⌂ seokjin ⌂ 

jimin meets the first when he is but a little boy. he steps into the house his family has recently moved into, the smell of sea salt strong in every part of the house, and someone says, hello. the voice is warm, and welcoming, and jimin ekes out a 'hello' in return.

i see you're new here. oh, you're still so young. am i the first one you've heard, child? the voice says, and jimin says, "first what?" the voice laughs, and the sound wraps around jimin's body like a warm blanket, like home.

your first house, dear child. don't you know? every one of us has a voice. before jimin can reply, his mother and father walk into the house carrying cardboard boxes, and jimin barrels into his father's legs. "appa, appa, can you hear that?" he looks up at his father from where he's clinging onto him, and his father squats down, putting the boxes down as he smiles the trademark park eyesmile at his son.

"hear what, jimin-ah?" "the house! it spoke to me!" jimin gasps, amazed, "and you told me magic didn't exist!" his father stares at him in shock for a while, before he laughs. "i see you've got the family trait, then. appa can't hear it, jimin-ah, but do you know who can?" jimin stares at his father in childish wonder, while his mother looks on fondly at the father and son.

"your harabeoji, jimin-ah." jimin's expression brightens up greatly, and he beams. harabeoji is his favourite grandparent, and to hear that he has something in common with him makes him really happy to hear. "that's so cool! eomma, did you hear that? i have the same power as harabeoji!" jimin whips his head around to face his mother, and she laughs.

"yes, i did, jimin-ah." she opens her arms for jimin to run into, and he does exactly that, burrowing into her embrace. "but you cannot tell anyone that you have this power, alright?" she says seriously, cupping his face in her hands. he tilts his head in question, and she answers, "not everyone has this power, jimin-ah, and there are bad people out there who will hurt you because they don't believe."

"but that's stupid," he says, stomping his foot, "powers are cool! and they're dumb for not believing." the house rumbles with laughter at jimin's words, and the child tears himself away from his mother's embrace to run around the house, trying to find the source of it.

"where is your mouth, mr house?" he asks, standing in the middle of the room that is going to be his for the foreseeable future. the house laughs again. i have no mouth, child. i am everywhere in this structure, and there is nothing that goes on in this house that i am not aware of. your name is jimin, yes? the voice sounds kind, and jimin nods enthusiastically.

"park jimin, seven years old! it's nice to meet you, mr house!" he introduces himself, and the house exudes warmth. my name is seokjin, park jimin. welcome to my humble abode. i look forward to the years with you. it has been far too long since i've had someone like you within these walls. 

when jimin first goes off to school, both his parents and seokjin remind him multiple times never to tell anyone that he can talk to seokjin, and all jimin does is stomp his feet impatiently and nod his head furiously. six hours later, he runs into the house ahead of his parents, telling seokjin about his first day at school in excited rambling.

that sets the routine for the next few years. jimin goes off to school after bidding goodbye to seokjin and his parents, and gets on the school bus when it comes. after he hits twelve, he bikes to school.

seokjin is there as a brother figure for him throughout the years, trying his best to soothe him when he hobbles into the house after scraping his knee badly from falling off his bicycle while learning to ride it. seokjin's the one jimin confides in when the people at school start bullying him because of his baby face, the one who convinces jimin not to starve himself, the one who locks jimin into the kitchen until he eats a full meal.

he's the one jimin tells first of all when he starts to realise that he likes guys more than girls, and it's seokjin who tells him that it's okay to like guys, that he's not a freak or anything like that. seokjin also pushes him to tell his parents after weeks of pushing them away by locking all three of them in a room together, who give him really long and tight hugs when he actually gathers the courage to tell them.

jimin consults seokjin when he graduates high school and has to choose his courses for college. the hallways are decked with photos of jimin and his parents throughout the years, from the day they moved in, surrounded by cardboard boxes still unpacked, to the present day, his mother hanging up the photo they took of the three of them and seokjin, jimin in his graduation gown and cap still.

jimin heeds advice from seokjin to at least consider taking dance as a major like he so desperately wants, while his logical side reminds him of the more practical courses like business or law. his parents don't care what he takes, as long as he is happy with his choices, and for that, he is glad.

when it's time for jimin to leave the nest for college, he curls up in bed and refuses to leave, tears clinging to his eyes as seokjin tries to soothe him. it's only for a few years, jimin-ah. seokjin's voice curls around him like a warm blanket cuddling him, and jimin shakes his head, still shedding tears.

the idea of leaving seokjin - of being without the presence that has accompanied him for so long - has his heart aching and more tears to well up in his eyes, and seokjin sighs, the sound rushing throughout the open doors and windows of the house that is him. do me a favour, jiminie. since i have no hands. jimin peers out of his blanket burrito, up at the ceiling. it's a habit he can't seem to break, looking at the ceiling when he talks to seokjin.

"what is it?" jimin's voice is raw from crying, and he grabs tissues from his bedside table to blow his nose. go out to the backyard for a little bit. jimin unwraps himself from his blanket burrito and pads out of the house, doing as seokjin says. seokjin leads him to a corner of the house, where the structure has experienced wear and tear the most.

there, a corner of the cement is loose from the storms and heavy winds and other various natural phenomena, and jimin pries it from the structure under seokjin's instructions. when he plops back down on his bed, cupping the piece in his hands, he gets the shock of his life when seokjin's voice comes from the lone piece of cement instead of from all around him like he's used to.

he nearly drops it in shock, and gasps. "seokjin-hyung! what just happened?" oh, that worked. i wasn't sure if it would. seokjin's voice is back, echoing from all around him. "what did you do?" jimin asks, turning the piece of cement in his hands over and over. that is also a part of me, jimin-ah. i can speak from anything that comes from my structure. now you can bring me with you when you go off to college, so don't cry anymore, okay?

seokjin's words make jimin tear up again, and he hugs the piece of cement to his chest. "thank you, seokjin-hyung. thank you so much," he says in between sobs, and seokjin would have hugged him, if he would. as it is, he projects his voice from the piece of him that jimin is clutching to his chest, hoping to simulate a sense of closeness. thank you, jiminie. for being so willing to have me as a part of the next chapter of your life. and you know you don't have to call me hyung, right?

jimin shakes his head, calming down slightly and laughing at the familiar complaint. "you're older than me, and that makes you my hyung, so i'll call you seokjin-hyung if I want to." seokjin's sigh is a familiar response to his explanation, and jimin's laugh fills the air, seokjin's own unique laughter joining in.

⌂ taehyung | yoongi ⌂

jimin sets down the last of the boxes full of things he brought from home, looking around. the floor his room is on contain single rooms only, and jimin thanks seokjin quietly for reminding him to apply for his dorm room early.

the small rock of cement is in jimin's pocket, and as jimin takes it out, seokjin replies. it's no problem at all, jimin. jimin goes to reply, but jumps when a deep voice echoes around him. a new friend! oh man, i just can't wait until term starts, things are going to be wild. i wonder when others are going to start moving in?

"...erm, hello?" jimin looks at the ceiling and asks. oh! someone heard me! hello! are you new? what's your major? call me taehyung! or you can call me v, too, because i'm block v on campus! call me anything you want, really. you're like, the second person ever who can hear me; what's your name? 

"oh! i'm park jimin, nice to meet you, taehyung! i'm planning to be a dance major with vocal performance and business minors! by the way, this is seokjin-hyung! he's my house back in busan. i hope we can get along over the next few years!" jimin hastily bows and introduces himself. 

ooh, another new friend! if you're a house, you're definitely older than me, so hello, seokjin-hyung! the voice is warm and friendly, and sounds so excited. the window swings open to let in the breeze violently, a show of how excited taehyung is to have a person that can finally hear him again. 

hello, taehyung. it's very nice to meet you. seokjin's voice is motherly, and jimin giggles, cupping the piece of cement in his hands. oh man, we're going to have so much fun! block v is where the all the exciting things happen! you wouldn't believe some of the things i've seen over the years since i was built!

i think i can, taehyung. seokjin says drily, humming as jimin sits down on his bed and places him on the bed covers next to him. you are a college dorm, after all. 

"i can't wait to spend my next few years here with you, taehyung! please treat me well!" jimin beams up at the ceiling, leaning back until he's lying on the bed. i can't wait! we're going to be the best of friends! taehyung's warm baritone voice echoes around him, and jimin just knows that taehyung's words are true.

after a while of chatting, seokjin brings up another topic when there's a lull in the conversation. you should go out and explore, jiminie. you can listen to taehyung tell his outrageous stories over the next few years, yeah? at least go and familiarise yourself with your college campus so you at least know the basic layout of the campus. jimin hums in acknowledgement and sits up obediently, patting his hair back into place from when it had gotten messy from him rolling around when laughing too hard. 

"i'll talk to you later, okay, taetae? i'll be back soon!" jimin says brightly as he grabs seokjin's cement, his phone and wallet and opens the door, stepping out of his room. okay! and don't worry about locking the door, i'll do it for you! jimin thanks him brightly as he makes his way down the hall, climbing down the flights of stairs and humming as he steps out of the building with seokjin in his pocket as usual. 

he looks left and right, shrugging and turning right on a whim, walking aimlessly. he looks around curiously, taking out his phone and pulling up a campus map that he found on the school website. he follows it vaguely to where the shops are all together, and walks into the cafe that he sees. he is immediately put at ease with the atmosphere of the cafe. it's quiet, and the staff smile at him as he walk in before returning to their duties. 

jimin-ah, it's almost dinner, so don't get anything too heavy if you're planning on getting food. seokjin says as jimin walks up to the front to look at the baked goods they have, already knowing what jimin will do even though he can't see anything from where he's stuck in his pocket. who's that? i hear someone. a rough voice suddenly says, and jimin barely suppresses a flinch, not expecting the voice. 

i'm seokjin, jimin's house. seokjin's voice says, even as jimin doesn't say anything for fear of looking weird in front of the cashier. he listens to seokjin and orders an iced caramel macchiato, thanking the cashier as he pays, and moves to the other end of the counter to wait for his drink.

...i'm yoongi. are you that pink-haired guy waiting for his drink? yoongi says slowly. jimin thanks the staff as he is handed his drink with a bright smile, and moves to find a seat in a corner where he can speak without getting looked at for being insane.

i'm not him, but i'm with him. seokjin replies, humming as jimin sits down in a corner seat and places seokjin on the table next to his drink after taking a few sips of his coffee. "hello, yoongi-ssi. it's very nice to meet you," jimin says softly after he's sure that no one is looking in his direction.

oh, he can hear us. wow. er, hello. jimin, was it? yoongi says, startled. "park jimin, at your service. i'll be starting here when the year begins, so you'll see me a lot over the next few years! i'll be in your care!" jimin introduces himself quickly, looking out the windows. 

yeah, nice to meet you, park jimin. i don't get a lot of listeners around here. yoongi's voice has a drawl to it, like... "why do you have a daegu accent, yoongi-ssi?" jimin asks curiously, tilting his head slightly even as he drinks from his coffee.

most of the things i was built from came from daegu, so i guess that's why... you can call me hyung if you want, jimin. yoongi sounds awkward, clearly not used to having a two-way conversation with someone, and jimin giggles softly. "i will, yoongi-hyung. jinnie-hyung, where do you think i should go next?"

maybe check out the library and the studios? you'll be spending most of your time there in the next few years anyway. jimin nods in acquiescence as he drinks his coffee slowly. what are you studying? yoongi asks, and jimin tells him. oh, a dancer, huh. and a singer too. you'll get along with irene at the counter then. she's the one that made your coffee, and she's a pretty good vocal too. the staff here sing well when there's no one in here to listen. jimin nods, smiling at the awkward way yoongi is delivering this information to him. 

he spends some time talking to yoongi and seokjin quietly under the guise of using his phone,  enjoying his coffee. the two buildings get along quite well, jimin finds, and learns that yoongi sounds frighteningly like a grandpa from the way he talks about some of the patrons of the cafe.

when he's finally done with his coffee, he fiddles with his phone until seokjin and yoongi run out of things to talk about for the time being, and stands up to throw his cup away. he whispers a soft 'goodbye' to yoongi as he walks to the door of the cafe, and smiles as it opens just before he's about to push it, making it seem like he pushes the door open even if he actually didn't. 

⌂ namjoon | hoseok ⌂

as it turns out, jimin alternates between four locations for most of his time on campus, as seokjin predicted before lessons started. his dorm, the studios, the library and the cafe. namjoon is the name the library gives him when he introduces himself, the voice sounding as awkward as yoongi.

seokjin and namjoon become friends easily, which helps smooth the way for jimin to talk to namjoon. it's kind of intimidating, after all, to talk to a place full of knowledge. the library back in busan was old, and told jimin a lot of nice stories whenever he went in to visit her. namjoon says that he was only built a while back, later than seokjin was built, so he still has a lot to learn.

i like watching all the people read the books on my shelves, because there's so many different types of people. namjoon says once when jimin is there to study. there's those who come in in a hurry, searching for a specific book, and then there are those that stroll in just to find a fiction book to read. there are those who come in to study, like you, and so many others. it's just... fascinating.

jimin nods in understanding. as a dancer, it's easy to observe people's mannerisms, and sometimes to distract himself from getting too stressed he likes to go out to a well-populated area like a park just to people-watch.

he visits the library a lot to study, because taehyung loves distracting him when he's in his dorm room, making it not a viable place for him to focus if he wants to study. he switches between the cafe and library often. to be honest, he prefers the atmosphere studying in the cafe, but jimin can tell seokjin is somewhat smitten with namjoon.

namjoon is also a very good teacher. being a library, he is a literal fountain of information, and somehow always manages to explain the topics jimin doesn't get in a way that allows him to understand it immediately. he is also a multi-linguist, and often shares random tidbits that he hears from the foreign visitors that come by from time to time on campus tours.

jimin often hears philosophical questions from namjoon, like it's his life goal to think through a question every week. existentialism is the topic of the week, and jimin often tunes out seokjin's exasperated voice as he tries to get namjoon to talk about anything else. it's kind of futile, really. everything somehow manages to link back to the topic of the week, and seokjin occasionally just huffs and gives up, instead choosing to amuse namjoon and just listen.

when jimin isn't with namjoon, he's with hoseok. the dance studios are like a second home to him, and jimin immediately felt welcome when he walked into the dance studios and heard hoseok greeting every single person that walked in, regardless of whether they could hear him or not.

he immediately tries to find an empty studio (of which there is plenty of, since school hadn't started when jimin had first met hoseok) so that he could introduce himself. "hello! i'm park jimin, starting here when school starts, and i'm a dance major!" he says brightly when he does find one, locking the door behind him and dropping down to sit cross-legged on the floor, smiling up at the ceiling.

he takes seokjin's rock out of his pocket and places it next to him habitually, and waits patiently for a reply. oh, you're talking to me! hello! i'm hoseok! it's nice to meet you, jimin! hoseok's voice is bright, and jimin can just feel his mood pick up the more he speaks. you're a dance major, so i'll be seeing you around a lot, yeah?

"yeap!" jimin nods enthusiastically. dance is his one true love, and it's more likely than not that hoseok will be seeing jimin the most out of all the buildings. seokjin voices this out, and jimin laughs, because it's true. oh, you have a friend! who's speaking? hoseok asks.

jimin gestures to seokjin's rock, and explains quickly that seokjin is jimin's house, and accompanied jimin to college by allowing him to bring a part of him all the way from busan. hello, hoseok. it's nice to meet you. please take care of jimin well in the upcoming years. seokjin's voice is warm, and hoseok's voice becomes even brighter.

i will! i take care of all the dancers that step into this building. regardless of whether they can hear me or not! hoseok says, and seokjin hums in approval. i'll be relying on you to get jiminie here out of the building if he ever skips his meals to practice. i couldn't tell this to the studios in busan, but i can with you. please remind him to eat! seokjin says, and jimin gasps in betrayal.

"seokjin-hyung!" he whines, but doesn't say anything, because it's true. jimin has a tendency to forget about eating and sleeping when he wants to make sure his performance is perfect, and seokjin always scolds him when he comes back late after practice. a perfectionist, huh? well that won't fly with me. don't worry, seokjin-hyung. i'll watch out for him.

hoseok keeps to his promise over the next few years, often cutting the music when it gets too late and he hasn't eaten in hours. he has also, on one memorable occasion, locked all the doors to the studios and refused to let jimin in, ignoring all the soft begging that jimin tried under his breath, because you have an injured ankle, park jimin. if you think i'm letting you in with that ankle of yours you'd better think twice. a good dancer knows when to rest.

despite hoseok's tendency to mother him, when hoseok can tell that jimin is driven to succeed, that's when hoseok stops having fun and starts being serious, telling jimin when he's doing things wrong in class and advising him on how to do better.

he is the one that encourages jimin to try something else other than contemporary dance and ballet, because while jimin is seriously good at those genres, hoseok wants to see his dancers try out different styles, instead of just sticking to one style throughout their years in his studios.

jimin is glad that he decided to listen to hoseok, because trying out different styles allowed him to incorporate a lot of different moves when he's trying to choreograph his own dance to a song, and hoseok gives really good advice on what moves suit a certain type of song, and what doesn't.

⌂ jeongguk ⌂

he's two years into his university education, and it's only the second day that jimin has been back in seoul after returning to busan for the holidays. he has barely settled into his dorm room when taehyung is yelling for him to get out again, and he groans. "what is it, taetae? are you on fire anywhere?"

no i'm not, but i need you to go somewhere immediately! i have someone i want you to meet! it's amazing! taehyung sounds unbelievably excited, even more excited than when jackson and bambam threw someone out the window from the second floor. jimin had nearly had a heart attack, if he hadn't noticed the mattress waiting on the ground floor.

"okay okay, i'm coming!" jimin steps out of the room again. what's going on, taehyungie? seokjin asks, curious as well. you'll see! i'm so excited for them to meet! taehyung says. the dorm building directs jimin to the stairs, making him climb up another two floors. he knocks on the door that taehyung guides him to hesitantly, and the door opens after a few seconds.

"woah," jimin breathes, taken aback by how handsome the guy looks. he has chestnut brown hair and big brown doe eyes, with a cute nose and a pretty mouth. jiminie, meet jeonggukie. jeonggukie, this is jimin! both of you can hear me, isn't this great? taehyung exclaims, and jeongguk makes a soft sound, pulling jimin in and closing the door behind him.

"you can hear him too? taehyung?" the guy, whose name is apparently jeongguk, asks, and jimin nods slowly. "wow, i thought i was alone with this weird ability to hear the places that i'm hanging out or living in," jeongguk says, and jimin agrees. he thought he had been the only one here too.

"i'm park jimin, and i'm in my third year, majoring in dance and minoring in vocal performance and business," jimin belatedly introduces himself after a bout of staring, the both of them getting distracted with just staring at each other. that jolts jeongguk out of his stupor as well.

"jeon jeongguk, soon-to-be first year. i'm planning to major in dance too," he informs jimin. jiminie, you should bring him around campus to introduce him to everyone. seokjin says, and jeongguk jumps, eyes widening. "who said that?"

"o-oh, er, that was seokjin, my house." jimin takes out seokjin's rock again, and jeongguk gives the rock a look of complete awe as jimin explains how seokjin did it. "you're from busan, yeah?" jimin asks, recognising the accent of his hometown. "are you from busan as well?" jeongguk asks shyly, and jimin nods, garnering a smile from jeongguk.

"i'm glad to see fellow busan people around here more. have you been around the school yet? i can introduce the others to you," jimin offers, and jeongguk nods cutely. "if it's not a bother... taehyung kind of gave me a shock, so i haven't been out and about yet."

hey, i'll have you know that i'm a great dorm building, okay. block v is the best on campus, everyone says so! taehyung says. "you're not everyone, tae. you know block b won the inter-dorm competition last year," jimin retorts as they leave the room, and the shorter waves for jeongguk to follow him.

"don't bother with locking the door, tae will do it for us," jimin says as he pulls jeongguk away, and seokjin sighs. just because taehyung locks the door for you doesn't mean you should let him do it all the time, jimin. what if he forgets and someone breaks into your room to take your things?

"well, they're welcome to take my notes, i never want to see them again. they can't take my hoodie and sweaters, though," jimin says matter-of-factly, still dragging jeongguk out of the dorm. there's so many people for him to meet, jimin thinks. but first, they'll start with the buildings. he knows they will all love jeongguk when they meet him.

he lets yoongi and jeongguk meet first, and as they're chatting in the corner table that is jimin's favourite haunt, he wonders what would happen if seokjin taught all of them (meaning yoongi, taehyung, hoseok and namjoon) the same thing he did and they all got together to hang out and talk.

he thinks it will be fun.