outbursts of anger and jealousy as he leaves the room to give the two of them space. Eventually, his outbursts lead to him leaving the building, sometimes going as far as to walk his anger off by leaving the city altogether.  

Jimin waits a whopping two weeks after the joint in the alleyway incident to lose his virginity, and Taehyung can’t stop thinking about how it should have been him. The first kiss, the first time making love, the first time falling in love, all of that should have been him. 

And now, five and a half months after that stupid first kiss Jimin cries into his old teddy bear and wishes Yoongi would stay. Taehyung hates the bleach blond even more because Taehyung knows that if he had been all of Jimin's firsts, he wouldn't be in this position. If Taehyung had been all of Jimin's firsts, he would also be his last.

Wanting to be close to Jimin and comfort him, Taehyung sits down where he always does, on the side of the bed Jimin never sleeps, and this time, the mattress dips. Jimin's eyes flutter open, and he stares at the bed beside him, eyebrows knit as if he noticed, but then he sighs and closes his eyes again, shaking his head. 

"Jimin," Taehyung tries again, for the first time in almost a year, but his voice doesn't carry, and Jimin still doesn't hear him. 

There are times when Jimin still talks aloud as if he knows Taehyung is with him, telling him things. He'll stand in the mirror, coifing his hair and tell Taehyung that he got an A in his anatomy and physiology course despite how difficult it was, and that he's proud of himself for already feeling better about the breakup. 

Taehyung wonders if, should he make his presence known to Jimin, it would actually be something Jimin would invite, or if he would be too afraid and stop talking to him. So Taehyung does his best to keep still and quiet, and he whispers softly to Jimin that he's proud of him and that he loves him so much. 

Sometimes Taehyung wonders if he could reach out to touch Jimin, whether he actually would? He's never tried to touch another human, but what if he tries to hone the energy and touch him, the same way he puts his energy into gently inching Jimin's glass away from the edge of the table when he's not looking because Taehyung worries it'll knock it over. What if he tries to find new ways to comfort his friend?

During the summer, Jimin works at a nearby cafe. He seems to really enjoy the job and gets along nicely with his coworkers, and Taehyung finds himself standing back a little further, watching Jimin from afar as he interacts with strangers while never hovering too close. 

Taehyung loves watching the way Jimin's smile reaches his eyes, genuine and sweet, as he talks to others. And although Taehyung knows it will eat at him, he hopes that Jimin really does find someone nice and sweet to love. Someone who always makes Jimin smile like that—the way Taehyung would make him smile if he could.

As customers filter through day after day, some becoming regulars who chat with Jimin a little more and get to know him a little better, Taehyung watches soft blush paint Jimin's pretty round cheeks, and he wonders if any of those people might become regular facets in Jimin's life. 

But none of them ever do, and for the time being, Taehyung decides he doesn't mind keeping Jimin all to himself for a little while longer. 

On the first anniversary of Taehyung's death, Taehyung's family throws a gathering for friends and family to come say some words and have a meal together. Taehyung—admittedly—hasn't visited his family much since his death. And although he'll accompany Jimin to their house if he decides to go, he feels weird about it. 

Over the course of the year, Jimin has really bounced back from his grief and has seemed less and less affected by Taehyung's death. But today, he can hardly get out of bed. When Jimin finally does roll off of his mattress, he sits in the shower and cries. 

Taehyung enters the bathroom slowly, finding Jimin curled in a ball with his forehead against his knees. He squats beside the edge of the tub and bites his lip, wanting to console his best friend. Taehyung hates seeing him like this, even if there is a small part of him that feels grateful to not be forgotten. 

For the first time in a year, Taehyung reaches out to touch Jimin. And for the first time in a year, he makes direct contact with him. 

Taehyung's fingertips brush over Jimin's shoulder, and Jimin jumps, gasping as his eyes fly open and he stares straight through Taehyung. There's even a moment—a split, fleeting moment—where Taehyung thinks Jimin might actually see him. But Jimin looks around the room, searching high and low for any source of the caress while Taehyung sits, hand retracted but still suspended as he watches Jimin with wide eyes.

When Jimin starts his second semester of college, Taehyung begins to hang back and stay at Jimin's apartment some days. He's not a huge fan of the courses Jimin studies, and he would rather stay in his bed, surrounded by his sweet floral and citrus scent, with a lingering hint of musk. 

There's a part of Taehyung that worries that Jimin will meet someone in college to bring home, and Taehyung will have a repeat of dealing with his relationship he had with Yoongi, with months and months of them fucking and giggling while Taehyung has to leave and fight to get that image out of his mind.

But it's not as if Taehyung can stop Jimin from doing whatever he wants to, so he hangs back and gives Jimin his space. Despite everything, Jimin is the one person in the world who Taehyung loves more than anything, and he wants him to be happy. 

Some nights when Jimin sleeps, Taehyung reaches out and moves the hair away from Jimin's forehead. Sometimes Taehyung traces the edges of his fingers down the soft slope of Jimin's cheek, reveling in how soft and warm Jimin is. 

"I love you, Jiminah," Taehyung mutters softly. "I'll always love you so much. Please never forget me."

Taehyung stops giving Jimin privacy every time he showers. He can't help but gaze longingly at the silhouette of Jimin's taut body through the faintly transparent shower curtains. 

Jimin cares for his appearance more than ever, taking dance classes and watching what he eats, and Taehyung can't help but stare at the round slope of his ass that curves deliciously into lean yet muscular thighs. The visual has Taehyung's cock desperate for attention. 

Taehyung can't exactly cum; as a ghost, he has no need for body fluids. He couldn't explain why his cock gets hard, nor why, if he strokes it just as he would as a human, he feels sensation and satisfaction, ultimately reaching a crescendo that feels as close to an orgasm as he can remember. As far as he can tell, it feels the same as before; he just doesn't ejaculate.

It's in the doorway of Jimin's bathroom, one hand gripping onto the wooden frame as Taehyung fists his cock, stroking fast and squeezing tight as he reaches his high and his legs tremble beneath him. 

Before him, the silhouette of Jimin shows one foot lifted on the edge of the tub, and he's fingering his ass while jerking off. With his head tipped back, the column of Jimin's neck can be made out, and as he gasps and whines, bringing himself close to orgasm, Taehyung can't hold his in any longer. 

How Taehyung would love to be the one to make Jimin cum. Slowly unravel him with his fingers while sucking Jimin's cock into his throat. He bets Jimin's cum is just as sweet as the sounds that fall from his lips. 

Taehyung hasn't had an outburst in nearly a year. Ever since Yoongi broke it off with Jimin, he hasn't had a reason to storm through the walls and walk off his jealous anger. Taehyung prides himself on being a good friend and staying close. He tells himself it's what Jimin would want.

And with his newfound love of watching Jimin while he showers and enjoying their little mutual masturbating sessions, Taehyung feels even closer to his best friend than ever before.

Just as Taehyung has settled comfortably in the routine of Jimin going to school and coming right back home to study and be alone over several months, Jimin decides to switch things up, throwing Taehyung's entire strange existence off balance. 

Since the breakup, he hasn't been spending time with anyone in that old friend group, to Taehyung's great relief, and although he sees Jimin acting friendly with others at school on the days when he does follow him to class, he's noticed—with great contentment—that Jimin doesn't seem eager to make too many friends. 

Jimin, ever the perfectionist, has always been one to pour himself into his studies. Perhaps that's why he and Taehyung always remained such a tight unit with little outside interference; they never really had room for another person. 

But tonight, Jimin doesn't come home. And Taehyung begins to worry.

It's not as if Taehyung can go off looking for him. If Jimin isn't on campus, he could be infinite other places, as far as Taehyung is concerned. Even if Jimin is on campus, it's not as if he'd be so easily located.

Taehyung paces the apartment and tries to calm himself down. He tells himself that Jimin is safe, that Jimin is unharmed, that Jimin will return, and he takes his place on the couch to wait. He just has to wait a little while longer, he tells himself, and Jimin will return. 

And eventually, Jimin does return. Several hours after he usually comes home, Jimin walks through his door smiling into his phone, so distracted by whatever is on the screen that he takes longer than usual to toe out of his shoes at the entrance. So distracted that he pads over to the couch without looking up and lets his shins hitting the edge of it be his cue to twist and flop his body down. 

Taehyung sits beside Jimin in disbelief and looks over his shoulder to find out what he's smiling so much at, and he can't help but feel a tinge of discomfort where his guts would be as someone named Jeongguk confirms he's open to hanging out at 8PM tomorrow night. 

Taehyung hasn't had an outburst in nearly a year and a half, and tonight, he's reluctant to follow Jimin to his date. He doesn't want this Jeongguk character flaunted in his face, especially if this guy is anything like the last one. Taehyung questions the nature of this hangout in hopes of justifying Jimin's actions and wonders if maybe it's not a date at all, but Jimin is going out to meet a whole group of friends.

As he follows Jimin down the street, hanging back by about half of a block, he watches as he enters a bar. Taehyung hovers against a street light, clinging to it like a buoy at sea, trying to decide whether it would hurt more to find out or to turn back and wonder. 

When the anxiety of curiosity becomes too much, Taehyung pushes himself through the pole he had clung to and makes his way to the bar. Slowly, nervously, he shuffles along the sidewalk while people walk straight through him as if he isn't there at all.

Of course, Taehyung doesn't need oxygen, but he inhales deeply, holds it, and turns to the window. It's hard to see much, but Jimin's perfectly coifed dark hair that curls lightly at the ends can be seen from where he stands, and among him is a table of what appear to be others his age. Taehyung walks straight through the window and makes his way to where Jimin is sitting, and there, amongst four men who Taehyung has never seen before, Jimin laughs and smiles and makes small talk. 

And although he's happy for Jimin, Taehyung can't help but feel jealous that his best friend is so good at getting close to others. Especially the boy with wavy dark hair hanging over one eye, looking at Jimin as if he's just hung the moon in the sky.

Taehyung decides he doesn't want to stay and watch Jimin for the night. And on his way out, he uses one finger to knock over the beer belonging to the boy who looks at Jimin so fondly, causing it to smash loudly against the wooden floor.

Jimin starts going to nightclubs again. At least this group of friends has the decency to wait to go out on the weekend, but Taehyung can't help but worry about Jimin getting drunk in the tight, pretty outfits he wears. He can't help but wonder if his friends would be the type to keep Jimin safe. He worries one of those friends may even prey on Jimin's beauty in an inebriated state.

Tonight Jimin wears a bright pink crop top, a gold chain around his waist, and tight black jeans. Jimin holds dangling gold earrings up to his ears to decide on a pair to wear as Taehyung leans against the dresser with his arms crossed over his chest. He chews on the inside of his mouth while Jimin chooses a pair with pretty gold stars and smiles at himself in the mirror. 

Taehyung has never seen Jimin in a crop top. The sight is more than pleasant—firm abdominals with a hint of definition peeking between his clothing, highlighted by shimmery jewelry. Under other circumstances, Taehyung would love to see Jimin dressed this way, but not like this when Jimin plans to flaunt himself before others. Not while Taehyung is dead.

Jimin applies a dusting of pink eyeshadow to his lids and accentuates his eyelashes with some mascara, and Taehyung gawks at his friend. He can't believe how different Jimin has become since before the accident. He wonders if this Jimin even remembers him at all.

Jimin's second semester comes to an end, and rather than work at the cafe again, he begins instructing children at a local dance studio. Jimin seems to really love his job, and Taehyung enjoys tagging along and watching Jimin interact with the students. There's a glimmer in Jimin's eye that brightens the whole room. Taehyung wishes he could bottle it.

He loves watching Jimin dance. Loves watching as his lithe, toned body stretches and twists gracefully, deliberately. Taut muscle, traces of supple skin and feline-like moves—Taehyung is certain that there is nobody in this world more captivating. 

Taehyung also loves that, while moving his body to music and feeling it flow through him, Jimin truly seems happy. There's a lightness to him that's not always present otherwise. 

On the second anniversary of Taehyung's death, Jimin gets up and goes to work as usual. He has less of a pep in his step, but he doesn't cry the moment he wakes up like he did a year ago. 

Taehyung is happy that Jimin seems to be grieving in healthier ways, but there's a part of him that can't help but feel bitter. It's not that he wants his best friend to be in shambles, but would it hurt him to seem a little more remorseful?

Maybe he has to keep a brave face in front of his students, Taehyung reasons. Maybe inside, Jimin is fighting a battle that he doesn't want anyone to see. 

But as Jimin dances—precise movements with his lips curved into a sweet, tender expression—Taehyung can't help but think his best friend really has moved on entirely. Jimin smiles at the students, and the students smile back, and suddenly, the brightness feels blinding. Taehyung doesn't stick around for the end of the class. 

On the night of the second anniversary of Taehyung's death, Jimin comes barging through the apartment door, clearly drunk, with a box in his hands. Behind him, Jeongguk comes stumbling in, and Taehyung huffs and rolls his eyes as he leans against the door frame of Jimin's bedroom. 

This guy again, Taehyung thinks. Just great. 

Jimin sets the box—an unassuming tan rectangle the size and shape of something you'd keep a board game in—on the table in front of his couch and motions for Jeongguk to have a seat while he pads over to the kitchen. Taehyung can't help but keep his eyes on his best friend—graceful despite the slight wobble in his step, with his loose black tee tucked into tight blue jeans. He can't help but wonder how Jimin went from teaching his students to bringing home the doe-eyed boy, drunk, in just a matter of hours.

"Want something to drink?" Jimin asks, looking over his shoulder from his open refrigerator. His voice startles Taehyung, who glances between the two of them. "I have water, soju..." Jimin giggles, a sweet, delicate sound that makes Taehyung ache, and he continues, "...that's about it."

"Uh, s-sure," Jeongguk responds in a voice that's much meeker than Taehyung expected. 

"I gave you two choices, Ggukie," Jimin smirks as he raises an eyebrow.

Jeongguk blushes—fucking blushes—and he says, "I m-meant both are fine," and Taehyung thanks the universe he can't vomit because this—the nickname, the shy stuttering, the tension hanging in the air—all of this is absolutely fucking disgusting. 

With another devastating giggle, Jimin fills a glass of water, grabs a bottle of soju and two small cups, and brings everything to the couch. Jeongguk scoots close to one side, giving Jimin space beside him, and Jimin sets the items on the table and plops himself down. Taehyung moves across the living room and stands leaning against the front door, curious suddenly about the dynamic between these two. 

While Jimin sits with straight, confident posture, Jeongguk—the taller, broader, more muscular of the two—slouches a bit and appears uncertain. Jimin cracks open the bottle of soju and pours two cups, then hands one to his guest, who smiles shyly when their fingers happen to brush, and Taehyung rolls his eyes.  

The two of them drink quietly, and Jimin pulls his knees onto the couch so his body can twist and face Jeongguk. Taehyung considers releasing his energy and floating backward through the apartment door to get the fuck out of there when Jeongguk speaks up.

"Wanna tell me what's on your mind now?" Jeongguk asks, and all the mirth drains from Jimin's eyes.

Jimin clears his throat and glances around the room, eyes landing on the rectangular box on his table. "Today is the two-year anniversary of..." Jimin begins, but his lips falter. He reaches for the glass of water, leans forward as he takes a sip, then he sets the glass down and relaxes, turning back to Jeongguk.

"My best friend died," Jimin mutters. "T-two years ago."

Jeongguk's mouth falls open, his eyes well with tears, and there's a twitch in his hand as if he wants to reach out to comfort Jimin, but he keeps it to himself. "Oh, Jiminie, I'm—"

"It's fine," Jimin says as he shakes his head. "I mean...it's not, but...it is. I still miss him every day, and sometimes I feel like a large part of my heart is just...gone. But sometimes, it also feels like he's still here. I don't know, can't explain it."

Jimin's hands shake over his knees, and this time Jeongguk does reach out, lifting his hands and hovering them over Jimin's, but keeping distance as if searching for a sign. Jimin nods softly, and Jeongguk drops his hands, engulfing Jimin's completely.

"What was he like?" Jeongguk asks, holding a concerned gaze on Jimin's face. 

If Taehyung had a heart, it would surely be pounding. Jimin seems to be looking down at their hands, and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "He was...amazing," Jimin mutters with an audible shake in his voice, and Taehyung lets in a soft gasp, suddenly feeling remorseful for being silent for the last two years—suddenly feeling guilty for thinking Jimin had forgotten about him.

"He was the only person who ever really saw me," Jimin continues. "I always envisioned him by my side, forever. We knew each other for so long that I could never picture a life without him. He was my rock...my safe place...my best friend in the whole world. And then, one day, he was just...gone."

Jimin's voice breaks on the last word, and he lifts a hand to wipe tears from his cheeks. Jeongguk shifts forward as if to comfort Jimin even more, but Jimin shakes his head and the soft smile returns. Slowly, Taehyung moves from the door, feeling a flurry of emotion for Jimin, and he sits with his legs crossed in front of the table, across from them.

"I'm okay," Jimin mutters. "It was easily the worst thing that has ever happened to me, and some days it feels hard to get out of bed, but I do my best. I know he would want me to do my best."

"Always," Taehyung responds quietly, wishing he could reach over the table and touch Jimin. "I always want you to do your best." 

Silence falls between them, and for the first time, Taehyung really takes in Jeongguk. Wavy dark brown hair falls just past his cheekbones, tucked behind an ear on one side. He has rounded features that make him appear soft and gentle, with a sharp cupid's peak and nicely squared jaw. And although he wears a baggy tee shirt over black joggers, and his frame swims in his clothing, Taehyung can tell by his forearms and by the way the fabric hangs over Jeongguk's shoulders that he must work out. 

There's a kindness in Jeongguk's gaze that makes Taehyung wonder if perhaps he was too quick to judge the guy's intentions, and he eases up a bit, relaxing where he sits. But the Jeongguk speaks again, and everything in the room shifts. 

"Do you think he would have liked me?" 

Jimin's eyes find Jeongguk's, and his lips curl into a smirk. He reaches up and gently pushes the other side of Jeongguk's hair behind his ear.

"Of course, he would, Ggukie. Who wouldn't like you?"

There's a tone in Jimin's voice, playful and deep—a tone that speaks volumes where his words say so little. The sound of it makes Taehyung tense up once more, and he balls his fists in his lap. 

Taehyung does not like Jeongguk.

Once again, Jeongguk blushes, but the shyness is outshined by something else—something more akin to hunger. He licks his bottom lip and smiles back at Jimin, but then his gaze moves to the box on the table, and his energy seems to shift back to something more neutral.

"Is that why you wanted the ouija board?" Jeongguk asks. 

Taehyung's mouth falls open, and he stares at the plain, unassuming package before him, unsure how to feel. While he's flattered that Jimin has decided to make some, albeit childish, attempt to contact him, he can't help but feel scorn that it's taken so long. He also can't help but feel bitter that Jeongguk got invited.

Jimin plays with his bottom lip between his teeth and flashes a playful puppy dog smile that Taehyung hasn't seen in years. "Will you try it with me?"

Instinctively, Taehyung scoots away from the table. He doesn't want to play ouija with Jimin and his fucking friend. He doesn't want anything to do with this flirtatious little exchange of theirs. 

Jeongguk leans forward and fills his and Jimin's cups of soju, then sets the empty bottle down and hands Jimin his cup. Jimin smiles sweetly as he accepts, and they tap the cups together before shooting the liquid down. When Jeongguk turns his head to take his shot, he looks directly at Taehyung, and Taehyung can't help but feel frozen in his seat. There's a warmth in Jeongguk's eye that wasn't there moments ago, and Taehyung doesn't fucking like it. 

Jimin sets his empty cup on the table and gets up to walk into the kitchen, and Jeongguk leans forward, sets his cup down, and reaches for the box. As Jeongguk lifts the lid, Jimin opens his fridge, and while Jeongguk takes out the ouija board and sets everything up in swift, delicate movements, Jimin returns with another bottle of soju.

“Have you done this before?” Jimin asks as he cracks open the bottle. He turns his head to face Jeongguk, who tugs his lower lip between his teeth.

“No,” Jeongguk responds with a lilt of playfulness in his tone. “This is my first time. You?”

Jimin seems to study Jeongguk for a brief moment, then turns back to the task of filling their small cups. He hums and says, “Guess we’ll discover how it works together.”

The groan that leaves Taehyung’s chest is one of deep annoyance, and he sits back with his palms against the wooden floor, readying himself to disappear through it at a moment’s notice. Jimin pushes a soju cup over the Jeongguk, and they both sit up straight with their butts at the edge of the couch.

The board looks like a standard dime store ouija board, with a fake wood design in the background and black ink print. The word Yes is in the top left corner and No is in the top right, the alphabet takes up most of the board, with Goodbye on the bottom. Only, this is a bootleg version that Jimin bought from a novelty shop that has everything printed in Korean.

“I think we’re supposed to put this,” Jimin begins, lifting the cream-colored planchette and setting it in the top center of the board, “here, and then we lightly place our fingers on this, and the spirit moves it around with us.”

Jimin places two fingers on the edge of the planchette, near the bulbous top end, and Jeongguk scoots in close and places two fingers near the center of it. They both stare at their hands as if deciding what to do next. 

“How do we know the other person isn’t moving it, though?” Jeongguk asks. 

Jimin turns to look at Jeongguk and, judging by his expression, seems surprised to find them sitting so close to one another. Taehyung watches as Jimin’s eyes scan Jeongguk’s face at the new distance before he blushes and looks away. 

“Are you accusing me of being a cheater, Jeon Jeongguk?” Jimin asks playfully. 

Jeongguk hums and smirks. “I don’t know, Park Jimin; are you?”

Jimin turns back to face Jeongguk, and the look on his face practically makes Taehyung spiral. Although this is a look he has grown accustomed to seeing on Jimin’s face, it’s one he only witnesses in times of passion, moments before Jimin jerks off, when he is teasing his skin and warming himself up.

If they fucking kiss on Taehyung’s deathiversary while in the throes of attempting to contact him using a cheaply made board game, Taehyung will surely evaporate into thin air. 

But they don’t kiss. Jimin blinks out of the stare and scoffs, then rolls his eyes. With a tsk, he says, “I’m wounded, Ggukie. I thought you knew me better than that.”

Taehyung watches Jeongguk’s lips flounder around like a fucking fish before he closes them tight and doesn’t respond, and Taehyung sighs with relief. Whatever the fuck those pretty lips would have said next would have surely been infuriating. 

“So, I guess we just…talk?” Jimin says, looking between their hands on the planchette and Jeongguk’s face.

Jeongguk shrugs. “Maybe let’s move this thing around a bit? To like…I don’t know, warm the board up?”

Jimin chuckles and nods his head, and they begin to move the planchette around the board in circles and waves, in a euphony of plastic scraping against lacquered cardboard. There’s a look of delight and curiosity in Jimin’s eye, and Taehyung can’t help but stare. He almost wants to interact with them to make Jimin happy. Almost.

“Okay,” Jimin says. He closes his eyes and clears his throat. “Dear ouija board, my name is Park Jimin and I am trying to find my best friend Kim Taehyung.” Beside him, Jeongguk’s face breaks out into an affectionate smile.

Taehyung sits still, unmoved. After two years of wanting nothing more than to be present in Jimin’s life, all of this feels so strange and insincere. He almost thinks hiring some shitty psychic in a back alley shop would have been less insulting. 

When Taehyung doesn’t respond, Jimin sighs and opens his eyes. He looks out into the living room, toward the far window at Taehyung’s left, allowing himself to get lost in thought before he finally speaks.

“Taehyung,” Jimin mutters softly. “I don’t know if you can hear this, but…I’m sorry I haven’t tried to do this sooner, I just…I guess I don’t even know if things like this work. And I got scared. I thought about opening myself up to something like this and getting no response and the idea of it broke my heart. But I think it’s better to at least try, so here I am…trying. Anyway, If you’re out there, I hope you let me know, sometime.”

If Taehyung had a heart, Jimin’s little speech would have surely tugged at it. He sits on the floor staring at his best friend, watching as all of the playfulness slowly sinks away and is replaced by an earnest sadness. He wants to reach out and touch Jimin—wants to move the planchette to tell Jimin he’s there, that he’s always been there—but he doesn’t move. 

“I had a dream the other night that you were lying beside me in bed,” Jimin continues. “We weren’t doing anything remarkable, you were just there. You still had the same shaggy long hair that you had when I last saw you, and you brushed your thumb over my cheek the same way you would whenever I was being a crybaby. Even though I wasn’t crying. Maybe you could sense my sadness.” Jimin smiles to himself and looks down at his fingers. 

“For the rest of the day I felt this lightness, like I was sure you were there. It carried me through the day and made me feel stronger. Just knowing you might still be here makes me feel like I can conquer anything.”

One single teardrop falls from Jimin’s eye, and Taehyung sits forward, shifting his legs around until he’s on his knees. He looks at Jimin, studies him from below, and then reaches out with one hand, thumb gravitating to the apple of Jimin’s cheek before he stops himself. 

Jeongguk’s weight shifts and Taehyung sees his hand snake around Jimin’s waist, gently pulling him into a half hug. Jimin sniffles and smiles, wiping his tears with his free hand. 

“Maybe this was a mistake,” Jimin mutters.

“It’s okay,” Jeongguk responds softly, tightening his grip on Jimin’s side. “At least we tried.”

Jimin nods his head shallowly and removes his fingers from the planchette. As his hand grabs onto his small cup of soju, the hand between his and Jeongguk’s bodies moves to rest on Jeongguk’s knee. Jeongguk’s gaze falls first to Jimin’s hand, then, with a smile, he grabs his cup. Tears continue to fall slowly over Jimin’s cheeks despite his smile, and Jeongguk moves his arm from around Jimin’s waist to reach up and wipe away Jimin’s tears with the pad of his thumb.

All at once, Taehyung stands, towering over them. His mind races with ways to separate them and get Jeongguk the fuck out of this apartment, but he settles on using a single finger to push the cup of soju out of Jeongguk’s weak grasp, dropping it to the table. 

The boys startle, and Jeongguk jumps a few inches away from Jimin, then looks around the apartment with wide eyes. Jeongguk looks nervous while Jimin looks amused. 

“This wasn’t free, you brat!” Jimin squawks while pointing to the ouija board, but Jeongguk shakes his head. 

“I didn’t do that, I swear!”

An amused smile tugs at Jimin’s lips. “Uh-huh, sure!”

“I swear!” Jeongguk responds, looking as if he had actually seen the ghost that made him drop his cup.

“Fine, I’ll humor you,” Jimin says with a chuckle. "Taehyung, darling, was that you?

Taehyung isn't sure why he's so infuriated with Jimin's new, playful tone. Maybe it's the addition of Jeongguk there. Maybe it's the fact that suddenly, all of this seems like nothing more than a fucking joke or some weird rouse to get Jeongguk alone in Jimin's flat. 

Nobody's fingers remain on the planchette, and Taehyung reaches down and pushes it over the word No. Both Jeongguk and Jimin gasp and jump back against the couch, and Taehyung swipes the whole board away, sending it crashing to the floor with a wet streak of soju following in its wake. Taehyung leans forward with his palms on the table, eye level with Jimin as he watches them.

Jeongguk looks terrified, and he scoots away from Jimin to the side of the couch where he had been sitting before, almost cowering away. Jimin, on the other hand, has his eyes fixed on the table before him, staring at the mess of soju left behind. In his fingers, his cup still dangles, and Jimin pulls himself out of his reverie enough to shoot the soju back.

"I, uh...I think I should go," Jeongguk says. Jimin doesn't argue.

The shift in the energy is palpable, and it makes Taehyung uneasy, but he doesn't move. He watches as the wheels seem to turn in Jimin's mind and notices anger in his gaze. Taehyung wonders if Jimin knows it was him who made that mess, after all.

Without another word, Jeongguk gets up, moves across the room and slides his feet back into his sneakers. He doesn't look back as he leaves the apartment, and Jimin doesn't lift his eyes to watch him leave.

Taehyung reaches out and, with the pad of his thumb, rubs over the swell of Jimin's cheek, making himself known to him for the first time since his death. He isn't sure what he expects would happen, but he imagines something along the lines of Jimin gasping and realizing his best friend is really there, crying tears of joy that they're finally reunited. 

What Taehyung doesn't expect is for Jimin's eyes to snap right to Taehyung's as if he can see him before saying, "Don't fucking touch me. Whoever you are, you're not welcome in this apartment."

Taehyung hoped the ouija board incident would be the last he would see of Jeongguk, but instead, Jimin just goes to spend time with him outside of his apartment. It started with small coffee dates between classes and grabbing a beer at night with their group of friends and progressed to them doing those things but as just the two of them. 

Tonight, Jimin stands before his mirror, putting on makeup and gazing at his figure, while Taehyung leans against the dresser as always, with his arms crossed over his chest. 

Jimin had gone out earlier to get his hair lightened and colored cotton candy pink, unlocking a level of devastating beauty that Taehyung didn't know was possible. From Jimin's ears dangle silver hoops, and he applies a light dusting of pink eyeshadow around his eyes and a matching pink, shimmery gloss to his plush, perfect lips. 

The outfit Jimin wears is surprisingly understated. A plain white tee is half-tucked into tight blue jeans with holes at the knees. His many silver rings and bracelets draw attention to his dainty hands and wrists, and Taehyung imagines he'll pair his favorite slim black boots with the black leather belt around his waist. Tangerine and lilac hang in the air as Jimin twirls around a cloud of perfume and smiles at his own reflection.

There's a swish to Jimin's hips as he leaves his apartment in the very boots Taehyung knew he would slip his feet into, and Taehyung can't help but satiate his curiosity as he follows close behind, eager to know just where the hell Jimin is going on a Saturday night, all done up and smelling like a cheap whore. 

Taehyung is surprised to discover Jimin's destination is some house party full of drunk college students listening to overproduced pop music and drinking out of red plastic cups. It doesn't take an idiot to see that this whole scene is below Jimin, and he scoffs as he takes in the chaos of the party, wondering what kind of person would be responsible for bringing a beauty like Jimin here, of all places.

Of course, it's Jeon fucking Jeongguk who greets Jimin in the kitchen with a tight hug. He hands Jimin a cup of something and roves his eyes over Jimin's body before reaching up to gently touch his pink hair. Jimin bites his lower lip, clearly pleased with the attention. 

"Wow, Jiminah," Jeongguk mutters, "you look...so pretty."

A blush plays over Jimin's cheeks that matches the tones in his hair, and he checks Jeongguk out in return, smirking as he takes in Jeongguk's muscular frame in a black tee shirt that actually fits him for once and skinny dark blue jeans that accentuate his long legs and slim waist. 

"Likewise, Ggukie," Jimin responds as he lifts his drink to his lips, holding tense eye contact with Jeongguk. 

Taehyung considers knocking yet another drink from Jeongguk's hand just to break the tension and maybe put a little more fear into the guy, but they're interrupted by some friends and, for the time being, go back to acting shy and platonic with one another.

Taehyung's next outburst comes not with a bang but with the whisper of sweet words and the light blush on Jimin's cheeks when his lips brush against Jeongguk's neck, just below his ear. 

The party has since died down, and Jeongguk is leaning against the kitchen counter, which is covered haphazardly in bottles of alcohol and mixers and abandoned plastic cups. Jimin suggests they get out of there, go somewhere just the two of them, and as his lips meet Jeongguk’s skin, Jeongguk’s breath hitches, and he lifts his hands to gently take Jimin by the waist. 

“Want to come back to mine?” Jeongguk suggests, tilting his face to look down at Jimin. 

Jimin stands on his toes and slowly, delicately rubs the tips of their noses together. With a nod, he says, “Let’s go.”

Taehyung doesn’t stick around to see the rest. He doesn’t follow them to Jeongguk’s place, and he doesn’t return to Jimin’s apartment. Instead, he walks through the front door, out into the cool autumn night, in no particular direction. 

When Taehyung’s anger reaches its breaking point, he steps into the road and materializes into something an oncoming driver must be able to see, causing them to veer quickly and crash into a pole. 

Taehyung doesn’t keep track of how long he wanders before he returns to Jimin’s apartment. Days, perhaps? Maybe a week. He roams the city, taking pleasure in fucking with unsuspecting strangers and searching for other ghosts to spend his time with. 

Although some of the paths he crosses prove interesting, he misses Jimin. Nobody else feels like home quite like his best friend. 

It’s late when Taehyung materializes through Jimin’s front door, sometime after bar time but well before dawn. Jimin lays spread out across his bed wearing a white tee shirt and tight black briefs. Smudges of black mascara are visible beneath Jimin’s eyes, and his breath smells like stale liquor. 

Taehyung sits on the bed beside Jimin with enough force to make the mattress dip, and when Jimin grumbles and shifts slightly in the direction of the movement, Taehyung tenses. With the pad of his thumb, Taehyung gently brushes over the curve of Jimin’s cheek. A soft smile tugs at the edges of Jimin’s lips, and Taehyung leans down and softly presses a kiss to that smile, breathing in Jimin’s scent—floral, fruity and musky with a hint of vodka.

Jimin groans and smiles wider. The light kiss seems to have brought him back to consciousness, and he slowly blinks his eyes open. Then, as Jimin looks around the room, he realizes that—as far as he can tell—he’s all alone. 

Taehyung can’t quite pinpoint the look in Jimin’s eyes, but there’s sadness swirling in the depths along with confusion. Jimin swallows hard and adjusts on his bed, pulling his blanket out from beneath him and covering himself with it, all the way to his mouth.

Jimin injures himself one winter morning on the way to school. It's not too serious, just a light sprain to one of his ankles, but his doctor prescribes him a rather strong pain medication.

Taehyung enjoys the few cozy days that he gets to spend with a weak, drowsy Jimin, but as soon as he feels more mobile, he begins to spend less and less time at home again, and Taehyung goes back to feeling bitter about the absence of his friend.

Taehyung begins spending more time away from Jimin’s apartment than he spends in it. No longer does he sit and wait for Jimin to come home. No longer does he watch as his pretty best friend gets ready to go to shitty house parties and loud nightclubs with his pretty little boy toy. 

Instead, Taehyung continues to stroll aimlessly through the city, pulling pranks on humans and finding other spirits to distract him. The longer Taehyung spends away from Jimin, the more bitter he becomes. At times he’s certain he hates Jimin, and he curses the universe for ruining their perfect friendship and everything they worked for over the years. 

Flashes of Yoongi and Jeongguk touching and kissing Jimin creep through his mind, and Taehyung feels furious over the fact that it should have been him. He should be the one touching and kissing and fucking Jimin, not those idiots. He is the one who stuck by Jimin’s side for all of those years. He is the one who deserves to be with Jimin. 

When Taehyung does return to Jimin’s apartment, it’s to watch him sleep and to move things around, to give him a little scare. It starts small, switching the shampoo, conditioner and body wash bottles to different spots. But then he starts to pull bigger, more obvious pranks like moving Jimin’s dishes into his dry storage cabinet and placing his bedside lamp on the other side of the room. 

Taehyung gets a rise out of watching Jimin wake up and gasp at the sight of his things moved around. It shouldn't amuse him so much to watch his best friend approach his own kitchen with a fearful look in his eye, but it does. As Jimin's hands shake and he looks around his apartment for any signs of someone breaking in, Taehyung shouldn't feel so amused, but he can't help it. 

And anyway, Jimin looks so pretty when he pouts.

This time, Taehyung doesn't have an outburst and leave. This time, when Jeongguk slithers over Jimin's half-naked body, slurring drunk compliments at the pretty boy below him, Taehyung has an outburst and makes him leave. 

Taehyung storms through the wall and swats a glass of water that sits on the bedside table, sending it flying across the room and smashing into the far wall. Both Jimin and Jeongguk squeal like scared little pigs, and Jeongguk sits up on his knees before scurrying backward away from the table where the glass was until he's tripping over himself to get out of the bed. 

Jimin pleads with Jeongguk not to go, but he's clearly too drunk and too sleepy to chase after him. As Jeongguk runs out of Jimin's bedroom and leaves with his boots in his hands, Jimin pulls his covers over his head and curls into the fetal position, letting his drunkenness and anxiety pull him quickly to sleep. 

Taehyung waits for Jimin to roll onto his back and start snoring lightly—something he does when he’s drunk and sleeping nice and heavy—and then he approaches the bed. Gently, Taehyung rubs his thumb over Jimin’s cheek, and when he doesn’t get a response, he grabs onto Jimin’s blanket and tugs it down. 

The tee Jimin wears is bunched up around his waist, and Taehyung reaches out to push the fabric further and expose his nipples. Gently, Taehyung brushes his thumb over the dusky skin, watching with delight as it reacts and stiffens. 

A soft huff of air leaves Jimin’s lips, and Taehyung leans further and flicks his dry tongue out to tease the nipple. Jimin’s soft, pebbled skin sparks something in Taehyung, and he laps at it once more, drawing a deeper moan from Jimin’s lips.

Jimin’s hand motions to push his shirt down, and Taehyung catches it, holding it still as he continues to tease his best friend. Although the touch seems to be causing Jimin to stir, it’s not waking him up, and Taehyung sits up and directs his attention lower. 

Beneath Jimin’s tight shorts is a soft bulge that Taehyung very delicately traces his fingers over. Jimin’s thighs twitch, and Taehyung nibbles on his bottom lip as his fingers dance across the ridge of Jimin’s cock head and down his shaft, to his balls. 

With a groan, Jimin reaches down and squeezes his own cock. A glance at his face shows Jimin to still be at least partially asleep, and Taehyung places his hand over Jimin’s and uses it to rub himself until he’s hard. 

If Taehyung had saliva, his mouth would surely be watering. Jimin’s hand falls away as a deeper state of sleep claims him once more, and Taehyung replaces it with his own hand, using the tips of his fingers to trace the curves of Jimin's now fully erect cock. 

“Fuck,” Taehyung mutters as his gentle touches turn firm. He envelopes Jimin’s shaft in his hand and slowly strokes up his length and down again, watching Jimin’s face for any trace of waking. 

Jimin’s mouth opens slightly, and he mutters barely audible gibberish. Taehyung’s finger rubs over a wet spot in Jimin’s briefs and presses against it, feeling more precum soak through the thin fabric. Although Taehyung has no sense of taste, he feels the need to lick it.

Gently, Taehyung removes his hand from Jimin's erection and grabs onto the hem of his briefs. He tugs on the fabric slowly, watching for any signs of alertness. Then, as the tip of Jimin’s cock comes into view, he swipes his dry tongue over his lips.

Taehyung leans down and gently rubs his lips over the soft skin below the head of Jimin’s cock, then sticks his tongue out to taste him. He laps up to the tip and collects the dribble precum, imagining what it might taste like, and he can’t help the pleased groan that escapes him. 

Jimin’s hips twitch, and he makes a sound as his hand returns to his cock. Taehyung moves his face just in time and watches in wonderment as Jimin grabs himself and strokes up his shaft as he stirs in his sleep once more. 

“Need to make sure you get drunker next time,” Taehyung mutters as he sits up and grabs onto his own erection. 

As Taehyung’s eyes rove over Jimin’s body, up to his lips, and back down to the leaking cock in his fist, he jerks himself off. “This will do for now.”

Taehyung doesn’t see a trace of Jeongguk for a while. He thinks that perhaps he’s finally scared the boy away from Jimin’s apartment for good. In fact, he's surprised he hasn't scared Jimin away. As far as he can tell, Jimin hasn't considered moving out. Perhaps he's come to peace with the idea that some bitter ghost who hates his male friend lives amongst him. 

It helps that Taehyung has stopped haunting him. It's been too long since they've shared a masturbation session, and Taehyung longs to see Jimin at his most relaxed and vulnerable.

As the semester comes to a head and Jimin buries himself in studying for exams and working part-time at the dance studio, Taehyung begins to come around to the apartment more often again.

It’s not quite like it was before, but Taehyung enjoys sitting in his best friend’s company. But where there once was longing and admiration when Taehyung would watch Jimin go through the daily motions of his life, now Taehyung just feels lust. Lust and impatience. 

Taehyung waits for the moment when Jimin sighs and sets his books aside, roving his hands over his body in search of some stress relief. Luckily, with Jimin becoming increasingly swamped with schoolwork, he spends enough time at home that he has to release his pent up energy on his own, and his sessions become more creative than simply jerking off. 

Taehyung can’t help but gasp at the sight of Jimin working a lubed-up glass dildo into his ass, and that day he reaches his dry but intense orgasm in record time. 

Jimin stumbles into his apartment shitfaced. To celebrate the end of the semester, he went out to the nightclub, probably with Jeongguk. Taehyung almost didn’t stay at the apartment, assuming that Jimin would want to go back to the doe-eyed boy’s place to get railed after so many weeks of fucking himself with toys, so he’s surprised when Jimin makes an abrupt, clumsy entrance.

Taehyung can't help but wonder how Jimin managed to get home in his current state, but he thanks his lucky stars that he made it in one piece and that he came in alone. He just needs to get Jimin naked, ideally before he passes out. 

Jimin stumbles into the kitchen and grabs a clean glass from the drying rack beside the sink. In his drunken stupor, Jimin knocks his knee into the cabinet while stepping to the sink for water and leans into the counter as he winces and groans. 

Taehyung stands with his arms crossed over his chest and smiles to himself as Jimin reaches above the sink and grabs a pill packet down. Of course he's too intoxicated to notice Taehyung put the stronger painkillers leftover from Jimin's sprain in the place where his over the counter pain medicines are kept. 

Jimin rips the wrong package open, swallows the wrong pill down with a gulp of tap water, then he makes his way to his room, eyes drooping low as he fumbles over to his bedside table and sets down his glass with a loud thunk. Then he strips down to his briefs and tee and goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

Taehyung moves the glass of water close to the edge of the table, and as soon as Jimin returns, his hip bumps into it. Delight spreads across Taehyung's face as Jimin ends up spilling water all over his hip and thigh, narrowly stopping the glass from falling to the floor. 

"God, it's just too fucking easy," Taehyung mutters with a grin as Jimin strips out of his briefs. 

Jimin stands, swaying as if he's out at sea, and for a moment, it looks like he's considering grabbing a dry garment. But, ultimately, he topples onto his bed in only a shirt, with his face down on a pillow. He's asleep in a matter of minutes. 

"Shouldn't mix those painkillers with alcohol," Taehyung mutters teasingly as he changes his ghostly form from one that's dressed to one that's nude. "They'll make you really drowsy."

Taehyung gets onto the bed and straddles Jimin's ass, feeling the soft, supple skin between his thighs. With one hand, Taehyung roughly grabs Jimin by his pretty pink hair and tugs his head up. Jimin mutters softly but is out like a light and already drooling, and Taehyung scoffs, dropping his cheek against the pillow as he mutters, "Way too fucking easy."

Jimin lightly snores as Taehyung reaches for the bottle of lube on the bedside table, and he smiles to himself when he squirts some between Jimin's cheeks, and the sensation doesn't make him stir. With two fingers, Taehyung rubs between Jimin's cheeks until the pad of his middle finger dances over Jimin's puckered rim.

A deep, needy groan leaves Taehyung's chest, and he places his free hand on Jimin's ass and spreads him wide to get a better look at him. "So pretty," Taehyung moans as he rubs his finger over Jimin's hole, then pushes it inside. 

Jimin is soft, wet and warm, and Taehyung forces his entire finger in, stretching his walls unceremoniously around him. Despite being unprepped, Jimin's ass seems to swallow him eagerly. 

"Fuck," Taehyung mutters, feeling his cock ache for attention. 

It takes no time at all for Taehyung to stretch Jimin around two and then three of his fingers. He explores Jimin's ass and revels in the soft twitches and noises that he makes. Although it's not the same as getting to watch pleasure tug at Jimin's face, this is the only way Taehyung can have him, and he has come to terms with this being good enough. 

Slowly, Taehyung pulls his fingers from Jimin's ass and rubs them over his rim, up and down between his cheeks, making a nice big fucking mess. Then he pops the lube bottle open, squirts more liquid straight into Jimin's hole, and tosses the bottle onto the bed. 

Taehyung gathers some of the lube from between Jimin's cheeks and slathers his cock, groaning from the slick sensation. Then he shimmies down between Jimin's legs, spreads his soft yet muscular thighs and lines his cock up with Jimin's perfectly messy hole. 

If Taehyung had a heart, it would surely be pounding. Unlike Jimin, he has managed to uphold his half of their virginity pact, and now he's getting his reward. After all these years, he's finally getting what he thinks he deserves. 

Taehyung's fingers couldn't have prepared Jimin's tight little ass for his girth. What a shame, Taehyung thinks as he slowly sinks his tip in, stretching Jimin further around him. He thinks Jimin would have loved Taehyung's cock.

As Taehyung is swallowed by the warmth of Jimin's perfect body, he imagines Jimin on his back, pretty pink lips parted as he whines and gasps from pleasure. As he disappears into Jimin's ass, Taehyung imagines sitting against the headboard while Jimin moans and whimpers, riding him while his own leaking cock slaps against his tummy. Taehyung thinks Jimin would look absolutely heavenly on top of him. 

The squeeze of Jimin's ass is thrilling, a sensation that would surely knock the air from Taehyung's chest or make him dizzy if it could. Taehyung imagines Jimin crosseyed and begging for a chance to catch his breath before begging to be fucked. 

As Taehyung lifts his hips and presses his cock back into his sleeping best friend, he imagines Jimin might mewl and whimper, digging his tiny fingernails into the soft flesh of Taehyung's hips. If only Taehyung had soft flesh. 

"So good, Jiminah," Taehyung whines as he thrusts in a languid, deep pace. "You feel so fucking good."

Soft sounds leave Jimin's mouth, and he twitches from time to time, but his body makes no strong movements, nor does he show any signs of waking. Taehyung picks up his pace, watching with delight as Jimin's perky round ass cheeks ripple from each thrust. 

Taehyung's pleasure builds and builds, and there's a part of him that wishes he could fill Jimin's ass with cum. He wishes he could see his release drip from Jimin's perfectly puffy hole, making an even bigger mess of himself. The thought of it sends Taehyung plummeting, and he squeezes Jimin's waist with both hands as he plunges his cock in deeper, trembling through the intense bliss. 

"Fuck, baby, that's it," Taehyung whines as he sees stars and his pleasure crescendos. Perhaps this is the heaven Taehyung desired upon death. Perhaps this is the bliss he thought he would find in the afterlife. 

Taehyung pulls out and falls back against his knees, and he watches Jimin's tight pucker slowly close around nothing, glistening from the lube that still coats it. It's risky, but Taehyung stands up off the bed and rolls Jimin onto his back. 

Jimin grumbles as his limbs move like those of a ragdoll against the mattress, and Taehyung rubs his hands over Jimin's thighs, hips and tummy. It's risky, but Taehyung squirts lube onto Jimin's cock, slathers it up and shoves it down his throat. 

Taehyung slurps and sucks at his best friend's cock while sweet moans and whimpers leave his lips. It's risky, but Taehyung reaches between Jimin's legs and sticks two fingers into him, slowly fucking them in and out of his used hole while he slurps his cock down, eager to make him cum. 

Jimin moans loudly, and Taehyung's gaze flies to his face. Although Jimin appears to still be asleep, his brows are knit, and his pretty lips are parted, letting soft sounds slip between them. Taehyung continues to suck until Jimin's hips shake and tremble, then he pulls out and jerks Jimin off with his hand. 

It only takes a few pumps for Jimin to orgasm. Thick, white ropes of cum shoot from his cock, landing on his hips and tummy, and suddenly he seems somewhat alert as he whimpers and moans. At least, alert enough. Taehyung removes his fingers from Jimin's ass but continues to squeeze at his head until he's milked Jimin's pretty rosy-tipped cock of every drop. 

Jimin shivers and turns onto his side, reaching for his comforter, which is below him. When no warmth can be found, he grabs the side of the blanket and folds it over himself like a taco, all while staying more or less asleep. 

The sight of Jimin's cum spraying all over himself made Taehyung hard again, and as Jimin struggles to find comfort, Taehyung stands against the wall and jerks himself off.

It's been a while since Taehyung's watched Jimin wake up in tears, and he hates to admit how proud he feels to be affecting his best friend, just like old times. The reason may be different, but the anguish as Jimin curls into a ball in the shower looks the same.

Try as he might, Jimin has no memory of last night. He calls Jeongguk crying, begging for an explanation as to how he got home, but Jeongguk insists Jimin took a cab and that, after that, he has no idea. 

But something has to have happened because Jimin woke up in just a shirt, covered in cum with a sore ass sticky with lube. 

Taehyung doesn't have another outburst again. His haunting and drunk fucking escalates to the point of Jimin attempting to move out of that apartment and, in the process, alienating himself from his friends. The psychological horror of whatever is happening to him is so great that he begins therapy and medications. 

Jimin questions whether any of it is real or if he's experiencing hallucinations, and never seems to think it could be Taehyung haunting him and fucking with him. Taehyung finds it all incredibly amusing.

On the third anniversary of Taehyung's death, Jimin wakes up in a cold sweat moaning as he cums on his tummy. Taehyung has figured out how to rile him up and get him off all without waking him up—all without needing to get him drunk.

When Jimin finally rolls out of bed, he finds all of the furniture in his apartment is in the wrong place. He screams bloody murder and runs back to bed, pulling his cover over his head and muttering frantically to himself. Taehyung runs his hands up and down Jimin’s thighs gently over the blanket and smiles to himself as Jimin squeals and pulls away.

As a gift to mark the occasion, Taehyung takes out the old ouija board that Jimin had packed away a year earlier. The board is warped from soju and doesn't sit flat, but that's not important. All he needs is for the planchette to rest nicely over the word Yes. He wonders if Jimin will understand what he's saying yes to—that he's finally answering Jimin’s question of whether or not it was him. 

Taehyung cannot wait to see Jimin's reaction. 

please don’t be a silent reader! feedback & reblogs do so much to help content creators!

tag lists are not used for dead dove works! if you would like to see more of this kind of content, please visit my master lists or dm me for recommendations!

With You Always is copyright 2022 Nabi Olive, all rights reserved. Let’s be friends on Twitter!

#vmin #vmin smut #jimin x taehyung #jimin smut #taehyung smut #vmin dead dove #bts smut #bts dead dove

[archlovesvmin]

vmin kinda very dead. their 9 year run was good, hey overcame their differences. now they've gone their separate ways as they were also meant to

Interesting how you know so much about them. They are on a hiatus. A BREAK. PLEASE for the love of the universe let them do what they want. They are not obligated to provide you with content. If that makes you think they are 'dead' then you do you.

Vminies, and actual ARMYs know very well what a break means. And for fucks sake if they don't post photos online doesnt mean they all don't love eachother. And im saying this as a ot7 thing. Their bond isnt so fragile.

Vmin is quiet nowadays yes. But how can you say they are 'dead'? Just a photo online means almost nothing anon. I feel stupid even answering any further i'll stop.

#I would never answer this but im in a really bad mood #no photo = dead #wtf is wrong with yall #anon #ask answered #vmin

[sparklehoney7]

Wolf Moon Rising

by: BackwardBandit

pairing: yoongi/jungkook & jimin/taehyung & namjoon/jin

info: chaptered 30/50 incomplete (151,784)

tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics // Alternate Universe - Fantasy // Slavery // Rape Culture // Graphic Rape/Non-Con // Jungkook isn't a great person at first // Character Development // Angst // Hurt/Comfort // Kim Taehyung | V is a Sweetheart // listed ships are endgame // Falling In Love // Enemies to Friends to Lovers // Friends to Lovers // True Love // Politics // War // Friendship // Eventual Smut // Plot // Slow Burn // Self-Esteem Issues // Rape Recovery // Listed ships are all consentual // Not your grandma's abo // Secret Identity // Secret alpha & omega // Heavy Angst // Angst with a Happy Ending // Trauma // POV Multiple // OT7 // Jealousy // Possessive Behavior // Protectiveness // Park Jimin (BTS) Is a Badass // Spoiled Jeon Jungkook // Min Yoongi | Suga is Bad at Feelings // Mythology - Freeform // Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses // Prophetic Visions // Alternate Universe - Royalty // Loss of Virginity // excessive use of the word hyung // Hyung Kink // Blow Jobs // First Time Blow Jobs

summary: For a hundred years the Wolf-Riders have crushed the river kingdoms under their heels. They were feared, unchallenged, but also cursed. In a hundred years, no omega has been born among them. Not one. So they took tributes instead.

Or, Jungkook is used to getting everything he wants. Taehyung isn’t. Jimin’s a badass. Yoongi's walking a dangerous line. Namjoon and Jin suffer. And Hoseok just wants to keep everyone alive.

Or, or, that Bangtan fantasy barbarian fic that turned into an exploration of the abo genre, true love, trauma, and resistance.

*Spanish translation available (link in the notes)

link

#bts fic #yoonkook #vmin #namjin #a/b/o au #honestly a pretty graphic fic #a little #dead dove #imo #very thought provoking and i am here!!!!! for the yoonkook of it all!! #favorite #alpha namjoon #omega jin #beta hobi #alpha jungkook #omega jimin #beta yoongi #beta taehyung #omega yoongi #alpha taehyung #fic rec #incomplete

[hollyhomburg]

Before I Leave You (Pt.65)

(Omegaverse au, Mafia au, Bts x Reader)

Summary: The truth always comes out one way or another, and with Jimin temporarily whisked away for surgery- it's up to you and yoongi to answer Namjoon's questions.

Tags: Angst, blood, guns, murder, discussions of morality, descriptions of dead bodies, discussion of past spousal abuse, confessions, hurt/comfort, sickfic, hospitals, reconciliation, vmin focus, Trans! tae, Everybody lives nobody dies,

W/c: 15.0k

A/N: this chapter is a bit heavy on the dialogue but! sorry that this chapter came out when it did, we're finally here! sorry for the break in chapters- I got some not great news about a family members health and wanted to spend some extra time with them over the holidays.

Previous part - Masterlist - First part

The abandoned industrial building rises without warning from the mist and fog. You could almost call in lonely. Although it has its comfort in its stillness, the same way that monsters that do not move do not instill fear. A foe vanquished but not forgotten.

The body. The dust. The puddle of blood by the door is more than enough evidence for plausible deniability. The faint splatter of it here and there like confetti left after a parade, or flower petals that fall in spring and pile up like snow.

Moonbyul stands in the doorway, like a pagan in a house of God. Out of place and out of mind. Dark coat unblemished by dust or blood. She doesn’t stoop to touch the ground or try and clean up the evidence from Jimin and Jin’s misbegotten hours here. She doesn’t think Hobi’s name, although she knows it.

God does she know it.

She’s poured over all the files that her men have collected about your pack for weeks now. Searching out weaknesses like a snake searches rabbit holes for soft fur and an easy meal. She’d spent the most time lingering over Tae’s file. The photos that shift from short hair to long, lipstick that she finds too pink and distasteful.

Red is better color.

She'd spent a long time pouring over Jin’s too because she’d needed to. Jimin and her cousins had been glossed over. She already knows enough about them to last a lifetime.

But only one file had given her paper cuts. Revenge on paper is not as sweet as it should be.

She doesn’t need to read that file anymore. Although she hears the words that the youth said so many months ago on repeat, you and Hobi in the coffee shop caught only on security camera. “I think I heard something I shouldn’t have”. As well as the ones that followed.

Contrary to popular belief, Moonbyul doesn’t like killing. She views it only as a necessity. She looks at the blood on the floor without any disgust. It’s been a long time since she’s cleaned up any alpha's mess, and she’s not going to start now.

She looks down at the blood and smiles. It’s a rare thing- seeing her smile. It’s different from her grin that bares her teeth. Sharped incisors changed and honed just before she’d been appointed the head of the moon family.

She remembers her mother's words when she’d looked at them in the mirror for the first time, She remembers that she could still taste the file they'd used to carve them. Metallic, like blood on her tongue.

“All the most dangerous alphas have fangs; you’ll need to learn to use them if you want to fill your father’s shoes.”

Familial death is more of a rite of passage than a time for mourning in the family. A time when power shifts and secrets get covered up or aired out. Like the moon waxing and waning.

Moonbyul hadn’t been born with fangs, the way alphas always are. Moonbyul hadn’t been born with a lot of things.

A smiling Moonbyul is either a happy or a bloodthirsty one. And a happy Moonbyul, when properly stroked- means they get privileges.

Privileges in their pack, amount to small little things most of the time. A night where they don’t have to take the heat inducers. A night where they can wear comfy sweats instead of the lingerie and stifling silk. But if they're extra sweet and good they get better things. A free evening where they can see their families as long as they come home before sunrise.

“Do you think he’s dead?” Solar is dressed as her clone today, with stockings pulled up her milky thighs flashing beneath the long hem. Extra extra cute in the way that she loops her arm into Moonbyuls and pouts. as if she's upset that her alpha is paying more attention to the murder than her.

She still smells faintly of sex, moonbyul, and her own ginger scent. Not like fresh cut- the kind that baked goods have around Christmas time.

Moonbyul smiles, rapping her long nails against where Solar's arm is curled around hers clinging to her as if her life depends on it. It does- Moonbyul and her both know it does. But Solar has always been a good pet. She’s never needed quite as much correction as Wheein who likes to know exactly where her cage ends and begins, or like Hyejin- who needs nearly as much combatting and careful maneuvering as their enemies.

She'd learned from Hyejin. Had never let the others have quite as much freedom or get used to challenging her. There's a reason why Hyejin had demanded to wear her mating mark and why Moonbyul had let her have it.

Omega's however sweet and however docile, still need a cage. Moonbyul's only ever tried to branch out of her tastes once, and she won't ever do it again. Disastrous as alphas are. They make piss-poor lovers and disobedient needy pets.

She sighs. Alphas and their messes.

In truth, the pack could use someone truly obedient, someone for whom being good is as easy as breathing to balance them out. The pack could use a good pup. The pack could use you.

Moonbyul burns in want, stewing in it ravenous. It’s not love, it’s not even really lust either. She’s never been an easily sated person. She’s always wanted too much, always finished the whole pint of ice cream in one sitting. She’s always wanted everything.

That’s why she’s smiling, because she’s about to get it.

She stands a little straighter, holding out her palm. “Why don’t we go see.” Moonbyul doesn’t turn to leave, however. She doesn't walk towards the body dumped at the back of the building, still bearing Jin's fingerprints. A single strand of hair would do it. She doesn’t make any move other than to reach into her pocket and take out a lighter.

She thinks of the family's assassins; The Bee, The Spider and The Wolf. She thinks of Park Jimin. The snake. Hopefully either dead or in the process of dying.

The body in the back of the building is another one of hers. She never thought that this would be the end of the Wolf, he'd always been one of their most reliable killers. Always showed up on time too, an exemplary employee. Not to be easily duped. She'll have to figure this out and pin down What did him in. But that will take time and energy, only one of which she has.

He was only supposed to wait in the wings and ensure that neither Park Jimin nor Kim Seokjin left this building alive, nothing more.

Sometimes things are just coincidences, sometimes if you're lucky- they're just bad luck.

This doesn't feel like bad luck, this feels like revenge.

Solar makes a noise in her throat, a questioning chirp. She really is trying to be her cutest right now. Moonbyul won’t reward her in a way that she likes, a way that she wants. Even songbirds still feel the itch to fly. Clipped wings and all.

She looks at the flame, sparking.

“Why won’t you just leave the evidence? Wouldn’t that be easier?” Solar is not as good as Hyejin at handling this sort of thing, not as experienced. But she’s currently handling other more important things. Things that need her finer touch.

Solar doesn’t understand why Moonbyuls going to light this place up like a fucking Christmas tree and do Seokjin’s dirty work for him. Solar is only a pup, and she’s been kept like that because Moonbyul likes pupish omegas.

She likes the innocence and obedience that people who weren't made for this kind of life have. So eager to please that they're willing to debase their souls. There is no greater sacrifice, no greater sign of love than someone willing to do anything for you.

This also happens to be why she likes you. Why she will have you. because neither Solar nor Wheein have ever been as good at this as you were. The perfect medium between sinful and pious. Cute even while killing.

And 5 is a prettier number than 4. 3 pups for her and Hyejin is a prettier number than 2. They need more than one for each.

Just one more pup, and then their collection will be complete. It took them so long to find the right one, so much trial and error. (Moonbyul despises errors. She's going to try and kill one before this is through)

She won’t let you slip through their grasp, not a second time. You should have never been Yoongi's.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to leave this as evidence? So that the FBI gets them all? We could just like- buy them off if they wanted to take her too-”

“Oh pup” she croons, half gentle. Flicking the lighter and letting it burn in front of her face before she tosses it The soil is so soaked through with gasoline that it lights as easily as a candle, slowly spreading from wall to wall and then- in the doorway, until the heat is too much and they have to move away.

“That wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?”

~-~

(Now, Namjoon)

Namjoon’s shirt is soaked so thoroughly with blood that it makes him cold. The hospital always feels cold, goosebumps rise like a mini mountain ranges on his arms. The hair pressed down where the blood has dried.

It’s not his first time covered in blood, but this time feels different.

He’s shivering, teeth clattering. His hands shake almost too bad to fill out the intake paperwork because he’d rather do it now than later. Park Jimin (registered, Kim) Alpha, weight 165 lbs (give or take a few). Blood type AB. No medications. No known allergies, no known prior conditions. No no no.

No.

Namjoon’s hands shake. He leaves Jimin’s ‘occupation’ blank.

Yoongi sits a few paces back, staring vacantly off into space. On the surface Namjoon would assume that he’s having no reaction and is feeling absolutely heartless about everything that's happened in the last 3 hours. But his breath becomes stuttered every few minutes, like he has to manually force himself to inhale and exhale. Like it’s taking all of Yoongi’s faculties to keep himself breathing and upright and not in a heap on the floor having a mental breakdown.

He kind of wishes Yoongi was crying and screaming instead. Then at least- Namjoon would feel like he had to be the strong one.

He can't get the feeling of stabbing Jimin out of his head, or the sound it it, the wet squelch of knife hitting skin.

Namjoon has cut into people thousands if not hundreds of thousands of times by now. But he’s only cut into someone he loves once, and god Namjoon never wants to do it again- won’t ever be able to touch warm prone flesh and hurt it, not after Minnie. Never again.

The pen in his hand weighs a million pounds. He contemplates asking for a piece of paper and writing out his resignation letter. he breathes in for 5 and out for 9, then sets it down on the clipboard and slides it across the counter for the nurse to take. Namjoon doesn’t hear her quiet tone asking him if he's alright and if there's anything she can do. just shakes his head on instinct.

There is a gaggle of nurses looking around the corner peering at Dr. Kim.

"Do you think he dresses like that outside of work hours?" "I never thought I'd be so attracted to jeans and a tee-shirt." Giggling in quiet voices.

It feels so strange, to hear people laughing while Jimin is dying. Namjoon almost wants to go bite their heads off and report them for poor bedside manner to the hospital manager.

This is Namjoon’s hospital. But Namjoon can’t find it in himself to smile or say thank you to the nurse when she tells him that the second she gets any news on Jimin, he'll be the first to know. He can’t say anything through the mountain of emotion in his throat.

If Namjoon’s love is a mountain, then his anguish is a river threatening to drown him. Yoongi smells like it- the line where water turns clear to brackish, Yoongi’s miserable scent has always smelled like the churning sea and now something that feels an awful lot like seasickness makes Namjoon sway on his feet.

Since he’s done with the paperwork, he promptly returns to Yoongi’s side and sits down. Only once he's sure he's stationary, does he pull a nearby wastebasket over between his knees to upend the contents of his stomach. It hits the top of old gauze pads crumpled up at the bottom and smelling like piss with a surprisingly violent sound, drawing the gaze of more than one person in the waiting room. At least it finally quiets the giggles.

Yoongi’s hand finds Namjoon’s knee, the hole in his jeans, The back of his ribs, stroking once twice. steady and hard the way that Namjoon likes. And Namjoon wishes he could snap at Yoongi. Wishes he didn’t curl into the touch. Wishes he was angrier. Wishes Jimin was perfectly alive and breathing and not going to-

Yoongi’s hand settles on the back of Namjoon’s neck, his throat, pulse hammering, thudding.

They’re just kids and Yoongi's hands are calloused. They've always been.

Deep down Namjoon still feels like he’s only 8 years old. Is just a kid and just starting to understand that the world isn’t all just papercuts and skinned knees; that it means something when people hurt. That it means something when you tell them you won’t let them hurt anymore.

He remembers promising Jimin something similar- a long time ago, the summer they all first met:

Namjoon remembers Jimin, standing in the apartment that wasn't theirs yet, after a movie night, the first movie night that the pack had ever had togeather (not totally togeather, becuase you and hobi hadn't been there yet but still).

It was the first time Namjoon had ever seen Jimin in something other than a designer sweater, sweats and a tee-shirt so ordinary that Namjoon was surprised it didn't make him look less intimidating. standing in the doorway waiting for Namjoon to notice him and look up from his medical journal.

"Yes Minnie? Did you need something?" jimin had shifted from foot to foot. looking up at jimin, a first slice of vulnerability in his eyes.

"Tae and Jungkook, they've got a bit of pain in them. I want to know what you intend to do with it." namjoon set his glasses to the side, the papers rustling as he forgets his reason.

"Make it better hopefully?" Namjoon had been struck with how oddly intense he'd been. Jimin had opened up with time and had gone sweet and trusting with the right amount of love. But he'd looked intimidating in his dark clothes and the wrinkle between his eyes like he was used to furrowing his eyebrows. A cute detail that Namjoon already wants to brush away. To touch. to cradle. To love.

He'll catalogue all of Park Jimin's cutest things in time. He'll treat love as a scavenger hunt, to find the softness in someone who tries so outwardly to be gruff and strong.

Namjoon's stained sleep clothes and promises felt all the more shabby in comparison.

"I need you to promise."

Namjoon had avoided it. Unwilling to meet his words with the same intensity. Jimin doesn't take chances with Jungkook and Tae. Tae's low laugh from the other room, Yoongi's matching grumble, overly fond already. Overly fond from the beginning.

"What about you? Doesn't everyone have pain?"

"Just promise."

"I promise to look after the three of you." Jimin had scoffed. Puffing up like a bird with too many feathers.

"I don't need looking after. Just them- when I go away for work."

"I know, but let me do it anyway." Smiling at the pretty alpha was so easy, so easy with the sounds of Jungkook and Jin's giggles in the other room. Laughter building itself into the walls around them.

"I promise not to hurt you or them. You have my word."

Namjoon lied, Namjoon lied back then and he didn't even know it. He upends his stomach again and Yoongi rubs down his spine.

“He’s not going to die Joon, he’s going to be fine.” Namjoon continues to empty his stomach, it’s pizza mostly, a bit of coffee, and a half-digested protein bar from this morning as well.

“Does hurting the people you love ever get easier?” Namjoon asks. Honesty, not anger in his tone.

Yoongi’s hair has gotten longer and hangs in his eyes. Yoongi never grew his hair out before you, always kept it in that short black sort of coconutty style. It makes him look older and all the more beautiful. Namjoon wonders if that’s why you like it; How regal it makes your mate look.

Yoongi has asked so much of Namjoon in the last few years, from leaving to coming back and bringing you. To hiding the mating mark and now this. Namjoon tells himself he should care more about Yoongi's lies and less about the fact that he just lied, period.

“No,” Yoongi grimaces. He always gets so quiet when things are bad, steady in that consistent way. He still hasn't stopped stroking Namjoon's back. Namjoon knows this is simply all Yoongi knows how to do, his first instinct is to love and not much else. “It was never easy.”

It’s not weird that they re-hash this now. Every time Namjoon learns more about how and why Yoongi left, he understands it more.

“I threw up too, just so you know- when I left, leaving you made me so sick that I hurled the second I got on that train. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” He blinks back wetness in his eyes, “I don't remember if I've ever told you that."

Namjoon nods. He can't remember right now either.

It’s been an hour or so now since Yoongi drove fast but steady steady steady to the hospital. Namjoon in the back while he stabilized Jimin in much the same fashion that you'd done earlier. The rest of the pack should be here soon. The three of you only lingered behind to clean up a bit and change your clothes, covered with blood and muck and who knows what else.

Yoongi sits like a statue and Namjoon can’t even look at him, can’t ask any questions or even start because he already feels like he’s yelling, and Namjoon hates yelling. This isn't isn’t exactly the most private venue for secrets that could land Jimin in jail.

Namjoon's still not entirely convinced that stabbing him was worth it. Namjoon’s brain is dizzy with terror. He’s still dizzy when he turns and sees you walking through the front doors to his hospital, Jin and Hobi trailing behind you.

He remembers the way you’d looked the day they’d gotten you checked out for the first time; how you’d run and pressed your face to his chest and buried your face there like just the sound of Namjoon's heart could make every demon and monster go away. For a moment, Namjoon thinks you might do the same thing. But your steps are measured, slow, and purposeful.

Namjoons eyes train on you, following you as you walk,

Yoongi stands, leaving Namjoon sitting with a cooling pail of vomit between his legs. he says something to you, to jin, but you don't pause, continuing until you're standing in front of him.

You don't say anything to him, just peer into the bucket and make a disgusted face down at it. Namjoon's teeth feel too sharp in his mouth with such a tense jaw.

Hoseok is on the phone, face gaunt and tired-looking. He must have drawn the short end of the stick and has the job of calling Jungkook and Tae and telling them what happened. They really shouldn’t drive themselves, but all Namjoon can reasonably do is restrain himself from cornering you and Jin and start demanding answers. 

He barely even turns to Jin when the omega goes up to the desk and asks if they can have a room, please. A private place for the pack to nurse their worries and not crowd the already-packed waiting room. Namjoon couldn’t name the nurse by name right now if he wanted to but he’s well known here and well-liked too. They give them one of the adjacent exam rooms to wait- Jimin’s surgery will take a few hours more, and there isn’t anything to do but wait.

Terrible terrible waiting, terrible terrible time. (You get a bucket when you want a drop and a drop when you want a deluge. Time only comes in two increments; too much or not enough.)

You drop a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder without a word. After some beckoning Namjoon follows you into the room. Legs shaking and sluggish at first. The pack is quiet even as the door closes. 

But once Namjoon's moving it’s hard to stop, careening like a comet or a bullet in your direction. Staggering.

You’d taken precious seconds to change your blood stained clothes before following Namjoon. You all pulled on the first things you could get your hands on. Which is how you’ve ended up in your mate’s shirt and Jungkook’s jacket, and how Hoseok’s in one of Tae’s extra-large pink sleep shirts stained from hair dye underneath Namjoon’s puffer coat and a pair of jungkook's grey work out sweats. Jin had been a little bit more purposeful- his sweatpants match- his matching purple set.

Namjoon's shirt is dark from blood, the bloodstain drying crusty, sticking to his skin like glue.

To say that Namjoon is angry is an understatement; rage rolls off of him in quiet unending ripples carrying with it the strength to change the pack for good if he’s not careful. He doesn't walk to the chairs no- he bee-lines it to you.

He watches you startle and turn, eyes widening. You do not make to move out of his path. 

Namjoon has never made you feel afraid before, but the pulse of it, the threat of fear is there as he backs you against the wall until your body lies against it. Looming over your head, so much taller and larger than you.

An alpha. An alpha hunting.

You tremble but you do not move to avoid him when he corners you.

He has a tiny bit of blood on his face, and a hairline splatter, almost like a constellation of stars across his temple. His fingers are harsh and shaking when they dig into your cheeks, pinching them until your lips open. Your knees tremble and you press your palm flat against the wall.

His scent thunders so thick and consuming that you can't physically stop yourself from trying to bear your throat. Namjoon stops you, holding you in place.

His eyes are dark and heavy-lidded as he looks down at you, He pinches your cheeks harder, shakinging you just a little. His voice is steady when he speaks, inches away from low snarl.

“Never make me hurt one of our packmates again.” You swallow, although it’s hard. And he pinches again- harder before you get a chance to speak- to try and defend why you brandished that knife at Jimin hours ago. Namjoon holds your face the same way he held the knife- tenderly.

“I mean it. Never.”

He holds you there for a second longer before he lets you go, leaving you gasping. His hand slides down your throat to your shoulder and neck, You would fall over if it wasn't for his touch keeping you up.

“I’m sorry.” You choke out, a few stingy tears making themselves known at the corner of your eyes. Namjoon rests his forehead against yours and closes his eyes. His spiky silver hair hits your skin. Rough.

After a second, he opens them again. Nodding. And his scent loses its bitter edge. He guides you to rest against his chest. You take big gasps of his scent now that he's giving you permission. Your instincts thunder through you so viciously that you can't physically stop yourself from tilting your neck and bearing your throat. 

Namjoon just drags a finger down it, humming. He holds you up, arms around you, a shield and a cage.

“It’s not okay.” I’m not okay, “but I forgive you.” Your knees do give out when Namjoon’s hand brushes the back of your neck, fingers digging in, a half hearted scruff that feels a bit like an apology of his own.

Even if he wants to be angry, anger won’t accomplish anything. Especially with you. His anger will only make you afraid and although Namjoon cannot be expected to control his emotions all the time, you have no reason to fear him.

He's never going to hurt you. He promised.

He walks you two strides, to put you into a chair next to Yoongi. Your mate takes you from him. The plastic chair makes a loud scraping noise against the linoleum floor. Jin's on your other side looking just as tired as the rest of you.

You'll get no rest tonight, sleeping in Jimin's hospital room when he gets out of surgery. Every fitful dream interrupted by the oxygen monitor on his arm. the first few hours when it will go off twice and prompt examination of his vasculature and operation site as well as a fresh dose of blood thinners. The biggest danger going forward will be blood clots; one too large in jimin's arm could leave his hand with nerve damage, numb for good.

But for now, Namjoon looks down at you, yoongi, and jin sitting in the plastic chairs. Secret, killer, and agent. All there in a pretty little row. Namjoon glares down at the three of you and crosses his arms.

“Explain.” Namjoon can’t wait another minute, another second. “Explain to me everything going on in my pack that I don't know about right now or I swear I'll-"

Yoongi scoffs, "That you'll what? That you'll tear us apart Namjoon? that you'll leave? Look around you- we're already falling to pieces." 

"You don't honestly expect me not to be angry that I had to stab jimin do you-"

"No, but don't yell at her. I have my limits."

"I wish I was one of those limits, but i'm clearly not since you insist on fucking over our pack-"

Jin turns, cutting them off from their argument with the true shock of his next words. You know that's what he's intending- but it sort of backfires. "Joonie, Don't get mad at Yoongi or her for this. Especially since I'm the one who shot Jimin. It was an accident."

You flinch, then put your head in your hands, namjoon's scent goes impossibly thick and angry for a second before he gets it under control. You physically watch Namjoon's hackles raise. watch Yoongi push back in his chair, leg jumping, running his hands through his hair looking from you to Jin, then back again.

"Jin, you should have kept that to yourself."

"What the fuck-"

Namjoon looks like he doesn't know weather to cry or laugh. "You don't just shoot someone on accident-"

Jin's got the best scoff, one worthy of music screens not just the quiet tomb of this room. Your relationship that's dying all around you. "You don't just stab someone on accident either and yet here we are-"

There are some secrets you take to the grave and others that you keep for too long, so long that they make a grave out of you. Keeping secrets is like keeping someone else's heart beating, you run out of blood eventually. 

You might vomit up the truth all over the hospital floor just like Namjoon did a few minutes ago. You feel sick and light-headed and sort of like you might have low blood sugar. namjoon's scent, angry alpha affects you more than you realize.

You start to teater, and their next biting words get extinguished when you almost fall out of the chair, nearly sliding to the floor before Namjoon catches you. One knee dully aches as he picks you up like you weigh nothing, ducking in close, real concern in his face, all his anger gone.

"Shit are you okay?"

"Pup?"

"Just got lightheaded-" Whatever it was, your lightheadedness will have to wait for another time. It's honestly probably just stress. Your heart feels like it's beating extra fast, extra hard.

Namjoon places you gently back in the chair and Yoongi touches your shoulder, the trio of their concerned faces that you swat away.

"We should wait for Hobi." You still owe him an explanation- for earlier and these aren't the kind of secrets you say more than you have to. A cup of water gets thrust into your hands and for once, they fall silent.

When Hobi comes in he’s mostly quiet holding his phone in his hand. Looking at you from across the room. His soulful eyes watching you, head tipping to the side in deference.

"Tae's in-" It takes him a second to gather his words. "Tae's in a fucking state. She was crying so hard that Jungkook had to call them an Uber. I just told her Jimin had been stabbed and nothing else because I didn't know what to tell her."

"That's probably for the best we don't have to-" your mate starts, but Namjoon cuts him off.

"No, no more secrets. Not between any of us."

Hoseok still has a hickey from you on the side of his neck, from you earlier. Jin's fingers skim down the one on your shoulder where a mirrored mark sits knocking you out of your Hobi-induced reverie, red and bruising from his mouth. Jin raises his eyebrow at you, but now is not the time to tell him about you and hobi.

"We've got like- maybe 30 minutes until they get here."

You swallow past a lump in your throat, readying yourself for it, “better make it quick then,” Namjoon waits, Seokjin is silent, watching you, gaze flickering from you to Hobi every few blinks. Yoongi holds onto your knee, sliding his palm down to your hand, your wrist. Finger digging into the sensitive scent gland there and rubbing comforting circles.

You swallow hard. “We’re all on each other's sides, right?”

“Of course,” Jin crosses his arms like he's offended you even had to ask. You bite back your retort. Namjoon nods, so does Hobi.

Your hair flops as you nod. But you still look to Yoongi to wait for permission. After a breath your mate nods and spreads his hands, giving you the floor.

If there’s one thing you know it’s that you can’t do this alone, you and Yoongi, Namjoon and Jin, Jimin and Tae. You and Hobi. There is no separation here, not when it comes to your safety. Each of you cannot keep the rest safe on your own.

“I met Jimin a few months before I met Yoongi, I…Yoongi’s family-”

Yoongi resists the temptation to speak for about 10 seconds when you fall silent. You can sense the moment that the truth shifts, when it explodes at Yoongi’s tongue. Unbidden but frantic and relieving like it's taken Yoongi's whole being to keep all this in.

“My family, I've never liked calling them that. Blood means nothing to me, you guys, you guys were always my family more than them." The pack is silent but you lace your hands with his and nudge his thigh with yours, encouraging him to go on.

"My relatives run the largest network of organized crime on the East Coast, from Boston to Miami. Everything from racketeering to prostitution to production and distribution of pharmaceutical-grade opioids. cover ups, sale of illegal weapons, extorsion of political officials and blackmail. If you can think of a crime they do it. If you can think of a way to make money, they've got their hands in it. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t go home- why my parents-”

Yoongi breaks off, his voice going small and quiet. Wounds he doesn’t talk about- even to you.

“There’s maybe 200 of us now. I’ve got a lot of fucking aunts and uncles. We try to stay in our lanes, our cities, and deal only in our respective crimes. There's a lot of politics and a lot of people vying for control here and there, but only alphas are allowed to lead, omega's increases the bonds of power in other ways and beta's- You know how rare beta's are- in my family- i'm treated as second only to the family head. Being a beta offered me certain liberties. Other freedoms. Not only to avoid most of the violent stuff- but to leave and move around without asking for permission. It's like a get out of hell free card. Not everyone gets that."

You snort, crossing your arms over your chest, “You mean they didn’t exactly expect you to go about popping heirs or advancing the family business through murder and ruining innocent people's lives. not like they expected with me."

Hoseok shrivels his nose, He looks from you to Yoongi- eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “hang on i thought- Are you guys trying to say you’re fucking related or-”

“Oh my god daisy-”

You splutter, “gross- No, we’re not fucking like- blood-related or anything.” You tap your chest. "I'm non family- brought in from the outside. Which means I was just about as valuable as piss to the aunts. In our world the only reason to mate or marry is for power- any other reason and your spouse is considered disposable." you cross your legs, admitting something you've kept to yourself, not a secret just a suspicion. "Geumjae never intended to keep me around forever."

Seokjin makes a strangled noise and Namjoon runs his hands through his hair, “Jesus Christ.”

Hobi raises his hands bare, “Sorry! You’re not doing a good job of explaining!”

"Well, if you just gave me a minute to get to the point-" Yoongi seems to shake himself, to put himself together. “Like she said- I'm not expected to partake in the family buisness, Only alphas are allotted that 'honor'." Yoongi puts the words in quotations and adds an eye roll for good measure.

"Mainly- I’m treated as some sort of glorified advice Column. People call and ask me things and I’m required to answer or else they’d hunt me down and drag me back. They bring me in to coordinate stuff because I'm a beta and I keep everyone calm and keep them from killing each other and shooting out their squabbles. I tried to keep you guys safe that’s why I left but-“

Jin’s hand goes to yours, nodding, because he understands. “But not why you stayed away.”

“No. It's not.” The pack's eyes naturally stray to you.

“The heads of houses report to the family head and she directs them to me if they need a beta's touch. Only she hasn't- the new Don hasn't asked anything of me since taking power. When the last one died- my grandparents- I left to help with the transition. But the new Don doesn't need me."

You flinch, you try to hide it but Yoongi turns, ferreting out that there's a secret there without you having to confess it. Your voice is darker than they’ve ever heard. "It's not that she doesn't need you- it's that she doesn't trust you."

Yoongi tries not to sound accusatory. "Her trust isn't something you should be after."

“It’s not- promise I just-” You pick at a stray thread on your pants.

The linoleum floor in front of you is polished so clean that you can see your reflection in it. "She shouldn't trust me either- and she knows it. Believe me she knows it."

Now it's Yoongi's turn to look at you. To pull himself to the edge of his chair to try and get in front of you. A wordless question that he dares not speak.

"Before you, I was already trying to do whatever I had to survive. including doing what everyone else did back in that hellhole and ask for help-"

Yoongi stands, to much energy and panic in his body to stay seated. “You didn’t." This is a fight and a confession you shouldn’t have In front of the rest of them.

You look up at Yoongi, eyes beseeching. He's quiet and you make your words as measured and soft as you can. "I asked your grandparents first- and then when she told me as long as I did what she said she'd get me out I-"

“She’s more dangerous than Geumjae, you can’t have honestly been trying to trade one captor for another."

The whole pack is silent, watching the two of you. Not really understanding. But Jin- Jin pursues his lips. You don't know how he knows but he does.

Yoongi’s face goes truly white. Yoongi’s hands are shaking. Shaking until he grabs the handles of your chair, knees to the ground, bowed in front of you. Letting your silence stew for a second.

Maybe it’s a terrible thing to blame it on her, you hadn’t fought not to kill. But back then it had really felt like your only way out, the only way to escape the ever-suffocating pressure of trying not to die.

“For what it’s worth, I had no idea what they meant to you when she made me help her kill them.”

Something shifts in Yoongi’s stature, from surprise and shock to resignation so quickly you almost miss it. A tense set to his jaw but a tight-lipped understanding as his eyes flicker from your eyes to your lips and he rests his forehead on your knees.

He's very careful in his words. Slow with them and intentional when he lifts his head and stands. You don't know if they're lies. “Just like my parents, just like all of us in the family, I knew their days were numbered anyway.” But you loved them once you want to say. You’re not sure why you want Yoongi to be angry at you.

“I won’t apologize, not for what I had to do to survive.”

Yoongi cradles your cheek. Something dark and conflicted in his eyes.

“I know, but I’d forgive you anyway, even if you did it out of anger.”

“And Jimin?” Namjoon asks, Yoongi's hand drops from your cheek. "How does he connect to all of that?"

“I met him first, I asked him.” You hesitate. This isn't your secret to tell and you don't even know all of it- like how jimin even became an assassin or started killing. you don't know his motives. It's one thing to confess your own sins, and another to talk about Jimin's to them without his say-so.

Jin darts forward, holding your hand in both of his, “Whatever we say in this room- I’d never dream of recording. I’m not on anyone’s side but ours.” Jin screws his eyes shut tight, willing you and Yoongi to believe him. "Even with the FBI thing."

Namjoon whirls. He doesn't have to ask before Jin's spilling it. telling the truth.

Jin is measured with his speech, but it's his turn. No more secrets, that's what you've all agreed. "I've been working with the FBI for the last 8 years. They approached me back before we met Joonie- because of my proximity to Yoongi. First as an informant, then an agent and now the head of the task force.

"I only did it because I figured out that being a part of them was the easiest way to keep Yoongi out of jail. As long as I could reasonably assume I was the only one trusted and close enough to keep an eye on him, I could keep all the truly damning evidence out of their hands."

Jin turns to you, resisting the urge to reach out to you for his own comfort, you're looking at him like he's got three heads, but he smiles down at you, that pup-soft smile that he saves just for you when you're both nesting.

"I kept your name off of the photocopies of the recipie you used to kill them. Don't worry, no one but us knows." You look at Jin with new eyes, not a double agent but not an enemy either. Somewhere in between. Your heart pulses, and you grip his hand back.

Yoongi pulls his hands through his hair, angry, his tone grave "Well there's your reason-"

Hobi has been so quiet you've honestly almost forgotten he was there. Elbows balanced on his knees and watching the three of you on trial for Namjoon. "Answer to what."

"You don't understand Jin, you don't understand the laws of the family much less the one you've broken."

"The reason why someone's trying to kill you, if anyone finds out that Y/n killed them- everyone connected to them is fair game."

"You mean-"

"We're all done, if anyone finds out, that's probably why the new head of house was trying to take Jin out- to tie up a loose end."

"Hang on, I'm getting confused again." Hobi runs his hands through his hair, and it fluffs up. "Jimin's what again?"

“Jimin is an assassin, I asked Jimin to kill my husband for me but he said no.” You pick at a strand of thread on your pants, unwilling to look up and meet any of their eyes, not Namjoon’s or Jin’s. “Met him back when we meant nothing to each other. He still feels guilty for not saving me. We talked it out a while ago. It’s okay- I did it myself eventually- didn’t need anyone’s help.”

You look up at Yoongi and he looks like he might want to laugh or cry and can't pick which. “I don’t know much else about Jimin other than that he kills for the family."

"They've got people for everything, a few assassin's they keep on retainer," Yoongi clarifies. "People that anyone can hire if you've got the money for it. There are a few names that the family puts on a no-kill list, Children, the pack mates of the ruling pack, the heads of houses and their immediate packmates. If anyone kills a person on the no-kill list- their life is forfeit. I'm on it by default. The pack mates of the beta are on it too, All of you are on it. No one should be trying to kill you."

Yoongi's never paid much attention to the list, the waxing and waning names and faces and photos. he's been on it since before he was born and with no intent to kill or harm anyone and put himself even potentially in harm's way, he's never sought it out.

Maybe if he had, things would go differently.

A cold rush of realization rushes over you. "That's why Jimin and Jin ended up there" You stand up, adrenaline in your hands. "She was hoping they'd take each other out so she wouldn't have to break family law to kill them."

Yoongi shakes his head, "Something about this doesn’t feel right- something about this isn’t normal.”

Hobi’s phone dings before you can hash it out anymore. He looks down in his lap. “They're here,” he’s up and out of the chair, heading out the door and into the hall so quickly that the rest of you have to chase after him. Namjoon tugs you to your feet, staring at Yoongi and Jin. "Was that enough?" you ask.

"We'll talk more later." is all he says. But he does lace his hands with yours and pull you after Hobi. Your legs are so short you have to take two steps for every one of theirs.

“I wish Tae and Kookie were here for that-“

"They should know” your mate agrees, keeping pace with you in the hallway, dropping back with you when Namjoon accidentally lets go in his haste to get through the door. You make eye contact with Yoongi when you turn. Your back to one of those push doors using your body weight to push through it.

You pause, waiting with Yoongi on the other side of them.

“If anyone tells her about Minnie- should be me.”

(You know exactly how you’ll do it, you’ll tell Tae the story of you just like this. You’ll tell it like a story, with author notes and playlists near the end. You’ll talk about Jimin just like this; all of the good parts and all of the bad all in one. So that she might truly understand that having a choice doesn't always mean you're free to do whats right.)

Yoongi nods, “I can tell Jungkook. I think if I do it gently, he won’t get shocked enough to have a seizure.”

You pause before the doors open, to have just a moment with the two of you, just you and him leaning against it. He shifts closer, not holding you, hands by his side but he's close enough that you could rest your head on his shoulder. You do rest your head on his shoulder. Just to hear his heartbeat thud sluggish and heaven-sent against your ear.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” It feels like it’s been ages and ages since you’ve had a quiet moment with him like this. You resolve to have one, to make space for him when this is all over. A private date with just the two of you maybe. Whenever Jimin comes home. “To help with Jimin.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I killed your grandparents.”

“They weren’t good people,” Yoongi shrugs, you've never seen a sadder shrug. “I always knew that. They-” yoongi breaks off, stealing himself for a quiet confession. "I think they might have had a hand in killing my parent. She didn't like it- that they had so much power over me. Future of the family and all."

"You've never said-"

Yoongi pushes through the door, and a high pitched keening cuts off your next words. "Later."

You push through the door and Tae and Jungkook are already there. Entering through the outside doors with a puff of air into Namjoon and Jin's waiting arms. Namjoon holds Tae up as she wails and wails. Her cry high like a nightingale. Jungkook looks pale and shaky, settled under Hobi's shoulder clearly in shock.

You cut through them, ducking under Jin's outstretched arm and colliding with Tae before anyone else can join Namjoon in holding her. falling to little heap on the linoleum floor, just at the precipice of the long hallway that connects to the patient rooms and the nurse's stations to other surgical suites. Drawing countless stars, countless looks from passersby as Tae's sobs renew themselves, loud and broken.

You clinging to each other. Her arms around your shoulders, cradling your head like it's the last safe thing in the universe.

“Jimin,” her voice breaks, throat closing around nothing. Sobs wet and angry, hot tears dripping down her cheeks, big and unabated by hope. "Minnie- My Minnie-"

You cling back, getting your hands on her cheeks. “He’s gonna be fine, he’ll be alright- here- here let me help you up. We've got you Tae-”

Jungkook looks a bit better, a little bit less like he’s drowning. Jin reaches for him while you hold onto Tae. And JK’s nostrils flare, he steps back, looking Jin up and down. Tae clings to you on the floor of the hospital and you look up at them. At Jin and Jungkook, standing a pace apart. Jungkook's hands keep Jin from coming any closer.

“You smell like Jimin does when he comes home from his trips, you smell like gunpowder. And mucky-” Jungkook's voice breaks, "Jin? Why do you smell like blood?"

There are too many people around, too many people for something like this. You're just glad It’s a quiet omission, Jungkook’s scent is level and so is his breath.

Maybe you should give him a lot more credit. Yoongi might not have to tell him much.

Tae's tears hit your collarbones as she crushes you, sobbing loudly in your ear, immune to the string of sweet nothings that fall from your lips. Whispered against her temple.

To everyone else in the hallway, rushing in the late-night hum, you and Tae look just the way that you’d expect; Two girls clinging to each other, one tall and the other short. One an alpha and the other an omega.

The rest of the pack is so blinded by their concern and their terror that they don’t look up. They don’t look down the hall to see the figure standing there watching them. One second the hallway is empty of the dark figure and then next she's there- waiting for you.

Her pine and medicine scent is disguised by the smell of death that lingers here. Although more than 2 of the people there might recognize it if they had the patience to sniff it out. They're too distracted by Yoongi dragging Jungkook close and whispering in his ear to keep his voice down.

Moonbyul watches the scene from the end of the hall. Two coffees in her hands. One for her and one for you because she always assumes that you'll go with her when she asks. No matter what’s going on with your pack, Moonbyul is not the kind of person who you say no to. She’ll ask nicely for you to come one more time.

Or so she thought. Looking at you and Tae holding each other is giving her other ideas.

To love a man is something she's always been able to dismiss as a mistake. Little pups just don't know what they need and even less what they want. She'd been prepared to deal with you loving them, the alphas, on paper, even the admittedly pretty omega male currently in her cousin's arms.

But another woman? Even one like that?

Rage is not like other sorts of anger, it’s not like fire burning to take. Achieng to burn until all the heat has worked itself out. Rage is quiet, rage is darkness and a hunger that needs to consume. That will destroy even if you try to stop it.

It's one thing to know that you love a woman besides her, and another to see you peck kisses along her tearstained cheeks. The rage builds as she watches you cup that female alpha’s cheeks. She watches you brush her hair back from her eyes and tuck it behind her ears. She’s got honeyed skin and smudged lipstick (so inelegant) you wipe her tears away and kiss her cheek.

But what makes Moonbyul’s hands tighten into claws, her metal-tipped nails piercing the coffee cups and making them drip onto the ground, wet and hot, is the way you smile at her.

Moonbyul’s rage is like a tidal wave.

By the time the rest of the pack looks up, the hallway is empty except for a puddle of coffee on the linoleum floor and two discarded cups. One with red lipstick stains and the other without.

~-~

(18 hours later, Jimin)

Tae’s cheek is so soft. That’s the first thing that Jimin’s aware of as he wakes from surgery.

Coming out of general anesthesia feels like being a rickety buoy on the busy ocean. One second bobbing to the surface and the next crashing below the waves and taking on water. Sloshy. Everything feels sloshy.

He only feels her at first- not the hospital bed, not the scratchy sheets, Just the feeling of her cheek resting against the palm of his hand. Her gentle breath tickling his fingers in her sleep.

Jimin will always know the particular beat and cadence of Tae’s body. Would know it if the sun got snuffed out like a candle. Would know her breath anywhere because it’s the very fuel to Jimin’s soul, the very thing that sets the tempo to the heart monitor beating out a pleasant rhythm in the midafternoon hum.

Her skin is pillowy and sweet beneath Jimin’s flayed fingers, limp and cold to the touch because of the whole almost bleeding out thing. He doesn’t know it yet, but he's needed 9 units of blood in the past 24 hours. 4 right away, and 3 during the surgery where they removed the knife and stitched his arm together. And another two units just after.

Compared to his own body, Tae feels so warm.

At least Jimin can still feel his left hand. The doctors that stitched him back together must have done a bang-up job, Namjoon even more so. a lot of people can put an arm back together, a whole slew of them, but not many surgeons could stab someone carefully enough so as to not permanently injure them. There are only so many people that he would trust to stab him.

But Jimin trusts Namjoon with a whole lot more than just that.

When he opens his eyes (a task of herculean proportions) Namjoon isn’t there, it’s just Tae in one of those absurdly uncomfortable hospital chairs. She’s bent over his hospital bed in what must surely be an uncomfortable position to sleep in. Her back arched like invisible wings weigh her down. She slept like that, sprawled as close as she could get to Jimin without the nurses waking her up and telling her not to crowd him.

The smudged mascara on her cheeks flake like falling stars, little trails there were tears rendered it useless. Jimin wipes away a black droplet like he's banishing a ghost. She’s cried so much over the last 10 hours, most of her makeup gone and sporting a bit of 5 o’clock shadow too. The faint roughness that Jimin feels no more than once. Because to derive sensory pleasure from that feels…wrong.

He looks at the ceiling, wondering where the others are. He feels the edge of his body, the spot where the wound begins and the pain ends. Who knew gunshots and stab wounds could make you feel so sore? and tired too? Exhaustion pins his body to the bed like a butterfly to a corkboard.

A wire connected to his good hand tugs, But he ignores it in favor of cradling Tae's head and combing through the tangles in her hair. It's gotten so long now, just to her shoulders, but the bits feel so soft and gauzy against his fingertips. He wishes he could feel it forever. It’s much much better than the 5 o’clock shadow.

It takes a dozen passes for Tae to stir.

And then she startles awake, flinching into being. Fresh tears disrupt the mascara flecks as she beholds her soulmate and nearly tugs herself across his bed to get her hands on his face. To hold his cheeks.

To say that Tae has looked better would be accurate for jimin to say but the words would never grace Jimin’s lips. Not even close. Even with a crusty face and greasy hair- Tae looks gorgeous- so pretty that his heart pulses dangerously quickly. so quickly that jimin's suprised the nurses don't come by and check on him.

Maybe they haven’t given him enough opioids for his shoulder because for a second he feels his heartbeat ricochet through his whole body. To his fingers where he's touching her and back to his heart. Every echo and ripple Tae Tae Tae.

Tae bends over Jimin’s body. Her hands go to his face, fingers touching his smile, and thumbs pressed to his faint crow's feet and twinkling eyes. Clutching at him like he’s her lifeline (he is, a red string of fate that keeps her from drowning, always. She was stupid not to use it like an anchor).

“Pup told me.” She says, a note of finality in her voice, lower lip trembling, tears falling anew “told me you kept talking about me even when you were stabbed" she goes quiet, whispering the words like she's scared someone might be listening in.

"Pup told me everything."

Jimin’s eyes flick from her lips to her face, her body, everything. His hands are trembling, chest building with breaths until they’re heaving and the realization of just how much everything she must know hits him.

Tae knows Jimin well enough to know what a panic attack looks like- knows enough how to soothe it. Knows just to hold on and wait for it to pass. jimin's hands splay and flex, rubbing her skin once, twice, and then a third time in an effort to self-soothe.

"It's okay,"

"You mean you're not-" Jimin's heart monitor is going so wild that Tae has to tell him to calm down. Has to run her fingers up and down his scent glands on his neck, nipping at them to settle him. "You're not angry that I'm-"

That I'm a killer, that I'm a monster. That I've kept everything from you. Jimin readies himself, preparing himself for the speech he always knew he'd have to give. You don't understand, I didn't have a choice, I wouldn't have chosen this- I didn't I just. I never killed people who didn't deserve it- because I know that you'd hate that.

For the first time in their lives, Tae and Jimin are sitting across from each other- without a single secret to each of their consciousness. both of them free and perilously unmoored for it.

But there are no words that Tae needs when she looks up at him and smiles. Wetness at the corner of her eyes.

Seeing Jimin in the hospital bed had not felt like Patroclus and Achilles, it hadn't even felt like Orpheus and Eurydice. There was no roaring anguish. The kind that follows when people leave you too soon. Or the bitter vindication that happens when people leave at just the right time (it’s the worst when people leave like that. Either linger or make me miss you. Stay too long or leave me early. Either way is fine. I’ll feel more human if I’ve got longing or hatred to feel).

In truth seeing Jimin in the hospital bed, wires and hooks connected to him- keeping him alive and keeping him breathing, had felt like a second chance. She's not going to let something as simple as a secret spoil it.

Tae knows she should want to know more about Jimin's job as an assassin and should want to ask more questions (if not to understand her soulmate better, than for writing material). She Should be more revolted or disturbed or upset that her literal soulmate kills people for a living, but at the moment, all she can find in herself is just to be glad that Jimin is fucking alive.

It’s funny, how much your priorities can shift.

Jimin looks like he doesn't believe her. "Tae, you can't even kill spiders."

"Would you care?" Jimin falls silent. "Would you care if it was me in your position?"

Jimin swallows hard and winces. He doesn’t have to ask for a sip of water, because Tae has already gotten it for him by the time his good hand closes over his throat. His shoulder is bound so tightly in bandages that he can hardly shift it. Can't reach up to stop himself from spilling a bit of the water down his chin. Her nails (red polished and chipped) wipe away a drop on his lips.

(There's more that you weren't able to tell her just yet; a lot about you and Yoongi and Jin. You've decided to save the bulk of how Jimin ended up in the hospital bed until after Jimin woke up. Later when you can get her on her own you'll tell her. Probably after Jimin's discharged from the hospital. But the other secrets can wait for now).

It won’t really hit her until later. When she’s in her closet looking at all of her pretty things and designer clothes. Fingers toeing along the fine black cashmere sweaters, to the maroon dresses, to the scarlet ones, stopping just before she reaches the pink. The Dior, the Versache, the McQueen. It will only be then that she'll put two and two together and realize they were all paid for with blood money. With people’s lives.

It will bother her then; it doesn’t bother her right now. It will never bother her enough to think about leaving jimin.

How do you make the choice? What to condemn a loved one for? How do you pin down your line of intolerance when it's someone you love with your whole being? Can you decide at all or is it something that your soul chooses for you? The weight of one sin for another. what you're willing to go through.

They would have died anyway. Even if Jimin hadn't killed them, they had someone out there willing enough to pay for their death and they'd have died anyway she rationalizes. We're all going to die anyway.

Maybe it’s a silver lining that Tae no longer believes in the same kind of sin and wrongness that Jimin does. Doesn’t believe in God and heaven at all. Tae has always believed in soulmates more and believed in Jimin the most. More than any god or afterlife.

“I should be angry, anyone else probably would be but-” Tae turns her cheek into Jimin’s fingers, pressing her lips to his trigger finger. Eyes shining when she looks at him. “I’ve wasted too much of my life being angry at you, wasted too much of it feeling anything but love for you- Jimin- if you died, I-”

Jimin cradles Tae's cheek. “I’m sorry for Namjoon’s rut- for what I said. Didn’t mean it. Never mean it if I'm mean-” Jimin’s finger rubs across Tae’s lips, the wide part of his palm splayed across her jaw, and so much is said in that little touch. But they look at each other and laugh. "Not like Noodle."

It shocks a laugh out of Tae and she presses her temple to Jimin's jaw, feels his smile when the joint moves. She realizes that Jimin's still a little high. Probably too doped up on pain medicine to have this conversation but oh well.

“I never thought it would take you getting stabbed for me to realize it,” her lip trembles, “I don’t want to waste another second being angry with you.”

“I don’t want to waste another second with you either. Won't even sleep,” his eyelashes flutter, struggling to stay awake.

Tae pulls herself more firmly on top of the bed and Jimin shifts a little, wakes a little more when she slings a leg carefully over his hips. Being gentle, still conscious of his physical state. He uses his good arm to pull her up and up until She’s splayed across his lap.

Kissing Tae never loses its edge, it always feels like their first kiss, sweet and with that knotted bundle of anticipation. Jimin sits up into the kiss, sits up until his shoulder protests and he hisses into the kiss. "Don't strain yourself minnie-"

"Don't care just-" he pulls her hips snugly. After that words are sparse as they kiss, again and again, lips working together. Sloppy messy love kisses. Every breath tastes like love, every second of it. She giggles pulling apart for a second to get her breath, the heartbeat monitors in the corner going wild. Breath that washes over Jimin like a gust of spring air, cinnamon flower sweat, and heady. Tae’s kisses are better than a first sip of coffee or a breath of fresh air. (They’re better than living, just a little bit).

“If I was any less sore, I’d ask you to bite me right now.”

Tae grins, and it’s a special secret smile. “You said something like that to Pup too."

“I’m so lucky I get to be yours- don't want to waste the luck-" Tae shakes her head stubbornly pulling back.

"I don’t think that you should say you’re lucky. I’m so lucky that this person loved me, or I’m so lucky that I got to love them. Because when it comes down to it, love and luck are not the same thing. Love is not a single event, like winning the lottery, or finding a 100-dollar bill. Love is a choice and you have to choose it a thousand times. Every day you choose it. Luck is such a cop-out. It’s been really nice.”

“God, I hope I’m more than just nice.”

Tae smiles, “Shut up” She goes a little pale. “Actually don’t shut up with me like- ever. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say.” She plays with Jimin’s hands, “Is that when either of us- whoever- goes first-“ Jimin’s grip goes knuckle tight on her waist, he's coming out of it, a little more lucid with every breath. Waking up more.

“When one of us dies- I don’t want to question if I ever loved you enough, I don't want to rely on just luck. I don’t want to think about the days that I could have gone for coffee with you or could have kissed you longer. I don’t want to think that I didn’t get exactly what I wanted and you didn’t get exactly what you wanted too.

"I want to give you one extra kiss every time so that you get twice as much as you would have gotten otherwise. I just want to think that it was nice, that every moment of it was nice- even when we fought, I want to look back on it and think ‘even the sad parts were nice and I got more than I thought I would.' No luck involved.”

She grins down at him, that same youthful grin she’s had her whole life, Jimin thinks of it sometimes- how many times she’s smiled this way and he hasn’t seen. How many more he will see.

“Also, y/n says that you’re allowed to mate me, but not marry me. She says my ring finger belongs to her.”

Jimin slides up the bed, flipping her over, supporting himself with his good hand, sending her sprawling and giggling. His growl is half hearted but promising. Tae laces her hand in his greasy blonde hair and it stays there.

It stays there.

~-~

The rest of Jimin’s hospital stay goes a bit like this:

There is a pair of suits outside the window, dark and imposing. plain clothes police officers watching and waiting like vultures. They’ve already taken statements from the pack but demand to hear from Park Jimin himself.

Lies from the source always taste the sweetest.

There is a story ironed out and penned in stolen moments, you curled up in one packmate's lap and transferred to another, "the pup" Jin had said, the youngest, was not taking her alpha's stabbing well. "She just needs a bit of soothing, sorry." The suits are charmed enough by two cuddling omega's that they don't notice your mouth pressed to their ears, like a game of cuddly murderous telephone.

The story gets ironed out easily, you’d all gone out for pizza, had come home to find Jimin bleeding in your kitchen.

“It’s pretty normal for Jimin to be reckless with his health. I’m not surprised he tried to come home and see if I could stitch him up himself. I'm a doctor at his hospital- Dr. Kim, pack alpha and head of neurosurgery. The knife- you should know I touched it on accident he wanted to remove it himself and I just had to stop him- I’m sorry- I should have known better I was just- so shaken.” Namjoon is a passable liar at best.

Jungkook has folded himself under your mate’s arm, and Jin’s too. He’s still vaguely shaking, bunny eyes wider than usual. In a little bit, Namjoon will drag him over to an empty exam room for a quick check-up. Just to make sure he isn't about to seize on the floor. Yoongi will go with him, Will tell him the truth about all of this then.

But what, with his comment earlier, you wouldn't be surprised if Jungkook has already figured it out on his own.

Jimin doesn’t even need to be coached into remembering it. The police don’t even think of not letting the pack see him, after seeing Tae’s teary eyes. A pretty girl is the best distraction, and the pack has two pretty girls that smell sour and need to tend to their alpha before the police get a chance too.

They’re impatient as they watch you and Tae fold yourself over Jimin’s barely aware body, more preoccupied with looking at your asses than they don’t see your lips moving against Jimin’s ear, mistaking your shaking for the racking sobs. And your quiet words for sweet nothings.

Hobi had barely leashed a growl, and resisted the urge to step in front of you and block you both from their sight.

The story is so easy and simple- a true case of Ockham’s razor. The simplest story with the least details is the most likely to be believed. the story Jimin tells the police goes like this;

Earlier yesterday, a crazy fan of the idol group he guards that must have followed him from his schedule with intent to learn his schedule and get closer to them. Her description is so ordinary that they’ll never find her because she doesn’t exist. Any person found will easily be made inculpable; either by alibi or honesty. Not that the law cares much about honesty, nor that any of you care about possibly implicating a stranger.

Love always did make people go to extremes, it's easily believable.

Nothing else matters. Besides keeping everyone safe. You're united against this.

Once they're gone, other promises get made:

“I want you to quit, this is too dangerous, if something like this happens to you again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.”

“We need to make sure we travel in pairs until we figure out what’s going on, why they're targeting Jimin and Jin.”

“I can ask some of my contacts-“

“You’ll do no such thing Yoongi.”

“Do you think we should be like- Armed? Just in case?”

“I don’t think more guns will solve anything but…Maybe.”

In a stolen moment, Namjoon corners you outside Jimin's hospital bedroom, he's holding three bags of takeout, not that Jimin will really be able to eat much of it. The opioids keep down his appetite. That doesn't meant the pack won't try to fuss. As it is, Jimin hasn't been interested in anything but kissing Tae and holding her hand. Pouting whenever the nurses make tae leave.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Namjoon has always found apologies easy and has never had so much of an ego that it would get in the way of any of it.

"It's alright, between you and me, I think it was kind of justified." You'd probably yell at all of them if they convinced you to stab Yoongi or tae or any of them.

"No more secrets, okay? Promise me this is the last one." It's easy to promise Namjoon that, so easy. To let him scent you, rubbing his coffee liquor scent all over your shoulder.

(But it's not about the promises that you make, it's about the ones that you break.)

You sit out in the hallway the following morning, still in the same clothes and starting to feel a little bit filthy because of it. None of you have gone home yet. Hobi sits next to you and Jungkook's on the other side.

They’re just checking Jimin’s stitches again, and his hospital room just got a bit crowded. The prospect of checkout is maybe a day away. Tonight is the last you'll have to spend at the hospital.

It was also time to talk over Jimin’s opioid regimen, and the doctor had been nearly delighted when Namjoon had stepped up and taken the lead, reassuring the doctor under no uncertain terms that Namjoon would manage them. You can forgive him for thinking a little too much with his hindbrain. If Namjoon leaned any more into his instincts you'd be worried he was close to going into a rut again.

“Is this what it’s like when I’m in the hospital?” Jungkook asks, sucking on some skittles. It's more sugar than he should be allowed to have especially during a high-stress situation. But Jungkook’s taking the panic to get a little bit of freedom. You cast a glance at Tae, at Yoongi and Jin, standing by the door looking like he’s about ready to twitch out of his skin with the effort it's taking him to stand outside.

Jin had apologized- him and Namjoon both, and Jimin had accepted it instantly. "If I trust anyone to shoot and stab me- it's you two so-"

"But-" they'd argued, but eventually Jimin had turned a little scary, a little threatening. showing a hint maybe- of a persona they're all unused to but you're not. Jimin can be firm when he needs to be. A quick retort of-

"Forcing me to comfort you over something I'm not upset about is not the way to make me forgive you." Shut them up for good (or at least for now).

“Yeah, pretty much.” You hold out your hand for some skittles and he gives you a few. Hobi grimaces and reaches over to take the orange ones out of your palm. He knows you don’t like those. He replaces them with a few green ones.

"It’s fucking boring. I should get you guys like- a DS or something for Christmas.”

“Don’t tell Minnie or he’ll blow all his money on-“ You cringe at your words and Hobi flinches. Jungkook just chews on his candies, they smack against his teeth with a hard clinking sound.

There is still some of Jimin's blood under Hobi's fingernails. You see it when he reaches over to take your Skittles.

The next time Hobi moves to take your Skittles, you grab his hand and pull him to his feet. "Come on."

You lead Hoseok into the women's bathroom, underneath the curious eye of the nurses, all the stalls are empty so you pull him over to the counter.

“You’ve got some- stuff- under your nails- let me.” You rip a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and wet them. You clean Hobi’s hands diligently and he lets you.

He stays quiet, Hobi's been quiet for the last day or so. He hasn't done more than whisper a few quiet words to Jimin and stay close. He didn't say anything during your secret confession yesterday. Didn't ask a single question and the silence bleeds now as you scrub the clean-smelling soap against his skin. Your anxiety builds, and you scrub a little harder. His fingers remain limp in your touch.

“Say something- say anything okay? I need to know that you’re not-” not angry with me. That you don't hate me- that you still love-.

Hobi pulls you against his shoulder in a single clean movement. His wet hands hit your stomach when he grabs your hips. Your nose brushing his throat, his nose skimming your hairline.

“I’m trying not to take too much energy from Jimin- trying not to- be a mess- because he's the only one who deserves the packs attention. I'm not even sure if I am a mess about it. Sure that sucked but-" he sighs, "you and I are kinda like- uniquely able to handle things like this cuz of-" he doesn't need to finish his sentence. Hoseok's lips brush your ear, lips touching your skin, and- he pulls back, smiling softly. It's a tired smile but there it is- soft and special and just for you.

“You’re taking things, remarkably well considering the last time we…”

“The last time we had to deal with something like this?”

You hum, scrubbing a paper towel hard over the ends of Hobi's hands. The white paper goes orange-red with dried blood. "Give it time. There’s still a few weeks for me to go crazy this time.”

But this time, you have a feeling that it will be different. Although Hobi was there the last time- and played an instrumental role in making sure you didn't literally fall apart. It's different now. Right now, your hands tangle on the counter, holding on, even though you try to clean his hands of blood. Holding on is more important, neither of you tries and pull away. You don't have the energy for shyness.

What's more intimate? Sex or murder?

He huffs a small frustrated sound and stoops to rest his forehead against your shoulder, leaning almost all of his weight on you. You take it.

“Maybe this time I’ll take a crack at going crazy.” You laugh, stopping your brushing and just settling for holding him. Hips resting against the counter. The two of you rest, just for a moment.

Your nose against the side of his face where his undercut presses to your skin, spiky. "Still have that train ticket?" Hobi humms, taking a deep greedy breath of your scent to steady himself.

You're not expecting him to pull back and kiss you, but his lips are dry but warm, faintly chapped but yours are too. Pressing soft but demanding against yours. Hobi kisses you just as sweetly as last time and you grip the front of his jacket.

No sooner has he heaved you up on the counter, fingers hooking under your thighs to kiss you stronger- than is the door clanging open and a nurse comes barreling in.

"Ugh- uhm." She's a little stunned, but you're already hopping down, faces flushed and apologizing for the inconvenience.

You don’t throw the bloody paper towels in the garbage, but the toilet, flushing them once, then twice, to make sure that they’re down. Mumbling one last apology before you exit the bathroom together.

Hobi doesn't let go of your hand. You wonder if this is what loving him is going to be like; making out in places you shouldn't, special secret stolen glances when you keep holding hands even around the pack and keep stealing kisses.

You wonder if the kissing will stretch to the cars- to the late night drives, if he'll hold your hand like this around every hairpin turn. If Hobi's going to make you a make out playlist later, full of songs that make him think of you, songs that match the cadence and pitch of your heart. You wonder if loving him will be like this, stolen innocence, like finding sea glass on the beach. There and pretty for the taking if you only look for it.

Your heart feels all warm and tight with it, swaddled. Protected as Hobi tugs you back into Jimin's hospital room. You can't wait to find out.

The next few hours look like this; Namjoon sitting on the foot of the bed his hand on Jimin’s knee, feasting on hospital food. Jungkook giggles, and nearly throws himself across Jimin’s lap so that the alpha can put his hands through his hair. Looks like more takeout, living off of it because no one wants hospital food and you can't go home and cook. You refuse to leave right now.

It looks like Tae smiling for the first time In what feels like years but has logically been only a few hours. Rubbing a hand across her jaw and wincing when she feels the stubble.

Her wince quiets the sounds of the pack happy. And you look up from your plate.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, always stupidly attuned to her and her needs, always watching and waiting.

“I need to freaking shave and I just- I haven’t had the chance to.” Tae lets out a tired sigh, the kind of deep frustration that comes with things that you have no choice but to do.

You take her hand from her chair and tug her up. Because this- this source of angst can be fixed.

“Here- come on,” A shaving razor gets found for her, Namjoon goes to the surgical ward to get the right kind. Sharp and medical and disposable along with a tiny tube of shaving gel. You drag her chair into the bathroom and make her sit while you do it. Lathering up her cheeks and tipping her head back. The whole pack a cacophony in the other room. The shock of skittles and other candies falling onto the floor. Muted words then soft laughter.

You drag the shaving razor up her chin, over her chubby cheeks. Your gentle touch, the soft scrapping of her hair against the blade a gentle accompaniment to the sounds of the pack passing the time until Jimin wants to go to sleep. Jungkook's phone plays a tictok loud, "Bunny- headphones, Minnie's trying to rest" Yoongi reminds him.

Jimin is struggling not to fall asleep, shifting to one side of the hospital bed just to get a better vantage point to look into the bathroom at Tae. Jimin cranes his neck.

Tae's face twitches, and underneath the white froth you see her reddening cheeks. “Stop looking at me.”

Jimin grins from the hospital bed, “Can’t help it, love you.”

“Love you too Minnie” She choruses back, and the pack joins her.

that night, namjoon and yoongi push three hospital cots togeather around jimin's bed and the pack piles in, sweet bodies and kissed cheaks, whiped down with sanitary towels, you end up tucked between tae and hobi, your cheek pressed to her back.

the following morning it becomes impossible to ignore both how purely filthy the 8 of you are and the fact that Jimin's doctors won't let him check out until tomorrow (and even then he'll have days of bedrest and won't be able to use his arm until he gets his stitches out.) You haven't been home in two days, no one can remember if you even locked the front door with how crazy leaving was.

It’s hard to convince Tae to go with you and leave Jimin's side. But she's less resistant when Yoongi reminds her that Jimin needs new clothes to go home in since all of his bloodstained clothing was discarded as medical waste.

“Honestly we should get like- to go bags full of a change of clothes for all of us when like, JK has his seizures,” Maybe it’s just because you’ve done overnights twice in the last week at the hospital- but the idea doesn’t seem like a bad one.

Jin drives you, Hobi, and Tae home in silence; no one tells Tae any of the other secrets yet. Tired as she is, almost falling asleep in the car. Waking with a start when you turn onto your street.

It's a little shocking. When you get home to a cold and quiet house. Jimin's blood has dried up into dark waxy puddles, on the kitchen table and the floor. There are fingerprints from someone, rusty and red on the doorframe. It's stark to see the evidence. To see a bit of it on the butcher block countertop all the terror and the color leached out of it in the grey afternoon light.

Tae is so stumbly that Hobi has to grab her twice just to keep her from walking into walls when he gets her inside. Noodles immediately yowl has you feeling terribly guilty, he circles your and Hobi's ankles. But you push at Hoseok's hands when he stoops to pick him up.

"Take Tae upstairs and shower with her, will you? I'll be up in a second, just gonna feed him and get some stuff together." She's blinking and looking at the bloodstains, eyes already looking glassy with fresh tears.

You need a second, a second in quiet, a second alone just to steady yourself. Jin comes in, dragging in a mountain of mail from your box, "I've got them, come on pups, grooming time."

Jin pecks a kiss along your forehead, "Come up the second you finish?"

You nod, "Just want to get some food first too- hungry."

Jin nods and makes to follow Hobi and Tae but pauses on the stairs. he looks like he wants to say something to you. Eyes full of something unreadable and warm. Unspoken words hover.

If he had to choose anyone, I'm glad he chose you.

But before he can get it out Tae calls from upstairs. "Jinnie? Can you grab one of my comfy sets from the closet down there before you come up?"

You stand, solemn in the kitchen, listening to the sound of them on the creaky stairs, the sound of their quiet voices. The creek of the house as they walk around upstairs.

"Here you go baby," you say, giving Noodles an extra spoonful of food. You know you left enough for him in his bowl and that he didn't suffer too badly. But still, his purring chirping is music to your ears. You pet over his back, his fluffy tail.

He's Still chubby, still good. You aren't too bad of a pet owner then.

There's the gun still there, sitting just to the left of Jimin's blood splatter on the seat of one of the dining room chairs. You're at eye level with it from where you crouch down to pet Noodle. It's the same one that you pulled out from under the bed when you found out he'd been shot. You should probably take it with you when you go back to the hospital, just to be sure.

"You got any secrets for me nu? Are you the long-lost prince of some cat kingdom?" Noodle chops down in response.

You go to the hallway closet to get a duffel bag, where the pack stores their larger bags and luggage.

"Hey!" Hobi calls from upstairs, muffled through the roar of the shower. There isn't much other noise in the house. The birds outside aren't chirping, probably because you haven't been home enough to fill their birdfeeder.

Probably.

"Yeah!?" You call back up, upending the duffel bag and sending a bit of loose change, some quarters and pennies scattering onto the floor. you stoop down to pick up a few of them, tossing them back into the closet with a metallic clang (to be dealt with later.)

“Can you grab Tae's phone charger? It should be by her computer.”

"Got it!" Tae's library room is much the same as it was when you left it, her computer is closed. The walls are green, the window dusty. You find it easily, the cord long and white, tangling in your hands.

You're not sure why your hair raises on the back of your neck.

Noodle stops his chomping.

The push of cold air startles you- the change of pressure in the house like a door being opened- the front door. The windows in the library room are leaky. You're used to being in here and feeling it, used to feeling that same draft every time one of your pack mates comes home.

You freeze where you stand.

The metallic jingle of the doorknob is so much softer than usual. You could almost convince yourself that you don't hear it, that you've made it up.

And then you hear it- Noodle's low hiss.

Call it a habit or a trained behavior but you still make your footsteps quiet everywhere you go. A thing learned from your years with Geumjae when you needed to be quiet to be safe and needed to make yourself as unobtrusive as possible to avoid pain. A vestigial survival instinct.

It serves you well now because no one in the house hears as you slide from Tae’s library through the pantry area, you don’t call out Tae’s name again, or Hobi’s. You don’t know exactly why you don’t.

Your house is an old house and you know every inch of it. You know this house that Yoongi’s built for you from the top of the eves to the shutters, from the windows up top to the ground floor and dusty half-finished basement. You know every creaky floorboard and which steps are the ones you skip when someone’s sleeping upstairs because it always sounds so high-pitched and it wakes Jimin up, light sleeper that he is.

You hear the subtle creek of the floorboards now, the small slide of heavy boots across the wide floorboards. A creak. Someone is about to ascend the stairs, up to where you can still hear Hobi and Tae talking softly. The shower off, they're probably just getting dressed.

Softly, you hear the sound of a heavy boot hitting something metallic, one of the pennies you dropped earlier and missed.

Jin might still be in the other room, that's what you tell yourself. You're just being paranoid. stupid paranoia you almost want to laugh. you're just jumpy from the last few days- that's all. Funny of you, to make it up.

The danger is all in your head.

Only it's not,

Because the first thing you see when you peek around the corner is the pitch-dark barrel of an extended gun.

~-~

Please Like, Comment, and Reblog <3 Every little bit of encouragement helps <3

Come tell me what you liked about this chapter!

Series Masterlist ~ Donate ~ Twitter

~-~

Notes:

There are some parts in this chapter, some facts about yoongi's family that haven't been touched on since the very begining chapters or jimin's secret chapters and i repeated them just so that people get a bit of a refresher but some of it feels a little monotonous to write! i hope it's not too hard to get through.

in an ideal world i would have given myself an additional week to edit this chapter, it's not the most edited and because of that i feel like it got repetitive or arduous in places.

i'm also realizing that this is like, 9th longest bts fanfic in existence. look it up on ao3 if you don't believe me. i think giving people a refresher of the begining is fair. In terms of the harry potter series (it really is a shame that no one knows who wrote it) we're just into the 6th book in terms of word count if you need that for context.

on that same vein. moonbyuls brief rant that is implied to be transphobic and sorta is- is not a reflection of my views she's just...you know...the villain?

this chapter also literally went from 8k to 14k during editing what the fuck. i stayed up till 2 am to get this done two nights in a row. i have this little nagging voice in my head that says its stupid to care about something like this but i can't help it- i love this story so much. even if this isn't the best chapter.

when the m/c has her freak out in the room where she almost passes out- that is called adrenal fatigue and it's soemthing that i struggle with as someone with ptsd. you know the feeling when you go on a rollercoaster when all of your adrenaline unloads it's self all at once? if i go through that my body goes a little haywire like- dizziness, exhaustion, dysregulation, memory fog, all of it. i still like rollercoasters though so as long i like rest and drink alot of water it doesn't affect me too much.

it's really important that you notice that no one says moonbyuls name during the moment when they're talking about their secrets between namjoon, jin, hobi, yoongi, and the m/c. i'm not telling you why just PAY ATTENTION.

Every time i think about the proverb "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." i think of the m/c and how thats her storyline with the family like- she really was like "either you love me or i'll kill all of you" and i think thats cute <3

In terms of why the last don and Beta killed Yoongi's parents- i think it's because yoongi's mother found out that she was pregnant with another beta and the don and beta didn't want to deal with such a divided power. They already had yoongi under their thumb and another possible successor would have over complicated things. Yoongi would have had a little sister, i don't know if he'll ever know thats why his parents where killed- he was between the ages of 16 and 18 when they died.

although this chapter was the least edited in terms of the most recent chapters- i will also say that there are two moments in this chapter- where i 'fuck up' and write things a certian way but heres the thing- they're not fuck ups and they're actually hints so! lets see if anyone notices!!

i'm gonna be honest with you guys the part where it goes "it stays there" left me fucking winded i can't even think about it too hard or else i get misty eyed.

i am catheterizing a lot of emotions writing this i am sorry it took so long to write, there is a reason why this update took a month and thats cuz yeah- my grandmother is dying. She's got cancer and She's 91 so they're not treating it. death is gonna be a /theme/ for me over the next couple of chapters, don't be surprised if I go off on a tangent or if it takes me a second between updates.

i wish i could write the m/c just a little dumber you know?

i wrote this series with the intent to write about people in realistic relationships- showing the moments they make mistakes, the moments they react too much or not enough, the way that trauma affects us all and how we handle it and love. it feels very full circle to have this chapter come out like- this is what bily is about you know? even though they'res alot of dialouge in it.

oh~ shits about to go down~

Mini-Playlist

Dominic fike- acai bowl (kinda hobi and the m/c's song for this chapter, they're going through it)

Hozier- Eat Your Young (Bekon's Choral Version) (this is literally bily's unoffical theme song at this point)

JID, Kenny Mason - Dance now (the beginning when moonbyul setting the industrial park on fire)

Frank sinatra- thats life (the song i picture playing at the end when tae and jimin are talking out their issues).

#bts omegaverse au #bts a/b/o #bts x reader #bts poly au #bts gang au #bts mafia au #bts polyamory au #bts au #bts fluff #bts hurt/comfort #bts werewolf au #bts angst bts omegaverse fic #bts hybrid fic #min yoongi fic #kim namjoon fic #kim seokjin fic #kim taehyung fic #park jimin fic #jeon jungkook fic #jjk #pjm #myg #knj #kth #ksj #jhs #jung hoseok fic #min yoongi x reader #kim namjoon x reader #kim seokjin x reader

[sxtaep]

ALL I WANT - JJK | five

after distancing yourself from jungkook because of the indirect confession you made, you never realised how much you’d miss him, and what better way to show him that than through the phone?

pairing — jungkook x female reader

genre — fluff, smut

word count — 10.5k

chapter warnings/tags — bestfriends2lovers!au, fuckboy!jk, textbooknerd!reader, dom!jk, sub!reader, joon is a drug dealer, tae is a junkie, vmin sideship, soft shower scene, indirect confession, lots of touching, jk is so oblivious, late night texting, jk loves your glasses, explicit content, sexting, mutual masturbation, exchanging of illicit photos, exchanging of illicit videos, teasing, male masturbation, female masturbation, fingering, dirty talk, praise, so much cum +more.

a/n: this is LONG overdue, but the loml loma @velvetwicebang should’ve been recognised earlier when posting this series for her everworking writing skills and input (especially for jungkook’s pov of things) so pls show her all the love 🥹 i swear she doesn’t bite ☹️🫶

also, apologies for the inactivity, your girl was dying in a&e with a cyst (it’s still there) and is now on indefinite sick leave from work 💀😭

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five

Oh.

So maybe Jungkook didn’t have a valid reason to narrow his eyes once you left him alone after he’d mustered up the energy to sit up on the bed, pouting to himself after he was turned away in the midst of tossing his leg over the edge of the mattress, about to boldly follow your footsteps into the shower until he heard the lock click.

“Wha..” Confusion spilling from his doe eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks and ruffled the back of his fluffy bed hair, staring at the door with his brows slightly furrowed as he made out the sound of the shower from outside the connected bathroom, “Whatever, fuck you.” The man raised his voice to shout the following, already knowing that you wouldn’t be able to hear him, “Not like I also wanted to shower or anything!”

Jungkook was clearly pouting and he’d rather get a hundred carpet burns than let you see that side of him no matter how much it bothered him, so the man ‘brushed it off’ and scooted his bare ass further up the bed, stopping when his back met the wooden headboard behind him.

He figured this would be the perfect time to catch up on his texts, now that you decided to leave him completely alone. (It wasn’t even that big of a deal, honestly, yet the sulking man seemed awfully desperate to look for other ways to distract his brain from thinking about it, naturally tapping on his and the guys’ groupchat).

He always prepared himself for the most chaotic situations, just a few weeks ago the chat went crazy bickering over who would pay for Hoseok’s bail money after the latter got drunk off his ass, and funnily enough, the week before that one Hobi sent a long ass text declaring he decided to stop drinking.

Just like that, out of nowhere.

Of course, no one believed him.

Unlike those times, this morning’s topic of conversation seemed to be…normal, which was rare.

namjoon added ‘chim’ to the chat!

chim: hey guys! 👋

yoongi: holy fuck he’s alive

hoeseok: who💀 jimin or joon?

yoongi: damn both of em😭😭😭 just 30 mins alone w you can’t be easy

hoeseok: fuck u.

namjoon: we all know you want to dude, but he’s happily taken remember??

hoeseok: i’m gonna kick myself out this gc 😭

u guys need to chillllll

jin: just like how jungkook chilled w y/n in your bed last night 😏😏

yoongi: bro 💀💀💀💀

hoeseok: nah bc i’m actually still pissed that fucker offered to buy me a new bed set under 50 bucks????? what world does he live in

namjoon: 😑😑 okay wheres tae? he has to know where jungkook’s at

jin: he’s probably at y/n’s place but there’s also a possibility that he ran back to his dorm like a pussy

namjoon: taetae

TAEEEEEE

namjoon: tae answer or no more hard drugs for you to get addicted to 🙄 your choice

yoongi: dude shut up the guy’s probably still sleeping

jin: tae did you call a chick over after i dropped you off last night?

hoeseok: i wouldn’t blame him

he was babysitting joon most of the night, he had no chance to shoot his shot

tae: fuk no

i dropped dead on the couch as soon as i got home

yoongi: so jungkook didn’t come home last night?

Taehyung chewed on his bottom lip from his bedroom, hesitating on whether he should throw his best friend under the bus just to save himself from any more unsolicited revelations in front of new interest Jimin, or suck it up like a man.

tae: no, he’s still at y/n’s

jin: I FUCKING CALLED IT

jeon: DUDE

Jungkook was never gonna hear the end of it. The guys already teased the hell out of him because of you, and now that he actually fucked you, he would never live it down.

jeon: i’m never covering for ur ass again 🙄

yoongi: ….u guys are such best friends it’s disgusting

namjoon: mf have you been lurking all along

jin: he probably has 💀

hoeseok: PUSSY

jeon: oh fuck off hyung i get more play than you

Maybe that was a little too far, but Jungkook was sticky and sweaty and your bedroom was hot as shit. A nice shower would’ve sufficed.

jeon: respectfully. sorry. ily. pick out a new bed set xoxo.

yoongi: DAMN 💀💀

namjoon: ...

jin: 🙇‍♂️ me bowing bc i taught him well

hoeseok: make it a $100 bed set 😒

jeon: ur crazy if u think i have $100 on me

but deal 🤝

After that’d been set in stone, readying for his pockets to hurt, Jungkook carelessly tossed his phone aside and combed one hand through his oily hair, on his feet and on his way to invite himself into the shower with you.

You wouldn’t mind, right?

It’d only been 5 minutes since you stepped into the shower, just standing under the shower head and letting the steaming hot water run down your body.

What if he left?

No, he wouldn’t leave again.

But what if he did?

The thought left an unsettling feeling in your stomach and you had this sudden urge to hit pause on your shower and check he was still there, lying naked on your bed, but you held yourself back. Caring this much was not a good sign.

“Open up,” Jungkook annoyingly rattled on the doorknob with his forehead pressed against the door, unknowingly soothing your anxiety while acting like a needy child, not once stopping his tugging and turning on the metal knob. “Let me innnn!”

Alright, now he was fucking with you, grinning whilst waiting to meet you face to face.

The constant rattling of the doorknob startled you, but Jungkook’s whiny voice was one you could always recognise, even if he was faking it. At least he didn’t go home, so that was a win for you.

You stopped massaging your scalp, bits of bubbles following your every move as you stepped out of the shower, leaving the water to run. The bathrobe that was hanging behind the door was now draped over your body to cover your front, now holding onto the doorknob and fighting off the hopefulness in your eyes.

“God, I thought someone was breaking in,” you sigh, holding the bathrobe tightly to your chest. “What do you need, Kook?” You try to sound as unamused as you could spotting the stupidly attractive grin on his face, yet the sight of him from the neck down played as a distraction.

“What does it look like I need? A goddamn shower.”

Jungkook was right about a shower. Things got so messy and he was walking around the dorm with his dick out, he probably made more mess for you to clean up.

Pushing past your dumbfounded self, Jungkook didn’t question why you were covering yourself up after what you both just did, but he figured he’d get to see you naked soon enough if you were about to shower together.

Like regular friends did, of course.

“What are you waiting for?” The man turned to look over his shoulder after stepping under the lukewarm stream of water, staring at you past the wet hair that fell over his eyes, “Join me.”

You stared back at him, mouth slightly ajar as your eyes dipped a little too low and met with droplets of water rushing between every crevice of his abs. He had no right looking like a nude model right now

“Right…” you mentally rolled your eyes and let out a huff, pulling the bathrobe off your body, but you felt a little exposed; more focused on the fact that now neither of you were exactly ‘in the moment.’

The bathrobe pooled at your ankles and you parted ways from it, hesitantly climbing in and standing in front of the much larger male so you could also snag some of the water from the shower head. Jungkook had an advantage, being much bigger and taller, most of the water would land on his shoulders and just bounce off, ignoring your presence.

Being this close to him once again; your soaked back pressing against his built chest and practically sticking to him, you felt the urge to apologise because there was absolutely no way you were doing this on purpose. “Sorry, it’s a little tight in here,” you speak up, glancing back at him over your shoulder and making sure you weren’t making him uncomfortable, yet your apology was useless; you were still unknowingly, pressing up against him.

The part of Jungkook that didn’t always think with his dick found your newborn shyness awfully endearing.

‘It was a pattern,’ he’d noticed, ‘after we’re done fucking, she suddenly gets real shy, even avoids looking into my eyes as if she wasn’t just batting her eyelashes up at me minutes ago’.

Sometimes he wished to dive into your mind without any sort of heads up, just him as he came, pocketing a handful of your thoughts and knowledge for himself along the way (maybe then he’d actually know what went on in your head during moments like these, where all that spoke was the running water as it caressed his naked body and shunned yours).

“You don’t have to apologize, dummy,” Jungkook shook his head, although you couldn’t see him, taking a minute to expand his eyes down your unblemished back, not exclusively sexual, but heavily aware of how he was practically hogging the shower all to himself.

“Here,” with both hands clasped over your shoulders, Jungkook stepped back and let you take over his spot, brushing his wet hair away from his forehead and running a hand down his face to get rid of any water droplets.

Grabbing a bottle of soap he found on the side, Jeon thought about washing himself but changed his mind upon realising there was someone else that could do it for him.

You.

Maybe this would help you get over your timidness, and in all honesty, Jungkook felt a little out of place for being so casual and nonchalant about all of this..

“Yo, shower hogger,” the taller tapped your shoulder with his index finger, waiting until you turned around to raise his brows and glance down at his body expectantly, extending the bottle of soap out towards you, “I’m just so tired, help me wash?” He felt like he was quoting the beginning scene of a porno, and Jungkook knew that you knew that he was exaggerating.

You looked up at Jungkook with an ‘are you serious’ kind of expression, raising a brow at him as if he was crazy. “You’re tired? Please,” you shook your head. If anything, you should be the one that’s tired, especially after that mind-blowing head session you have him, but still, you gave into the big man, grabbing the bottle of berry scented soap from his grasp and squeezing a generous amount onto your palms.

“Since when did you need help taking showers? Last time I checked, babies needed that.” you lather the soap in your hands, rubbing them together to create more bubbles before taking a step back and looking the man up and down, deciding where the hell to even start. “You’re a big baby, aren’t you, Jeon?” you tease, finally deciding to set your palms flat on his chest as you kept your eyes trained on him, very much mocking him with just your eyes.

Jungkook was definitely not built like a big baby, but there were times where he’d do the most endearing things that made you wanna squeeze his cheeks and gauge out his doe eyes. Like, when you’d upset him over little things, he’d sit around pretending he wasn’t upset but you would clearly see the pout on his face, with the added crossing his arms over his chest (exactly like a child).

You grabbed onto his bicep, pulling his body closer to yours a little and snaking his arm around your waist just to keep a secure hold on you so you both could catch some of the water running up above. You wondered about your next move. It seemed a little unusual, massaging his chest under the shower, but then again, you’d already done far from appropriate things; including sweaty bodies, someone’s tears, and a shitload of cum.

Despite all that, you gently caressed the damp skin of his chest, awfully slow and counting each tiny little bubble bursting against him. “Like this?” you prompt, gliding your fingers across his chest and the action itself left your own chest tingling.

This was next level intimate.

Jungkook hadn’t said anything else after childishly puffing out a, ‘I’m not a baby’ with a comical roll of his smiling eyes, studying your face and changing expressions in comfortable silence whilst you roamed your hands over his soapy chest, the arm that curled around the you holding you securely with one palm pressed flat over the small of your back.

Fuck, Jungkook hoped you couldn’t make out how fast his wild little heart was beating even behind all those bubbles. You couldn’t… right? It would quite literally kill the man to try and explain himself out of that one because— he didn’t fucking know why his heart was running laps either!

He already worried enough that he made himself look dumb in front of his super smart best friend; he wanted you to think he had the brains of goddamn Einstein, like yourself, and looking for the right words to explain himself wasn’t going to do him any justice.

Either way, Jungkook just knew it was nice having someone else wash him up… like a servant.

A pretty servant with great tits, at that.

“Yeah..” Jeon finally breathed out another word, unaware that he was inching in towards your face quietly enough that you didn’t catch on and stop your scrubbing, “Just like that.”

He had to uncomfortably tip his neck down a little to reach you, but when his parted lips were merely inches away from yours, Jungkook didn’t waste any time and trapped you in a surprisingly slow moving kiss, raising one hand to cup the side of your face as his thumb traced over your cheekbones.

‘He kissed me first!’ was all you could think about right now. And the kiss easily held a deeper meaning behind it, one that didn’t scream ‘we’re kissing because of sex’. Unless Jungkook thought exactly that..

Then that would be a lot of damage.

Were you hearing yourself right now? You felt pitiful; falling for him after fucking him and now you were head-over-heels for the man just because he kissed you first.

What were the chances of him deciding to settle down? And would Jungkook settle down with you? It was a question you never wanted to answer, or hear the answer to, because there were very high chances the answers to both those questions wouldn’t benefit you. You did hold a tiny bit of hope, only the tiniest, that maybe, just maybe, Jungkook could be feeling the same way. His heart literally on the verge of bursting against your palm struck up a couple questions in your mind, but you easily dismissed them, using the water as an excuse to cover for him.

Yet, with all those doubts, you didn’t hesitate to kiss him back. God knows you wanted to kiss him and he was merely doing you a favour by getting Jungkook to make the first move. It was unexpected, but that’s what made it all the best.

When he did finally pull away after a full minute of tasting your soft lips, his tongue cheekily swiped over his bottom lip while still cupping your face in his big hands, looking into your eyes with that endearing smile that made your heart jump.

You stopped moving your hand, leaving it to rest again his chest whilst your free hand made home on top of his, your fingertips briefly brushing over your cheek as you intertwined your fingers, pulling his hand down to your chest.

Right over your beating heart.

“You don’t realise it, but you have my heart running laps,” you whisper softly, squeezing Jungkook’s hand and suddenly releasing him from your hold, doing your best to turn your back on him and bask under the warm water raining above.

Good idea, leave him confused with words.

Jungkook wasn’t that stupid though, he was perceptive only when it seemed advantageous to him, which was something you picked up on over the years. He’d be able to crack this one. Surely.

You groaned quietly to yourself, lulling your head back a little to have the water slip down your front, but you were too distracted by the warmth to notice your head falling back against his chest, your body relaxing as you released a soft breath.

Nothing outright witty or smart-assy slipped out his mouth during the shared, tender moment between you both; Jungkook acknowledged your words within his own mind, quietly, digesting whatever it was that that had the back of his neck and tips of his ears drowning red.

The man thought about your— ‘you have my heart running laps’ —for quite a while now, a week to be exact, and sometimes it’d pop in his head at the most random times, it was lowkey starting to freak him out.

Wherever Jungkook was, so were you. Figuratively.

In his mind that was usually blank, you were there, present as always while prompting his heart to beat recklessly and his lungs to stutter whilst they filled with air, often catching him off guard.

Truthfully, Jeon had been too busy battling it out with noobs on Call of Duty, to really question what you meant that day. You weren’t making it easy for him to talk to you either. You completely shut him out after the shower ‘incident’ (which was approximately 2 days ago) and used the excuse of ‘I need to catch up on my assignments’, to avoid him.

Obviously he didn’t know that, but he wasn’t suspicious either. It was normal for you to go radio silent for a couple days to focus on your studies, and Jungkook respected that. Normally he’d bug you, but not this time around.

Which was weird.

Even Taehyung found it odd, coming back home and finding Jungkook still playing his game. He was high as hell, but he knew something weird when he saw it.

Slumping against the empty space beside Jungkook, Taehyung carelessly throws his arm around the younger’s muscly shoulders. “What’ve you been up to, then? You been sitting on your ass this whole time?” he asks, eyeing the TV screen and seeing that he was currently in the game lobby, waiting to start a new match. “No girls over tonight? Not even Y/N?”

Even though he was high, a part of him wanted things to set sail between you and his roommate.

“Were you too shy to call her? Or did she just reject you when you tried?” Taehyung’s assumptions weren’t impossible. He’d been around long enough to watch Jungkook’s countless invitations to hang out or get something to eat, get straight up rejected by you because you were too busy studying.

“Ah, Y/N?” No use in brushing it off now.

Two days without seeing you or talking to you, felt like an eternity, but Jungkook was determined to stay quiet. Ever since you both hooked up for the first time, he’s mostly been the one to text or call to ask if he could come over and y’know what, that is if Jeon excluded the times he’d just show up at your doorstep unannounced.

Point was.. he was waiting for you to need him, not the other way around like it often was.

Now, Jungkook wasn’t expecting you to text him and blatantly say how much you needed him to come over and fuck you so good you’d forget about everything you studied (even if that would make him harder than anything else in the world), but even just an ‘i miss you’ or ‘i’m done studying, come over’ would make him drop anything and everything for you.

It was a new and weird feeling, thinking like this. He never waited around for a girl, even if he had a line of them waiting to get dicked down by him.

“I’m not shy, we’ve just been busy doing our own thing.” He huffed out at Tae’s assumption, not daring to make any eye contact since being best friends with Taehyung since middle school meant the latter knew when he was bullshitting, always. It was weird as hell and even more impressive when Tae could point it out when he wasn’t sober..

Jungkook was looking straight at Tae now with big eyes and his teeth busy nibbling at his lip, like he was caught red handed and it was too obvious that that’s been something that’d been on his mind for a while.

With a low groan, the younger ran both hands down his face and slid down the couch, muscly legs lazily spread as he leaned his head back on the headrest and remained silent. Until he didn’t; Taehyung had a way of getting information out of him without barely saying a word. Something about his deadpan gaze…

“I know she’s not the type, but a text saying that she needs me- if you know what I mean, and not the other way around? I’d give her my kid, man.”

That was a complete reach and even if Jungkook did chuckle a little at that, his feelings and everything else he said were true. The younger shrugged and played off those strong feelings, “It’s whatever, though. You probably felt the same way about a girl you hooked up with at some point in time, right?”

All Taehyung could think about was ‘who the fuck possessed his roommate?’ No, even better question; ‘why is a girl making his best friend feel like this?’ In all the years Taehyung knew Jungkook, never had he ever seen the younger male care so much about a girl he fucked.

But… there was a difference. You weren’t just any girl he fucked. You were Jungkook’s only girl friend that he fucked.

Given the history between you two, things obviously felt more fragile and more… intimate? At least that’s what Taehyung thought. He wasn’t even part of the relationship, but because of the younger being so new to experiencing such feelings, it was almost second nature for him to feel the same way (out of sympathy). “I don’t know, dude… I’ve never felt like that, but you sound like you’re having withdrawal symptoms being without her for so long,” he shrugs, eyeing the male who looked like he was so far down the ‘I’m in love with her, but i’m gonna act like I don’t care’ hole.

Taehyung could’ve easily lied and told Jungkook that it was normal for him to feel so attached to his girl friend, but who was he kidding? It wasn’t normal to feel so attached unless you were deeply in love.

“You sure you’re not… in love with her, dude?” he teases, ruffling Jungkook’s hair in the most brotherly way possible. He was only trying to scare the im younger male and make him overthink a little. “I’m kidding! Just stop being a pussy and go to her. Tell her what you want. Like, straight up. I’m tellin’ you, girls dig that. There’s nothing girls want more than a guy being straight to the point.”

Jeon Jungkook was most definitely, most surely not in love with you. What even was love? He could think of a few examples..

His dad cutting off the crusts in his mom’s sandwiches, Hoseok babysitting Namjoon, Mrs. Kim working hard to make sure her small, country-boy Tae went off to a nice college (and got away from his ego-filled dad. Jungkook met him a few times and he was an A class asshole).

Either way, the younger never really saw that kind of love for him. It all seemed unattainable and whatever Jungkook was feeling towards you, it couldn’t have been love. Maybe lust, just in his own special way..

“I’m not in love with her, are you crazy?” Jeon sighed out loud and considered taking Taehyung’s advice for real, just maybe not at 12:30 in the morning.. “Okay, fine, but,” Jungkook turned his body to chuckle at the irony in his roommate’s words, “When have you ever been straight up with a girl, Tae? Was it when you asked her to give you that fresh hickey on your neck tonight?”

It was huge and Jungkook had been eyeing the red bruise just underneath Taehyung’s jaw for a few moments prior. “Was this before or after you went to meet up with Jimin because damn,” the younger was laughing now, inching to take a closer look at possibly the biggest hickey he’d ever seen, unaware it was Jimin who left those very marks.

As if he couldn’t be any more skeptical than he already was, Taehyung’s palm was quick to smack against his neck, making himself wince in the process as he discreetly rubbed the bruised area and avoided all eye contact with Jungkook. His jaw tensed as he tried to stop himself from blushing. Remnants of tonight’s events were running through his mind, and he had to stop before his dick got hard again. But that seemed impossible. Jimin was just this ultra, superior, ethereal being with the superpowers to keep his dick hard and heart fluttering for days on end. “Hey!” Taehyung scowls, smacking Jungkook’s head (not too hard) and pulling away from his susceptive gaze.

“Firstly, mind your own, secondly, I got bitten by a mosquito.” That was the lamest excuse in the book, but once again, this is where Jeon’s cluelessness played at his advantage. “Jimin lives in this whole other area, like expensive apartments and neighbourhoods and shit. There’s palm trees everywhere, too so there were a lot of flies,” Taehyung explained; sounding as brief and unbothered as possible. In case Jungkook didn’t believe him, he added, “Seriously, It felt like I was in another country when I arrived.”

Hopefully he played it off well. The man was pretty good at acting, especially when it came to promising girls he’d spend another night with them. It never happened.

“Whatever, man, turn the game off. I need the couch,” he yawns dramatically whilst stretching his arms above his head. “I can’t feel my legs.” It was a natural occurrence for Taehyung to sleep on the couch after a night of non-stop drugs. He would quite commonly complain about not being able to feel his legs because they’d be so numb, thus deeming him immobile until sober the next morning.

Taehyung executed the lame excuse perfectly, Jungkook completely brushed it off.. right after he finished tending to the minor concussion from his roommate.

Annoyed but kind, he ran off to the kitchen and paired an Ibuprofen with a tall glass of water to sit on the coffee table at an arm’s reach for the other male to quench his fleeting sobriety with, taking his earned title of ‘best friend’ extra seriously while throwing a spare blanket over Tae’s limp body on the couch, turning off the TV seconds later and going into his room.

Throwing himself to lie on his bed, the sudden urge to send you a text loomed over. He knew, he knew… he was supposed to let you reach out to him, but maybe you were just busy and forgot about him. Plus, waiting around was boring and nowhere near as exhilarating as—

jungkook: you haven’t forgotten about me yet? 🤓

Was it super obvious you was avoiding Jungkook?

Maybe.

What’s the best way to avoid someone?

Drown yourself in your studies.

It was probably advantageous to you now, since studying was always the excuse you used to get yourself out of unwanted situations. And this wouldn’t be a surprise to Jungkook. He had the shorter end of of the stick when it came to wanting to hang out, you would always reject his pleas.

This past week, you needed to ‘get back on your grind’ and all this faffing about with Jungkook left a lasting impact on your daily routine.

Every time you sat on your couch (which was often) you’re reminded of the very first night you both laid hands on each other. How could you forget? There was probably remnants of that night still burnt into your couch. Every time you’re sat at your desk, you’re reminded of the little note Jungkook left the following morning, apologising for leaving so early.

Hard to believe, your poor self displayed the note at the corner of your desk, right in front of your old textbooks. It seemed cringe, but you found it cute and got some sort of serotonin looking at it while you were studying. Every night when you go to bed, you mindlessly stare at the empty space next to you for at least an hour before falling asleep, thinking how it would’ve been Jungkook next to you.

And the shower… where you indirectly confessed to him, but instead, only confused yourself, and you had no doubt you confused him too (he wasn’t any smarter than you were).

In all honesty, you were waiting for Jungkook to approach you first, which was too much to ask for since he always texted first. But, you were hoping he’d say something about your last interaction. Was the “you got my heart running laps” not enough for him? Or was he really that clueless?

Whatever it was, you didn’t dwell on it, almost jumping out of the comfy seat at her desk and lungeing to reach your phone off the bed. Your heart was doing that annoying racing thing and your fingers were twiddling at your screen.

you: y’know what?

i completely forgot you existed for a sec

what was your name again?

john?

Damn. Jeon was torn between laughing or having a go at you for that line as he laid out sprawled over his bed thinking of what to make of it, a tight lipped smile settled things and pushed through Jungkook’s efforts to take small offense to what you said.

“Pfft, John?”

However, that sly grin always appeared whenever you were confident and smart-assy with him. With shame lesser than -10000, Jungkook could easily admit he found it hot. He could stupidly stand in the middle of a street with both arms outstretched and yell, ‘I find it really hot when Lee Y/N gives me a taste of my own medicine, so what?! She’s very hot to me!’

Obviously that wasn’t going to happen, but trust that he would if it came down to it.

jungkook: john huh? who’s that, textbook #1? 😕

but uh. how’s jerry doing?? yknow. textbook #3 😉

It was the highlight of his night; Jungkook hadn’t even realized his cheeks were turning sore from smiling so big. If any of the guys walked in they’d think he won the lottery and then some, but no, it was just you.

It always seemed to be about you— is what the guys would say, surely. No one else.

jungkook: and i doubt you forgot about my existence, you like me too much

hell, you probably even missed me, i know i missed you

Anyone could bet you were forcing yourself not to break out into a fit of giggles (resulting in you just writhing in your seat) because there was no way a man was suddenly making you laugh this hard. Jungkook was making you laugh so hard.

It took you a couple seconds to regain your composure before tapping at your keyboard again.

you: john and jerry are doing good

they’ve been keeping me company and treating me well

i wouldn’t have it any other way 😩

Having Jungkook keep you company would obviously be better, but you can’t always get what you want.

You didn’t catch the next couple messages he sent, instead opening your camera and snapping a quick photo of the mess of scrap papers and opened textbooks lying on your desk, not even realising the note Jungkook left you a couple nights ago was peeking out in the corner of the frame.

You attach the photo to your next message;

you: this sums up my week

you know the drill

As you waited for the attachment to deliver, you scrolled down to finally see the recent message he sent, and you swore your heart skipped a beat.

Jungkook missed you?

A faint hint of pink drowned your cheeks as you contemplated on how to respond?

Do you reciprocate, or just be passive and ignore him? The second option seemed pretty appropriate, because if he missed you so much, why didn’t he do anything about it?

That option however, would just open up a whole other can of worms and would probably end up with the pair bickering until the early hours of dawn.

You missed him so much this week, you didn’t want this interaction to go to waste.

you: i think YOU like me too much since you missed me so bad

are you obsessed with me?

it’s okay if you are, but you’ll have to wait in line for your turn

That joke was no longer valid ever since you guys fucked.

you: if it makes you feel better, i guess i missed you too

Unlike you and your adorable stickling for structure, it was a shock Jungkook waited until all the blurbs of texts were done coming through considering how restlessness was naturally wired in his veins, but he preferred to indulge in each individual bubble once they disappeared from the bottom of his screen.

He didn’t want to take the risk of saying something stupid and fucking everything up, not after so long (2 days), so for you, he’d learn to be patient— even if that sounded difficult to actually go through.

Almost immediately his eyes widened at the amount of individual texts that finished pouring in (he always had a way of knowing if you were mad at him. If you sent him no more than three individual texts at a time, that meant he needed to hide).

But more than taken aback, Jungkook had an idea of what that meant on a deeper, more obvious level. It was so clear that you missed him and if his heart didn’t pound enough at the idea of it, the beating organ nearly jumped out of Jeon’s chest when his eye accidentally skipped down the list and landed on the last text, confirming that what he thought was true.

Now he had the urge to giggle.

The male didn’t know what the fuck was going on or why he felt this way towards simple texts that were meant to come off as light teasing and nothing more. All he knew was that if he kept this up, his head would swell because of all the confusion going on inside it..

jungkook: jesus nerd, how you’re still breathing surrounded by all that paper is beyond me

smh don’t get too ahead of yourself tho 😒 i like you a very small amount

and that joke is no longer valid ever since we fucked

Jungkook was still thinking about the fact that you also missed him and for that reason, he failed to catch his little note in the corner of your attached photo, for now.

His mind was just… focused on something else.

You missed him!

jungkook: that does make me feel better, god what would i do without you? 😫

but truth is… i won’t really believe it unless you go into detail, miss lee. tell me, what did you miss about me?

OH! and i know that there’s a long list so take your time

Seriously, Jeon Jungkook never took a break from feeding his ego. You sat there wondering how you managed to put up with him all these years. He had a cute face back then, for sure, but now he looked like a hot hunk of goodness and everything nice, unfortunately.

you: for starters, i missed you blowing up my phone with hundreds of texts

surprised i didn’t even get ONE annoying text from you

It was almost tradition for Jungkook to spam your phone with nonsense texts and silly pictures of himself whilst you were studying. It only became a problem when he started spamming you with tiktoks, distracting you from your studies because after you’d watch them, you’d end up scrolling on the app far longer than anticipated.

you: i guess i missed your stupid face too 🙄

and the way you’d come over and inhale all the food in my fridge

and how you’d mark your territory on my couch

i also really miss our movie nights, it was the only thing that relieved my stress 😔

and, believe it or not, i miss arguing with you

i could say so much more, but i don’t think it’s appropriate unless you wanna hear?

You paused for a second, seeing that your list had taken up the entire screen.

Damn, you really missed him, huh?

you: why did we stop talking?

you know my door is always open for you, jeon 😕

Whether it be to pester you, hang out, or fuck, Jungkook was always welcome.

you: but enough about you, stink

what did you miss about me? 🥰

It’d been eating him up inside long before this special moment, gnawing away at his core and causing Jungkook’s blush to deepen in color and expand vastly over the smooth canvas of his cheeks that were puppeted by two strings pulling hard at the apples of his cheeks whenever his heart went crazy drumming to its own, particular beat. It was a type of drumming that was so rare, he worried it was an actual heart attack at its beginning stages…

jungkook: you’re making me and my “stupid face” blush, lee 😵‍💫

But he never dropped down to the ground dead—it was worse— Jungkook was left with the continuous stinging in his chest and a conscious mind full of consuming thoughts.

Jeon Jungkook never skipped out on an opportunity to feed his massive ego, but you never missed the cue as his ‘special best friend’ to always give in and singlehandedly create an even cockier version of the man; just for the moment you were together, be it over text or in person.

Truth? Jungkook would rather hear you say these things to his face, then he’d be able to show a more genuine reaction to how they made him feel— a kiss spoke volumes, for example. He was never the best at saying things the way he wanted to say them— but on the bright side, Jungkook was glad you couldn’t see him and his flushed being.

That seemed to be his thing; go big or go home.

jungkook: that’s a hell of a long list for a girl that said she forgot about my existence 👀

sure you weren’t thinking about me everyday, pretty?

He liked to think he was in control; he enjoyed being in control, but when his skin was lit up because of a few sweet words from you, confidence didn’t come as easily and smoothly as it usually did. So, Jungkook settled for playing a front over text.

Not like you had any way of seeing him.

jungkook: but hmm, what did i miss about you? 🤔 well for starters, i like it when you let me raid your fridge and let me mark my territory on your couch ;)

how you call me “stink” or “idiot” with a smile on your face after i say something stupid because deep inside you find it endearing 👀

your random fuckin GORY murder cases that always stick with me. a man is scarred

when you’re super concentrated while studying and quietly mumble to yourself under your breath. it’s cute

you in glasses. that’s it

our movie nights, especially when you let me pick ironman for the 100th time

i also miss arguing with you and proving your ass wrong

your ass.

sleeping with you in the way that you keep me warm during the night and you rest your head on my chest. i like feeling like i’m keeping you safe

and sleeping with you in the way that i can make you feel really good, help you relieve stress. feeling closer to you is being inside you

Fuck, did he go overboard?

Jungkook was only trying to match you in terms of quality, but now looking back at all the sent messages, he couldn’t help but cringe at himself for saying all that.

He should’ve taken quality over quantity more seriously..

“Damn,” He ran a hand through his hair and quickly got back to typing so that you wouldn’t sit on the last part for too long.

jungkook: and wdym “when did we stop talking” 💀💀 y/n, it’s only been two days 🙄

im coming over tomorrow tho, can’t have you missing me anymore 😉

For a brief second, you thought you were reading texts from the boyfriend you never had. It was worse since you were going overboard with the blushing, but how could you control that? His string of texts were like… a confession.

Could he possibly be in love with you? Never.

Jeon Jungkook was incapable of feeling such things, and having said that out loud, all your hope had disintegrated. Jungkook was too clueless, he probably couldn’t even remember what you said in the shower.

you: i’m starting to think you missed me more than i missed you

You stayed giggling quietly to yourself, reading on each line one by one and feeling the butterflies in the pit of your stomach erupt. If Jungkook were here right now, he’d probably tease the hell out of you, use it as a way to boost his inflated ego.

you: my fridge has been restocked for you, so you won’t have to bring over half-eaten pizza like last time 💀

ALSO

IM ALWAYS RIGHT! you have never ever proved me wrong in your life

you argue with bs, i argue with FACTS 😌

What’s something that would make the Jeon Jungkook fold?

A selfie.

But not just any odd selfie.

It was a blessing in disguise that you had your glasses on right now. A little selfie wouldn’t hurt anyone (but deep down you wanted to gauge a reaction out of him, for your own satisfaction) so you opened your camera and angled your phone up in front of you, your eyes peeking up from behind your lenses, unknowingly pulling off the whole ‘innocent, but not-so-innocent nerd’ look paired with a small pout.

The raised view might be familiar to him.

You were satisfied with the first picture you took so you sent it through to him, with another message following right after;

you: my glasses miss your face 😔

they’re tired of looking down at textbooks all day

When did Jeon become so totally and utterly fascinated with the casual sight of your dorky frames sitting high up on your cute nose, framing your face and making you seem even smarter and a bigger nerd than you already were?

He had no fuckin’ idea.

Glasses never looked as good on anyone else than they did on you— something about how your smartness aligned with the vivid image in his head of a sexy, intelligent librarian just did it for him without any misses.

Was it a fantasy or just simp behaviour?

Whatever it was, you had the brains and the looks; Jungkook honestly thought you were extremely cool and he could only dream to be as smart and dedicated to learning as you were.

Jungkook saved the picture to his camera roll after staring at it for a few moments in silence, lured in by everything from your puckered lips to deer-like eyes as they drove him wild in a manner he was way too familiar with.

“Fuck,” Jeon tipped his head to the side to take a look at the expected erection in his sweats, the bulge pitching a big tent against the bare material of his pants since Jungkook rarely wore anything underneath whenever he was alone.

None of this was fair.

Deciding to play your game his own way, he tapped on the camera and angled it towards his growing erection after pressing record, shamelessly zooming in on his bulge whilst breathing out a low, “This isn’t fair, y’know. Rubbing one out at 12am wasn’t on my list of plans for the night.”

Jungkook sent the video without another thought and added a provocative text to go along with it, his bottom lip close to going numb from biting down on it so hard.

jungkook: instead of looking down, how bout you look up at me? i think you’ll find that more fun

This was much more than the reaction you expected from Jungkook. You expected a little “you look pretty” or a “you look like a nerd” type of text from him, one that could stem as serious or just playful teasing, but watching the short clip and being met with his inane bulge, an overwhelming sense of pride took over.

You had awoken the beast with just a mere selfie?

No physical touch, no overly suggestive text message?

You had every right to believe you were capable of more. Maybe not right now since you had the clip on loop to bask in his ragged, deep voice, which gave you the most uncalled-for flashbacks to those nights where he’d praise you for taking him so good.

You quickly saved the video (for your own pleasure) and got to typing with your sweaty thumbs and clenching thighs.

you: life isn’t fair, sorry about that

Reading his last text message, your poor self had fallen into daydream mode. All the endless possibilities of you being on your knees and staring up at the man, doing God knows what. But you knew exactly what he meant, and you were not against it…

But you could always play dumb.

you: but why would i do that, koo?

enlighten a dumb girl like myself, would you?

Jungkook was this close to giving up on the sexual bantering over text and get up from his bed, go out his front door, hop on his motorcycle and drive the short minutes to your apartment just to show you what he meant— even if it was clear enough that you were only playing games with him.

jungkook: does acting clueless help you ignore the fact that you want me rn? bc let me know how that works out for you ;)

Before Jungkook could even acknowledge it, one hand extended downwards to grope his own cock, the firm contact pressuring a deep grunt to exit past his parted mouth and into the privacy of his bedroom where the darkness failed to conceal the slight twitch of his dark brows, the screen of his phone highlighting every minor gesture on his face as a response to him touching himself. His palm smoothed over his bulge time after time again as his heavy eyes stayed set on the picture before him— your selfie, breathing becoming just as unsteady.

Needy for something else, Jungkook eagerly slipped his fingers past the waistband of his sweats and pulled out his cock in one go, coming face to face with its angry tip that oozed precum moments before bucking his hips into his fisted hand, clearer groans and deeper moans making themselves known as he messily pumped his cock within his tight, slippery grip.

“Fuu-fuck.. shit,” for the first time, he looked down at the way his latched hand moved seamlessly down his girth instead of your picture, allowing his mind to run wild and imagine his slick fist was you, the tightness making him dizzy. His hips impulsively used the mattress as drive to thrust themselves upwards and fuck into his hand, his tip coming out the top drenched in more precum after each plunge.

Deciding it’d be selfish of him to keep you in the dark whilst he got off because of you, Jungkook opened his eyes and despite the minor shakiness, angled the phone above his face and started recording.

All he allowed you to see was his slack face, moderately sweaty and flushed at the cheeks, a glint of shine peeking past his hooded eyes and kissable lips split as his ragged breathing was heard. His messy hair fell over his forehead and brows just right, clenched jaw locked in place whilst his nostrils flared, the phone in his deadly grip shaking even more now that Jeon grew restless and pumped himself even faster— his arm was aching.

Finally, the man spoke, smirking lazily at the camera. “Does a dumb girl like yourself know what’s goin’ on right now? Don’t play stupid, hnghh— doesn’t benefit anyone, baby.”

Being the tease Jungkook was known for, he flipped the camera but didn’t show his cock by covering the lens with his fingers, hovering the device close to his dick for you to be able to clearly hear the wet sounds of his built-up precum sliding up and down his lathered shaft as he went crazy pumping himself to the sticky base, his grunts playing in the background.

He was so close, but all that was left was a push from you, and so Jeon sent the video straight away, going easy on himself for the time being.

You had never clicked on a video so fast in your life, and God, did Jungkook serve. The phone had been brought even closer to your face, as if trying to hide from anyone that could see (you still needed to get used to living alone) and the moment your ears picked up on his heavy breaths and flushed state, only a child would guess wrong about what he was doing right now.

Your eyes stayed glued to Jungkook’s face, admiring the sharp slate along his jaw and his parted lips, imagining just how soft they would be if you had the chance to kiss him again.

The ongoing ache between your legs remained steady (with a lot of self control) but you were crumbling by the second.

“Fuck’s sake,” you curse under your breath, forming a tight line with your lips as you watched on, suddenly having little time to process that his face was no longer in the frame. The video was still going on and you sat there with your knees up to your chest, putting the volume up to the max to hear just how sinful and erotic his actions were playing out to be.

So much for self control, you failed to keep your body temperature at a norm along with your blushing cheeks (which felt like they were on literal fire) hearing such dirty sounds.

You could make out the image in your head; Jeon sprawled out on his bed, sweating with one muscular arm between his legs and his cock vigorously pumping between his fist.

It should’ve been your fist getting him off, but the circumstances deemed that to be difficult.

Was it possible to want to suck someone off more than just sit down and study?

you: fuck you, jeon

The throbbing between your legs was beginning to grow unbearable, so you did what you were best at.

Repaying him in the most unexpected way possible.

With your phone clutched in your hand and legs brought down to dangle off your seat, you opened up your camera, switching to video and hugging the phone close to your chest, with the lens facing up towards your chin. You made sure the lower half of your face came into view before pressing record.

You didn’t say a word; simply letting your actions speak for themselves as you slipped your middle and ring finger past your plump lips and letting your tongue rest flat along the base, trying to slick them up a little before wrapping your lips around your digits completely.

This was totally out of character for you, but Jungkook wasn’t making it easy. The thought of him shoving his fingers down your throat edged you to push your own digits a little farther and then pulling back in a constant motion. Each time your fingers would come into view again, they’d be ten times more soaked than before, and just to spite the man, you would zoom in on your glistening digits and force him to watch on, slowing down the pace of your fingers so he could really cherish the sight of your fingers disappearing past your lips.

“Bet you wish that was you, huh?” you whisper softly, pulling your fingers out ever-so-slowly and then adjusting the angle of your phone, pulling it away to give him a view of the oversized shirt you were wearing which he left a couple nights ago.

You set your phone down to lean on the pile of textbooks on your desk, wasting no time in setting the heels of your feet on the edge of your seat and lifting the hem of his shirt over your stomach to reveal the lack of attire underneath.

Just a pair of simple lilac coloured underwear.

You gave the camera one last look before following Jungkook’s train of movement, slipping your glistening digits past the band of your panties, and as much as you wanted to touch yourself right now, you paused.

You weren’t giving in that easily, so you reached over for her phone with a teasing grin on your face, making sure only your face was in the shot before your fingers lightly feathered across your untouched core, eyes fluttering shut and back now resting slack against the chair.

“Koo..” Shit, you’d barely done anything.. It took you a moment to regain your composure and you stopped the video, free hand still sat between your legs and digits seamlessly running up and down your slit as you rushed to send him the video.

That should do it.

And that fucking did.

He should've known, he should’ve known that you would one-up him at his own playing field because— when did you not constantly surprise him with whatever skills you kept in your pockets, only choosing to show them off at the right time?

Your head game? Fucking awesome. Handjob? He swore he saw a goddamn angel last time. The best pancakes in the world? Only at your place.

Everything you did was irresistible and for someone like Jungkook, nothing in the world beat not ever knowing what to expect, that was partly why he slept around a lot. But you… you were a total freak.

Which is why Jeon should’ve busted right then and there after watching the video all the way through, he almost did, but instead of shooting his cum into the air, now he was angry at himself for even tempting such a mouthwatering, captivating response out of you while being stuck where he was. Not being able to actually do anything about it, he groaned to himself and wished it was his fingers that dipped past the warmth of your mouth, collecting your saliva to use as a lube to relentlessly finger you until your legs shook..

“Fuckin’ shit..!” Jeon threw his head back whilst his wrist flicked around the base of his cock, dragging his palm upwards to do the same to his red tip. Once those long drags began to lose their heavy momentum, that was when he used his other hand to text you back, his lower stomach muscles flexing as a sign that Jeon was extremely close.

jungkook: dirty girl getting her fingers dirty for me

looking so pretty in my shirt too? fuck you’re so good, wanna fuck you

gonna come a shit ton bc of that video. sucks it won’t be inside that pussy fuuck

Throwing his phone aside for the time being, Jungkook focused on getting himself off with the image of you fresh in his mind, his buff arm cramping up but he persisted nonetheless, abusing his twitching cock with all his strength until long ropes of white erupted from his tip and onto his sweats, his hand, his stomach, the sheets—his fucking foot?

“A-ahh..hmpph-hmm.. ah.. ah, fuck,” just when he thought he was done, his cock twitched and added on to the pool of creamy white on his sweatpants, “Shit..”

The man took the messy opportunity to snap a quick photo of the mess that was his stomach and sheets, ensuring his dick was in the frame this time before sending it to you with a cheeky—

jungkook: this could’ve been all yours baby

You continued your miscreants against your aching cunt, sliding your middle finger in completely and exhaling softly at the familiar feeling. Many of your nights were spent alone, mindlessly fucking yourself for relief (though it barely helped since you could never finish alone) but now masturbating seemed so… out of the ordinary.

You never felt the need to touch yourself since you and Jungkook started whatever this whole situation was. In all honesty, you were ashamed to admit you could no longer please yourself without your best friend by your side, whether it be him guiding you with words, or straight up doing the job for you. It sounded wrong on so many levels, but you couldn’t help what your body yearned for.

The thought only frustrated you since you were alone and nowhere near close to relief, but you continued to tease and toy with yourself, occasionally pinching your sensitive bud and then breaking out into short, fast-paced rubs where your fingers would slip past your entrance and knock the air out of her lungs.

Jungkook’s texts were coming through one by one, and each one forced you to pick up the pace of your wrists, now thrusting your fingers between your soft walls at a vigorous pace. Oh, the things you would do for him to leave a hot mess inside of you.. it was pissing you off and it was obvious you were taking out your frustrations on yourself.

If his texts weren’t enough to drive you insane, the picture he attached with the blatant mess of white surrounding him and knowing it was all your doing, sparked a different kind of light within you.

you: fuck you for being at home right now

you: i can’t do this

To be more clear, you snapped a quick video of yourself, camera facing down in front of you to give Jungkook the perfect view of your slick coated digits fucking into you, paired with your shallow breaths and your signature whines, “Should’ve been you, Koo.. you know I can’t do this on my own.” Your voice was unsteady as you spoke, and you were close to breaking down horny and unsatisfied, but you kept yourself together.

No matter how embarrassing it was, you still sent him the video, typing away at your screen with your free hand and pulling the other out from between your legs with a huff.

you: im holding myself back to come on your cock next time

and i’ll make sure none of it goes to waste

Sexting with you at the asscrack of night wasn’t exactly on Jungkook’s to-do list, but just as a wise woman once texted— plans inevitably change and hell if he wasn’t content with the turnout. Not to mention it served as closure that he wasn’t being shut out on purpose and a quick release all in one, although the new texts and dirty video of a quick peek inside her panties made him question if it was worth the extra cramping in his hand and even messier sheets..

The man grimaced slightly at the warm stickiness on his stomach and fingers; he’ll jerk off to that one another day.

Truth be told, Jeon was extremely exhausted and he had a real reason to be… now. Before he had the balls to hit you up and resume where you left off, all the latter did while his roommate was gone was play video games, sulk about why why you weren’t taking initiative and worrying that Tae had gotten ran over by a car, and then another— and another.

Like always, you were the highlight of his night and day plus every moment in between.

jungkook: “fuck me” for being at home rn?? ha you wish 😗🥴

and sure you’ll wait for me baby, you’re my good girl

just know i’m coming over tomorrow and picking up where we left off. missed u too much i doubt id be able to keep my hands to myself 🤤

Jeon didn’t realize he was grinning— the kind of grinning that formed those crinkles around his eyes— until he caught sight of his reflection through the screen, simultaneously noticing how tired his smiling eyes looked and, in a very adult way, he took that as a sign to call it a night. There was always tomorrow, and there will be a tomorrow.

A very eventful one— he’ll make sure of it.

A loud yawn easily slipped past his agape mouth and Jungkook used his clean hand to start typing again, doe eyes blinking repeatedly to try and stay awake just so he could send you a goodnight text and manage to at least change out of his clothes.

jungkook: i’m heading to bed now, no workout ever tires me out like you do 💪

night, hope my shirt keeps you warm 😏

you: night, jeon

try not to dream about me tonight 😴

And just like that, Jungkook set his phone aside and sighed to himself after standing up and taking a closer look at the mess he’d made— was that amount of cum… healthy?

You were honestly messing with his head but.. Jungkook kind of liked it.

You got out of your seat and went straight to the bathroom, leaving your phone behind to wash up.

What an eventful night.

Jungkook’s ‘i’m coming over tomorrow and picking up where we left off’ stayed lingering in your mind as you thoroughly washed your hands. You were finally going to see Jungkook after 2 days (felt like a month) and you didn’t know how you’d react the moment you open the door for him.

Would you jump him because you missed him so much? Slap him because he didn’t bother to talk to you these last two days? Kiss him without thinking because you missed his lips?

Fuck, you really wanted to kiss him.

Maybe you would just stand there and let the man welcome himself in since he had a lot of experience doing that anyway the last couple years.

Either way, you were completely and utterly fucked for caring so much.

Whatever though, Jungkook was still clueless and that was something you could dwell on another time, but for now, you felt like you needed 6 months worth of sleep for the 9857265 hours you spent studying to keep your mind off Jungkook.

aiw taglist: @here4btsfics @zealouslightcookiebasketball @ninablue @petalsofink @jjksnoonamess @nadzzzblog @jossabelle88 @mwitsmejk @janedukiesworld @chl8e @bts-ruu @hollyweird0 @sharingcoolstuff @starbtslove @taeboludo @karinahwang @newdeobi @callmejimmeo @hrts4kook perm taglist: @aliceaflor5-blog @kookiecrumb @jjkeverlast @prettyghost @kooliv @koobsessed @gimmethatagustd @pb-n-juju @aslias17 @ririlovesangst @kootonins @taehyungseggs @dewamused @jungshook7 @jiminsneckkisses @moonfaery @fragmentof-indifference

Please do not repost on any platforms.

#sxtaep #all i want #aiw #jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook smut #bts smut #jungkook imagine #jungkook ff #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #bts imagine #bts imagines #jungkook oneshot #bts oneshot #bts angst #jeon jungkook smut

[not-goldy]

But why Jimin is feeling some type about turning 30 🤔 He doesn't have a biological clock ticking to get pregnant, he's a man who according according society doesn't reach their 'expiry date any time soon, he got everything settled financially and family wise, he got supportive parents but he lived majority of his life away from them... now even if he wants to have them here he's perfectly capable to do so. He still looks dropdead gorgeous... actually older he becomes prettier and graceful he turns. His body is still young and beautiful, He already got a partner who is so understanding and makes him feel the best no matter how he looks or his age.

I don't see Tae, who's same age as him focusing on turning 30 much.. he's still having fun, dating best girls out there, all set to enjoy after he retun from MS too. Like he should..because 30 is still very young in my book lol

Biological clock to get pregnant....

Ha🤣

A. He's human

B. Different backgrounds Different directions in life

Tae doesn't have chronic backpain does he??

Tae's career is not woven around his ability to dance his ass off and contour his body into impossible shapes does he? He dances sure and he's good sure but he's not Jimin 🥴

Watch BTS Island or whatever that show was I think they talked about these things- vmin I mean.

Remember he said he hated working out but then had to learn to love it because he needed to work on his form. He said he was becoming weak- he is not just a pretty face. He is not the type of idol you'd give a mic and a seat center stage to perform.

He is Beyonce. He is a spectacle

He will always be a spectacle unfortunately

Losing weight, dieting, fixing his teeth tweaking that- can't do that all his life that's just sad if he has to😢

So he is gonna reminisce and wonder if he should keep doing this or choose a different part- as he said he did before in the past when BTS was going through stuff.

He's gonna reinvent himself take stock reevaluate and shit. 30 is a milestone I suppose most idols do that before they decide to go all in for the long ride- you wouldn't want to look back at 40 and regret certain things you know?

This is where I start ranting bout the impossible beauty standards and performance expectations yall have of him- HE IS SOMEONE'S SON NOT AN OBJECT FOR YOUR ADMIRATION

And before you tell me this idol don't do that that person don't do that- THAT PERSON IS NOT JIMIN AND YOU KNOW DEAD WELL YOU HOLD JIMIN TO A MUCH HIGHER STANDARD THAN TEHM DONT LIE

And let's not forget 30 is primarily when an Idols career is assumed to have come to an end in kpop- sure there are new trends of older idols breaking the stereotypes but let's not act like age isn't a huge part of Kpop and that newer younger, much much younger idols are popping up on the scene- they may not be as seasoned or as talented but that will not stop toxic stans perpetuating ageism against BTS.

Its very normal for an idol of JMs caliber to put some thoughts into what he wants to do with his life at this point- if the company isn't going to be any helpful to his career and he doesn't have his age playing in his favor then boy or girl he very much has a right to ponder over his age. He's human.

If he's queer and wants a family then he very much has to worry about that too. And don't be fooled, men do experience low sperm count as they age and other erectile disfunction as they age too it's not just women like they try to portray.

They grow grey hairs and they go bald 🙄

Their bodies change dramatically with age too🥲

I can go on and on but he's just human doing what normal humans do.

[mrs-monaghan]

https://twitter.com/tsukisun13/status/1663377649513930752

Man was ready to throw hands at yoongi. Yoongi getting so awkward and saying it's just a game, hobi worrying and trying to get in middle LMFAO

He literally don't care who's infront of him, if you lay a finger on his Jimin you are done 🔪

No, listen, you don't understand. This moment is iconic. ICONIC! Its is THE moment for me. Like it so high up on my list for best Jikook moments of all times. I kind u not; for me its right up there with Rosebowl and Hickeygate. Honestly. I love it so freaking much!!!

Tweet

Not only was JK soooooo so hot for this, 🥵💦But it's also a we don't talk about Yoonmin moment. Always makes me wonder if he would have gone off like this had it been anyone else.

People like to say they were just messing around. No he wasn't! JK fucking wasn't. And you can tell this by how worried Jhope was, like anon said. Look at him following JK, ready to referee if something went down. And then look at RM signaling the staff. This was no fucking joke, guys. JK was ready to rapunzel the hell out of Suga. No cap.

I freaking love this moment. Best part, is Jimin over there acting like this whole thing isn't even about him.

Like Mimi wasn't even gonna step in or nothing 🤭🤭 Doesnt that make you wonder how many other battles JK has fought for Jimin, while the latter just stood there watching like; you go baby, tell em! 🤭🤭

I love this moment. I love this moment so freaking much!! It's in my top favourites no doubt about it.

I also find this moment here a bit sus.

I think its because Jimin flinched and JK who was behind Suga, steps forward a bit. Its not as intense as the frying pan one and I dont really think he was going to do anything but still... it was something I noticed.

Then we have this. No, its not out of context. I'll get some gifs for those without TT.

V does this and JK tries to get a closer look

The other angle:

I don't recall very well but I think it might even have been a skit for the ad, but Mr. Protective over here be like; "he better not be hurting my baby"

@chicknbunny13 amazing as always for coming through with the original. As you can see JK was so distracted watching Vmin they had to yell his name 😂😂

Sidebar: look how cautious JK is and y'all wanna tell me Vmin have never thrown hands? 😂😂 moving on....

Point made, I believe. You are touching Jimin over JK's dead body. And let's not forget he doesn't react this way for other members.

Bonus.

After Suchwita all I can notice is how keen JK is when it comes to Jimin and hot food.

So here is another moment of JK not wanting hot sauce to hurt his baby. ITS 1. Domestic Jikook in the kitchen with Jimin looking like one of those classy, high maintenance wives from the suburbs 😂

JK warns him the soup is hot.

I mean, we've seen him punch a bell and beat up frozen meat for hurting Jimin so you crazy if u think JK is letting a human being hurt his man.

Thanks for the ask, anon 😘

#ask shaz #bts ask #if jikook isn't real then neither am i #jikook is real #protective jk #jikook #kookmin #minkook #jimin and jungkook #park jimin #jeon jungkook #bts #protective jungkook #jimin #jungkook #ITS Jikook #run Jikook #jikook analysis

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

A Little Farewell

With about a week left to go we had our final OT4 weverse live today and it's safe to say, we were not prepared. But I'm very grateful that they did a live all together giving us a last dose of chaos, cuteness and giggles before we'll be left to fend for ourselves for 6 months before Jin returns to us in June 2024.

The live truly was a beautiful gift that kept on giving starting with Tae's new short haircut and JK hiding his now shaved head from us, Namjoon even claiming that JKs hair is shorter than his own (JK supposedly felt inspired to shave his head a little early after he met Usher, who has pretty short hair himself, and went for it), and Jimin practically getting offended by a comment saying they wanted to see him with a buzzcut. To be honest Tae's cute little haircut looks a little like he did it himself in the dead of the night but it also makes him look like we traveled back in time to 2013 or earlier. Adorable. After so long it was really nice to see them together again, and to generally have more than one Tannie in a live together.

Since the first leaks about their military service appeared a few days ago we've seen vminies talk among themselves, and not to mention the near constant fighting that's been going on between the two xkook camps, but seeing vmin being so cute together in this live, it felt reassuring. Whatever questions or worries we might've had, they were washed away. In a way it makes sense that Tae and Jimin didn't go together, even if we all would've loved to see them go together and make use of the buddy system, but that isn't the choice they made for themselves and that's okay. It's easy to see what vmin are doing more than just fine and that's all that matters. Admin 2 really hoped we'd get a vmin handshake or hand holding, and we got two! I mean, look at all this cuteness:

And then also Tae going home in five minutes flat and doing a small solo live which was basically just him being adorable and talking to Jimin, who was immediately in the comments, before leaving again. Love when we get to third wheel them, wow, I truly will miss that a lot.

At one point in the live JK mentioned that he'd wanted to go to the special forces as well, implying that for some reason he couldn't, which makes me wonder why. Was it because of his tattoos? Either way, it's nice that he'll instead get to go with Jimin and supposedly they'll be in the training camp where Seokjin is one of the trainers so that's cute.

Speaking of Seokjin, after so long it was adorable how often Namjoon brought up Seokjin in this live. Just Jin hyung this and Jin hyung that, very cute. And they also mentioned Hobi a bunch, how he's gotten cooler and more manly, which comes as a great reminder to basically all of us that the cute boys we've known until now, well, they'll probably fade away and get replaced by more mature versions of our beloved members in the next months and they'll return to us as a different set of Tannies. And that's okay. They're grown up men so it makes sense that eventually some of that aegyo cuteness will fade away and personally I'm very curious to see how things will turn out and what they'll be like in 2025.

And I'm very curious to see if idiots will respect Namjoon's and Tae's pleas for people not to show up for their entrance ceremonies. Especially since Namjoon asked for it in three languages to make sure everyone understood it. Unfortunately I have my doubts, since we know the maknae line have some of the most unhinged solos but here's hoping.

Now, what does this mean for us now? Well, it'll be quite a while until we'll see the members slowly returning one after the other so we'd like to take this time for a 'official' hiatus as well. Admin 2 is considering a temporary "rebrand" into a BL blog since they've gotten into Thai BLs in the last year, so that's something that might happen. Would any of you be interested in something like that?

But we'll still be ARMY, still love vmin and namjin, and once the guys will return, so will we, so don't worry, we're not leaving BTS any time soon.

Lastly, here's a blurry screenshot of a coconut headed JK running across the screen screaming THIS WAS BTS. A beautifully chaotic ending to this solo era. Let's see what the next months will bring us and what 2025 will be like when chapter 2 will come to a close and a new chapter of BTS and ARMY will open, eventually.

Thank you so much for reading!

#bts #taehyung #jimin #vmin #namjoon #jungkook #namjin

[jmdbjk]

Sooo, Tae's Fri(end)s...

...here's my mind-numbing ramble about it.

In the teaser short film: Images of an apple, alphabet cereal (SIREN), crossword puzzle with the word "feed", glass of milk?, the word "dine" made of ice? (I see no "dumpling" here. Where's the dumpling?) Not looking good for Vmin-ers. Again.

Along with upside down "friends", and the newspaper headline that seems to read: "...ationship becomes eternal by e..." and you can't see the entire thing but the next word created by red thread is "desire".

The red thread being pulled undone.... Red thread of fate which supposedly means: The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soulmate or a destined partner.

But the red thread is broken and we end up with just the word "end".

Sooooo.... let's extrapolate (come up with plausible explanations from what we know):

APPLE: friends>end>friends>dead

CROSSWORD (left-handed person): 35 across = feed

BLACK MAGNETIC POWDER (commonly used for fingerprinting): friends>end

BLACK BALLOONS: friends>end

FLASHCARDS: upside down friends>right side up end (Stranger Things?) and then the words flashing

ALPHABET CEREAL: siren>end

GLASS OF MILK with fingers in it (ew?): friends>end

ICE: dine

CROSSWORD with one word (again a left-handed person): 1 across = end

NEWSPAPER STORY (front page?) with image of what looks like Tae in a dark room: apparent heading of the article: "relationship that becomes eternal by end of ___(fill in the blank)___"

It's a love song so perhaps the heading says something like "relationship that becomes eternal by end of wedding vows"

The subheading appears to be the same words used in the initial Weverse notice about the release of Layover: "... in total - five tracks and a bonus track. To fully appreciate the album’s flow, we recommend listening to it in sequence from start to finish."

RED THREAD on white fabric: the word "desire" which remains embroidered and the word "friends" which is pulled apart to leave only "end."

FRIENDS END FRIENDS DEAD FEED FRIENDS END FRIENDS END FRIENDS END SIREN END FRIENDS END DINE END DESIRE FRIENDS END

I have no idea what that means.

The colors...

Pink... it was pink with white text at first but then a broken phone is in the mix (makes me think about all that photo-leaking mess when we first got wind of Tae and Jennie) ... and now Pink... and black... HMMMMMMM... black and pink... hmmmmm?

iPhones are notoriously difficult to hack these days. I wonder if one of the photo leakers is one of the subjects of the photos... just sayin'...

Could this "love song in the Pop Soul R&B genre," as it is described, be about, you know... Jennie? Black... pink... I know what we've heard but seriously... who really knows anything? Not I. But I have eyes and a brain.... that over thinks.

The funniest thing is if any of his solos or especially the cult show up at the party event and adhere to the dress code... HAH! Tae, you clever little devil.

Release date: March 15 which is not White Day in Korea but more historically infamously known as the Ides of March. Is the song about Brutus and Julius Caesar? Friendship gone wrong? Maybe that's too plebian of me... anyway...

So I will be here waiting to find out if Fri(end)s is another invigorating song that will let us experience the full breadth of Tae's charms just as Seven was described as the full breadth of Jungkook's charms... *ahem*... or if it's something completely different. We'll see!

#taehyung #fri(end)s #pink and black #broken phones #its a mystery #i heard the full breadth of tae's charms is quite substantial #that's what i heard...

[jiminsass-istant]

tae already asked them to get out of their imagination

Then the next day he regretted it and tell them that jk is sleeping next to him

And who told you that he regretted it? Or did you come to that conclusion yourself?

Thanks for your ask anon. I've been thinking of doing a deep dive on Tae's personality for some time now.

IS TAE-A-KOOKER?

How is Tae telling them to get out of their imagination and telling jk is sleeping next to him related?

If he calls tkker's to get out of imagination, doesn't that already establish that jk is his bro and friend? Have we not seen jk and tae sleeping next to each other on camera before?

Do you think Tae, jimin and jk have the time to do the mental gymnastics shippers do?

When Tae kept Jimin around for more than half of his fan meet, was he promoting Vmin then? He made Jimin sit down in front of the whole crowd and made everybody sing HBD. If I didn't know they were friends, I would think it was boyfriend behaviour. And mind you, Vmin is a more significant ship than TK in Korea.

🔆Do you think Tae reads the multiple delusional threads in english on insta and twitter? He can't read medium to advanced level English, period.

🔆Tae has always been an impulsive person since the beginning. Be it interviews, saying unhinged stuff, being romantic towards members for no reason, revealing jk-jm are hanging out in the dead of the night. Entering jk's room during a live when JK was naked in Osaka. Asking James Corden to touch Jimin's thighs on national television, no..INSISTING on it multiple times while RM just sat there embarassed. You forgot when he went live while being drunk with Jimin, WHILE JK was already live? Hybe intern must have pulled their own hairs when that happened.

_🔆The taekook page Tae recently posted from has military pics from private sources, completely illegal to be posted in public. While Tae and the members clearly do not want their privacy invaded during military. (Hybe almost sued camp app). If Tae had checked the page once, he wouldn't have posted. But man has no media training recently, so he posted without even checking the source. The same way he posts from fansites, airport pics, posts AI pics etc.

Can you imagine any other BTS member being that impulsive? Apart from JK? No. That's why they are 'partners in crime'. Always getting scolded together.

You need to understand the dynamics members have with each other from official content. Not from shipping spaces or solo spaces.

Now, let's look at some of the early impressions of Tae on the members -

- 'alien','we used to fight a lot' in Jimin's words

-'i knew he wouldn't listen to me' - RM when he met V

-'difficult to understand' - Suga

- ' in his own world' - Jin

But Jungkook -

' helped me get out of my shell'

And finally me-

" Tae reminds me of my cousin who people around me used to think was a 'special kid' because of his weird behaviour, but he was perfectly normal, just different "

And let's not forget this reaction by knetz when V was singing along to a song of a group he liked during an encore. People accused him of making fun of the song, when it was actually one of his favourite songs. He was just so lost in singing with exaggerated expressions,that too on national tv, on stage- that people mistook it for rude behaviour and he was harrased by netizens.

I cannot count the no. of times Tae has been misunderstood at this point.

Why is Tae like this?

Would jhope post from a random account without checking? Would RM? Would Jimin ever do that?? No. They are the real adults of the group. Taekook are the children. Tae - the prime trouble maker, Jungkook who gets in the flow with him.

I unfortunately also have to remind you of the durag incident Tae had during his live. Do you think he did that to offend a community? He is simply ignorant. (Which is a problem). Isn't that a much more scandalous thing than posting from a shipper account? Just because he makes mistakes, doesn't mean he shouldn't be held accountable. And i do INSIST that his manager needs to organize media lessons for him ASAP.

FINAL THOUGHTS-

It is clear as day, he's just impulsive and doesn't have the intentions you are making up in your head. Stop behaving like tkkers, anon. They are the worst breed, don't stoop to their level.

The members took their time to understand him, and so should you. No one is a saint, but Tae has never come across as a vile person who would sabotage his own group member. He's impulsive, mischievous, different, creative and very talented.

In suga's words from suchwita-"Taehyung would sulk when he's not given what he wants, so we started fulfilling all his wishes".

Why would he want people to hate on Jimin, lol? It's so funny to even think of that. Haven't you seen their love for each other throughout the years? It honestly surpasses TK bond. Infact do you know why V said ' i only have you' and ' you were the one who cried with me' to Jimin? Because jimin understands him. Even better than jungkook. I have even seen instances when Tae is ignored during conversations, but then jimin is listening to him, drawing everyone's attention to Tae. Jimin is precious to Tae, ngl.

And why would he want beef with Jimin when they all want to get back together in 2025? If they had some issues, wouldn't RM interfere first, as the leader? Why the hell is Tae always texting jimin, searching up Jimin AI pics, asking to be in a reel with Jimin? Drinking with Jimin? Why does Jimin want Tae at his own fan event? Why is Jimin feeling up Tae's torso when he learnt he's working out? There's literally no evidence of Tae being vile to Jimin. You think they are that good actors?

Believe me, vminkook don't give a fuck about the delulu shipping discourses or vile shippers. You know why? Because they are not the ARMY that they recognize. Hybe or the members will never address shippers. They will show bromance for sure, but no direct call outs.

But you know who directly addressed shippers? The only one to ever do that? KIM TAEHYUNG.

And he had shut them down!

#shipping discourse #bts ships #jikook

[gimmethatagustd]

jaaaaiiii do you have any yoonmin ff recs ?

hi bestie, surprisingly i don't read a lot of yoonmin (mostly because i'm a taegi/vmin bitch cuz, yknow, my obsession with kim taehyung, and also for some reason i really adore yoonkook) HOWEVER i gotchu 🙏🏽

Sea la víe by ryuks

explicit, mermaid jimin, very soft and awkward and cute, “yoongi is a disaster gay”

Yoongi finds a strand of pearls caught on his fishing hook, but when he tries making off with them as goods to sell he’s not prepared to find an annoyed mermaid glaring at him over the edge of his boat, demanding he give them back or else.

Shadow by @sailoryooons (AO3 version here)

explicit, fantasy (faeries), royalty, toxic bdsm, predator/prey, dead dove, hali writes such a sexy and scary jimin

Yoongi’s life has been sworn to Jimin’s since the moment he was born. He was bred, crafted and trained to be Jimin’s shadow, his greatest protector. Jimin loves just how much Yoongi can never refuse him.

Samsara by @sailoryooons (AO3 version here)

explicit, urban fantasy, demon yoonmin, angst, hali wrote this for me 😌

samsara sɘm-sӓr-ɘ : the indefinitely repeated cycles of birth, misery, and death caused by karma. OR : Yoongi has made a terrible mistake that has bound Jimin to a life of endless grief.

Anniversary by pparkchimin

mature, VERY SAD, suicide attempt, sad ending, grief/mourning, i loved it even tho it was hard to read

Jimin struggles to accept reality for the way it is and finds maladaptive ways to deal with their life.

Dick Picturesque by pornographicpenguin

explicit, there are literal dick pics so proceed with caution lmfao, it's actually a really funny fic, social media au

youre pretty cute tho also why were u sendin some dude who u never texted before nudes that’s like a really bad idea u shold be smarter i’m drunk

Double Ended by deepslowpanic*

explicit, enemies to lovers, coworkers to lovers, humor, sex shop au

Coworkers Yoongi and Jimin are always competing for sales and trying to outdo each other. They’re enemies, rivals. No matter what anyone thinks, it’s absolutely not sexual tension.

*tbh anything by deepslowpanic is good cuz she writes a lot of yoongi fics.

and, of course, a shameless plug:

witches & devils by gimmethatagustd

explicit, vampire yoongi, witch jimin, enemies to lovers (kind of), i desperately need to rewrite this fic lol so i recommend subscribing to it and you'll get an email when i update it (or just wait for me to eventually post it on tumblr), i swear one day i'll finish it lol

Yoongi has a habit of getting himself into trouble, and Jimin is exceptionally good at mending wounds.

#jai asks #Anonymous #yoonmin rec #jai's recs #masterlist

[park-jimin-isnt-real]

dusk ~ prologue: when dusk falls

pairings: yoongi x reader (endgame); kai (exo) x reader; kai x oc (endgame); namhope, jinkook, vmin rating: PG-16 genre: twilight au, urban fantasy(ish) romance this part: A phone call. tw: none for this part :) word count: ~0.4k track #1: "Flight Risk" ~ Tommy Lefroy: "How could I do this right if I'm such a flight risk?" title came from: me. pretty sure i came up with this one dusk masterlist ~ main masterlist an: oh boy, hope you guys are ready for this! thank you so much to @cui-nisi for being my beta again. here we go!

The rain beat down against his office window. The room was dark, only illuminated by a soft glow from the desk lamp. It was his turn to work the night shift, but he expected things to go rather smoothly.

A soft vibration from his pocket caught his attention. Had something happened at home? Pulling it out, he glanced at the number but didn't recognize it. He quickly swiped up to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," a soft voice he did recognize came through on the other line. His brows raised in shock, he hadn't heard from her in a while. Before he could ask, she continued, "I just wanted to let you know, as per our deal, that I'm moving again."

Ah. That explained the late-night call. "Really? Where to this time?"

"Some tiny town in the pacific northwest." He could feel her tension over the call, how hesitant she was to say anything to him even though she was required to. "I'm also going back to my actual name. I think it's been long enough."

"You could always go back to the name you had when you lived with me?" he suggested, knowing it would help her relax some if she could snap at him and let some of that tension out.

"Not a chance."

He understood why she was upset, he did, but it was nearly a century ago. "How long are you going to be angry with me?"

"Forever," she snapped again, then let a breath out. At least he was right, she sounded a bit more natural now. "Anyways, that's all I needed to tell you, so—"

"Wait a second," he cut her off before she could hang up on him.

"What?"

"What's the name of the town you're moving to?"

"Forks," she answered curtly. "It's in Washington state, in the United States." He already knew that, there was only one place in the world that could be described as pacific northwest, and he figured she knew that he knew. It was just how she talked with him, ever since that day so long ago.

"Okay," he said, gentle with her as ever, "thank you for telling me." The line went dead after that.

He didn't bother saving the number; he had kept his the same for decades now, so she could get ahold of him when she needed to. He placed his phone down on his desk and looked out the hospital window at the pine trees and parked cars down below.

Despite himself, Namjoon caught himself smiling in his reflection. "Things are about to get a lot more interesting around here."

Thank you so much for starting out this journey with me! Let me know what you think, and if you'd like to be a Cool Kid™️ and get added to the taglist! tagging: @still-with-koo

#bts fic #bts fanfic #bts writing #bts angst #bts fluff #bts crack #bts twilight au #yoongi x reader #dusk #prologue #btswritersclub

[heybaetae]

your soulmate gifset singlehandedly brought vmin back from the dead

that’s so random i can’t believe i just did that

#ask

[harrowreads]

❥ NAVIGATION ❣

HELLO! WELCOME TO MY LITTLE CORNER OF THE INTERNET. 

❣ Most of the content that I share is intended for folks 18+ only! Minors, do not interact!

❥ This is a side blog! I follow from my main blog @theharrowing.

❥ This is a safe space, meaning I will not discriminate based on sexual preferences, gender identities, race or ethnicity, accessibilities, interests, or any other trait and preference. Because of this, I expect the people that interact with me to be of the same mind. I will not hesitate to block folks who may seem like a safety hazard to myself and my readers.

❥ I read and share all kinds of content, including dead dove, yandere and mafia, and stories containing dubcon/noncon, gore, graphic violence, recreational hard drug use, etc. I want to make sure my readers are safe and comfortable at all times, but I need you to meet me halfway and only interact with content that you feel safe interacting with. Please read individual warnings before proceeding!

❥ I also read and share all kinds of relationships and dynamics, including member x reader, member x member, poly, etc. (If you read what I write, then you should know what to expect with what kind of content I will share.)

❥ I do not take recommendations, and I read for pleasure only. With a busy school schedule, I already do not have a lot of time as is, so my reading and reviewing might be really sporadic at times. Please do not ask me to read your fic or badger me about reading something unless I ask.

❣ If you find any links that are broken or lead to the wrong place, please feel free to let me know! This is a lot of shit to link and I am bound to make some mistakes.

❥ View Master Lists with my favorites, by Member:

Namjoon | Seokjin | Yoongi | Hoseok | Jimin | Taehyung | Jungkook

Poly, group, threesome, etc. fics will be cross-posted to each member's individual list.

These lists are not extensive; they only feature current favorites and may be swapped out from time to time. To access everything I have written, use the member tags below!

❥ View reblogs of everything, based on tags:

↳ Search by Author

Here you will find an extensive list of every author I have shared content from

↳ Member Tags:

Namjoon x Reader, NamJin, NamGi, NamSeok, NamKook

Seokjin x Reader, 2seok, JinMin, JinKook

Yoongi x Reader, Yoongi x Original Character, Sope, YoonMin, YoonKook

Hoseok x Reader, HopeKook

Jimin x Reader, MinJoon (aka MiniMoni), JiHope, JiKook

Taehyung x Reader, Vmin, Vmon, TaeJin, TaeGi, Vhope, TaeKook

Jungkook x Reader

OT7 x Reader, Rap Line x Reader, Maknae Line x Reader

Ship Info: Ship tags are listed in fanchant order under the name of the member that is first in the ship. All two-person ships have been listed but if one is not yet a link, then there is nothing that I have to link to (yet.)

↳ Special Content Tags:

Queer | SFW | Dark Themes | Threesome | Group | Poly

↳ Status Tags:

Read | Currently Reading

↳ Fics from External Sites:

ao3 | Twitter

Note: A bunch of the reviews were originally done on my main page, @theharrowing.

Some of my older reviews are a little scarce and short, while others are more long-winded with in-depth praise. My goal is to start leaving longer reviews moving forward, but if you see something that is nothing more than a keyboard smash and 5 words, know that I was literally just living my best life.

❥ Non-BTS Content:

↳ Stray Kids Member Tags:

Bang Chan

↳ Stray Kids Status Tags:

Read

[hollyhomburg]

Before I Leave You (Pt.65)

(Sneak peek) (Omegaverse au, Mafia au, Bts x Reader)

Summary: The truth always comes out one way or another, and with Jimin temporarily whisked away for surgery- it's up to you and yoongi to answer Namjoon's questions.

Tags: angst, blood, guns, murder, discussions of morality, descriptions of dead bodies, discussion of past spousal abuse, confessions, hurt/comfort, sickfic, hospitals, reconciliation, vmin focus, Trans! tae, discussions of transness, everybody lives nobody dies,

W/c: 12.0k

A/N: this chapter is a bit heavy on the dialogue but! sorry that this chapter came out when it did, we're finally here! sorry for the break in chapters- I got some not great news about a family members health and wanted to spend some extra time with them over the holidays.

Previous part - Masterlist - First part

Chapter 65 Sneak Peek: Lucky Gods

You drop a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder without a word. After some beckoning Namjoon follows you into the room. Legs shaking and sluggish at first. The pack is quiet even as the door closes.

But once Namjoon's moving it’s hard to stop, careening like a comet or a bullet in your direction.

To say that Namjoon is angry is an understatement; rage rolls off of him in quiet unending ripples carrying with it the strength to change the pack for good if he’s not careful.

He watches you startle and turn, eyes widening. You do not make to move out of his path.

Namjoon has never made you feel afraid before, but the pulse of it, the threat of it is there as he backs you against the wall until your body lies against it. Looming over your head, so much taller and larger than you.

An alpha. An alpha hunting. You tremble but do not move to avoid him.

He has a tiny bit of blood on his face, and a hairline splatter, almost like a constellation of stars across his temple. His fingers are harsh and shaking when they dig into your cheeks, pinching them until your lips open. Your knees tremble and you press your palm flat against the wall.

His scent thunders so thick and consuming that you can't physically stop yourself from trying to bear your throat. Namjoon stops you, holding you in place.

His eyes are dark and heavy-lidded as he looks down at you, He pinches your cheeks harder, shakinging you just a little. His voice is steady when he speaks, a low snarl.

“Never make me hurt one of our packmates again.” You swallow, although it’s hard. And he pinches again, harder before you get a chance to speak, to try and defend why you brandished that knife at Jimin hours ago. “I mean it. Never.”

He holds you there for a second longer before he lets you go, gasping. His hand slides down your throat to your neck, around the back near your scruff and gives it a small reassuring squeeze that only makes you feel like you're about to fall over. You would fall over if it wasn't for his touch keeping you up.

“I’m sorry.” You choke out, a few stingy tears making themselves known at the corner of your eyes. Namjoon rests his forhead against yours and closes his eyes. his spiky silver hair hitting your skin.

After a second he opens them again, nodding, and his scent looses its bitter edge. He steps closer, guiding you to rest against his chest. You take big gasps of his scent now that he's giving you permission. your instincts thunder through you so viciously that you can't physically stop yourself from tilting your neck and bearing your throat.

Namjoon just drags a finger down it, humming. He holds you up, arms around your shoulders, an anchor and a cage.

“It’s not okay.” I’m not okay, “but I forgive you.” Your knees do give out when Namjoon’s hand brushes the back of your neck, fingers digging in tenderly. Because even if he wants to be angry, anger won’t accomplish anything.

He walks you two strides, to put you into a chair next to Yoongi. Your mate takes you from him. the plastic chair makes a loud scraping noise against the linoleum floor. Jin’s on your other side looking just as tired as the rest of you. You'll get no rest tonight, sleeping in Jimin's hospital room when he gets out of surgery, every fitful dream interrupted by the oxygen monitor on his arm.

Secret, killer, and agent. All there in a pretty little row. Namjoon glares down at the three of you and crosses his arms.

“Explain.” Namjoon can’t wait another minute, another second. “Explain to me everything going on in my pack that I don't know about right now or I swear I’ll-“

Yoongi scoffs, "That you'll what? That you'll tear us apart Namjoon? that you'll leave? Look around you- we're already falling to pieces."

Coming Saturday January 6th at 5pm EST (Time Zone Adjustments below)

#bts omegaverse au #bts a/b/o #bts x reader #bts poly au #bts gang au #bts mafia au #bts polyamory au #bts au #bts fluff #bts hurt/comfort #bts werewolf au #bts angst bts omegaverse fic #bts hybrid fic #min yoongi fic #kim namjoon fic #kim seokjin fic #kim taehyung fic #park jimin fic #jeon jungkook fic #jjk #pjm #myg #knj #kth #ksj #jhs #jung hoseok fic #min yoongi x reader #kim namjoon x reader #kim seokjin x reader

[goldenalbum]

thinking about all the shit that was talked about how vmin was dead / not friends anymore only to be proven wrong but instead of just admitting to being wrong, some people act like vmin "made up" with each other. worsties, they were never enemies / "broken up" to begin with! and bts does not owe you public interactions anyway!

#vmin i am so sorry they would even say this about you :/ #el dot txt #vmin #discourse #btwn tumblr and tiktok comments i do not get a break from weird ass army 🤨