“Who pooped in your oatmeal today, sunshine?” Hoseok chirped, his voice bright and annoying while his lips curled up in that -eating grin when Yoongi finally dragged himself to the table his friends were sitting at.

He didn’t even spare a glance at the younger pastel-haired male who was still smiling brightly at him while expecting an answer.

After all these years of hanging out with him, Hoseok should know by now that he wasn’t getting one from him.

Why?

Because everyone who knew him well enough were aware that Min Yoongi did not function properly without having his morning coffee.

Morning being, in Yoongi’s case at least, anything past 11 a.m. when he usually rose from his deep slumber.

It was a miracle that he was even at the café this early, being only 12:30 p.m.-a time that he usually devoted to lying as still as a rock in his bed and contemplating life.

Okay, scratch that.

Just lying in bed as a rock and desperately wishing he was one.

However, being the amazing friend that he was ( not to mention the onslaught of messages and calls from his friends a few hours ago that did not stop even when he turned off  his cell phone and chucked it across the room so that he could continue basking in the warmth of his bed, since Taehyung somehow trained a pigeon, A FREAKING BIRD, to fly to his bedroom window all the way from Taehyung’s apartment and make those hissing noises while clapping its wings together until Yoongi finally snapped and got up and shooed the damn feathery creature.) he managed to somehow trudge all the way to the café which was about a 15-minute walk from his apartment ( although it seemed miles away at that moment) to hear what was so important that he had to leave the comfort of his warm bed even though his lectures today didn’t begin until 4 p.m.

And now after all of that pain and suffering, Hoseok actually dared ask him such a thing?!

The nerve of that brat.

He plopped himself down next to the aforementioned brat, burying his face in his arms and only grunting in response.

“Oh, seems like Yoongi Hyung needs his pick-me-up coffee,” Taehyung said in a knowing voice, before calling a waitress over and saying, “ One coffee as black as Yoongi’s soul!”

“ I am afraid we don’t have one that black, but we I will try to fix something up in no time.” a familiar female voice said, causing Yoongi to grumble under his breath while his friends snickered.

“ Well, you are a regular here, so of course Amber already knows the colour of your soul. Although, it took her a while to believe you even had one.” Namjoon stated as-a-matter-of-fact and Yoongi just knew by the sound of his voice that he had that dumb smug expression on his stupid face.

Still, not even the taunting of his idiot friends made him look up from where his face was currently snuggled, resting on a makeshift pillow provided by his arms ( truly, the only person you can rely on is yourself, he concluded wisely).

It was only about 15 minutes later when he took a few sips of his strong coffee leaving a bitter, but pleasant taste in his mouth that he finally managed to string the first coherent sentence of that day which went something like this, “ Okay, so why the was I wrenched from my one and only true love just to see your ugly faces this early in the morning?”

“ It makes me sad that you are not even lying when you call your bed your ‘one and only true love’ which is really pathetic Hyung, but anyways, we have BIG NEWS!” Hoseok beamed at him and Yoongi scoffed not really buying it.

After all he was talking to the same guy who once called him in the middle of the night, successfully waking him up after his phone rang for 10 minutes before Yoongi finally grabbed it furiously and spat out a “What?!” only to hear Hoseok boast how he had managed watching a horror movie alone without screaming.

Needless to say, Yoongi hung up on him that night and started setting his phone in silent mode since that night.

So, it’s logical that he was skeptical about that “BIG NEWS”.

If he was awake this early without any real reason and even forced to leave his apartment, he swore to God that Hoseok would not be among the living anymore.

“Fine. What is the so-called news?” Yoongi asked, his eyes narrowed at his friends who now all sported wide smiles that made him feel uneasy.

“Hyung…” Namjoon said, his grin growing wider with each passing second as he stared at him, seriously creeping Yoongi out who retorted in an uncomfortable voice, “ W-what?”

He didn’t like this.

He didn’t like it one bit.

“ Your song won first place on the Seoul International Rap Competition!!!!” Namjoon said excitedly while Taehyung and Hoseok cheered loudly.

Yoongi blanched as he tried to process what he had just heard.

“Yoongi?” Namjoon called out to him, his smile faltering.

“ Buddy, are you in there?” Hoseok asked in a slightly wary voice, squeezing his shoulder.

“ I think we lost him.” Taehyung stated in a deadpan voice.

The silence went on for a while with Yoongi’s face completely blank while Taehyung waved his arms in front of him to coax some reaction out of the shorter male.

“The only thing you three are going to lose are your lives.” Yoongi finally said through gritted teeth as he grabbed Taehyung’s wrist causing the boy to shriek in horror, followed by Yoongi’s murderous glare at his friends who flinched in an instant.

“ Who the allowed you to turn in my song for the competition in the first place?!” Yoongi growled at his friends who seemed like frightened little lambs at this point while Yoongi was the big, bad wolf ready to chew them for breakfast and then spit them out.

All of the cowards were now silent with Taehyung using Hoseok as his shield from Yoongi while Hoseok tried to create some distance between him and Yoongi, because he was sitting right next to him and was the perfect victim of his rage which intensified by each passing second.

Namjoon, who was probably the main culprit since he had access to Yoongi’s songs that he composed and produced which the latter always sent to Namjoon for revision, cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice steady as he said, “ Well, the song was just so good that I was sure you were going to win something. And I know that you are low on cash since you moved out of the apartment you shared with Jimin that I thought the money from the prize would come in handy…And we knew that you weren’t going to turn it in yourself since you are such a perfectionist that we thought that…”

“ You thought what?” Yoongi cut off Namjoon mid-sentence, seething with rage.

His younger blonde friend flinched, but Yoongi couldn’t stop himself.

Especially when Namjoon mentioned the name that was not supposed to be mentioned. At least not when he was present to hear it.

“You thought that you are doing the poor almost-broke Min Yoongi such a ing favour by sending his song to some competition since the same Min Yoongi is too much of a coward to do it himself. Is that what you thought, Namjoon?” Yoongi’s words were like poison and he knew that he should stop once he saw the hurt expression on Namjoon’s face, but he couldn’t.

He knew that his friends had the best intentions, especially after everything that had happened, but if there was one thing he couldn’t stand it was pity.

He was never the one to drown in self-pity and he certainly didn’t want anyone else pitying him, particularly not the people he was closest to and who he trusted the most.

“Yoongi, come on, man. You know it’s not like that. We just wanted to help.” Hoseok said tentatively while Taehyung nodded, his eyes wide in fear.

“ Well, I don’t need your help. For your information, I am doing just fine.” Yoongi replied coldly, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing in annoyance.

“ Alright. I am sorry that I care about you. Such a crime, isn’t it? To want to make sure your best friend is fine and well and happy. Sue me.” Namjoon replied bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest as well and looking away.

Yoongi stared at his best friend and he felt a lump forming in his throat.

He was such an idiot.

But, apologies were never his forte, and he and Namjoon almost never fought, so he had no idea how to fix this.

He wanted to say that he was sorry, but no sound left his mouth and the suffocating silence enveloped their table.

All of them sat motionless like that with neither one of them saying anything and Yoongi definitely cursed himself from getting out of bed today.

He wondered if he should just leave without a word and then think of a way to mend things with Namjoon when he was snapped out of his thoughts when a soft voice called out to him ,“ Yoongi?”

Yoongi looked up only to be met with a large pair of questioning caramel brown orbs which soon shone brightly followed by a wide stretch of thick lips showcasing a set of perfectly aligned pearly teeth that could easily rival Hoseok’s million-watt smile.

“ So, it is you. I wasn’t sure.” the broad-shouldered male in front of him smiled in relief and continued in a cheerful voice, “ Anyways, it’s a good thing I ran into you. You forgot your headphones when you went out of the apartment and I know you never leave the house without them, so I brought them along in case I ran into you at the University since I have lectures the whole day. Here.”

Yoongi was glad for this interruption which slightly eased the tense atmosphere at their table, allowing him to break the silence as he reached his hand towards the taller male and took his silver-black headphones, saying, “ Thanks, Hyung. You really shouldn’t have.”

The taller male’s smile grew even wider if that was even possible, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons as he laughed shortly and said, “ It was no big deal. See you at home. I have to go, or I will be late to my lecture. Bye.”

Yoongi raised his hand in a sort of a casual wave, only then noticing his friend’s expressions when his Hyung bowed at them politely before leaving the café.

He placed the earphones carefully inside of his backpack, before turning to realize that Hoseok and Taehyung were now staring at him intently.

Even Namjoon who was still sulking couldn’t help, but glance at him and Yoongi was weirded out by their behavior, so he asked, feeling puzzled, ‘ W-what?”

“ Who was that?” Hoseok asked in an accusatory voice while Taehyung said in a dazed voice, “ An angel descended from heaven-that’s who. But the real question is why he would even converse with Satan, over here?” Taehyung finished, pointing at Yoongi with his narrowed eyes.

Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, ignoring Taehyung’s remark since he didn’t want the palpating tension from a few minutes ago to return ( although he sure as hell wasn’t going to forget that insult) and said, “ You mean, Seokjin-Hyung?”

“ Ah, indeed. Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful creature of light.” Taehyung said, his gaze directed to the direction Seokjin had gone to a few moments ago.

“ Stop being creepy about my roommate.” Yoongi stated curtly, shuddering at Taehyung’s gaze which seemed possessed in this moment, staring off into the distance with glazed eyes.

“ ROOMMATE?!” both Hoseok and Taehyung shrieked at the same time, causing Yoongi to become temporarily deaf.

Yoongi scowled at them for damaging his hearing and said in a slightly irritated voice, “ Yeah, roommate. Sheesh, why the overdramatic reaction? Haven’t I mentioned him before?”

Hoseok glared at him while Taehyung shook his head in disapproval.

“ Believe me, I would have remembered you actually telling us that you are sharing a living space with another human being. It would have been such a shock that someone actually managed to put up with your grumpy , not to mention someone as drop-dead gorgeous as that guy that I am sure I would not forget. Which leads me to the conclusion that you have obviously been hiding him from us.” Hoseok said, giving him a pointed look and Yoongi rolled his eyes at his friend.

Please, at least he wasn’t a health hazard like Namjoon over there whose poor roommate Jackson had to take him 3 times to the hospital during these few months that they were sharing a dorm room.

If anything, he was fully capable of taking care of himself.

So what if he sometimes got so immersed into his music that he forgot to eat until his surprisingly caring roommate hollered him out of the bedroom and made him eat his cooked meals?

Besides, his new roommate seemed to enjoy cooking as a hobby, so he actually won a jackpot with Yoongi being a great guinea pig for all his new recipes that he wanted to try out since Yoongi wasn’t picky with his food, having lived on nothing but ramyun most of his student life.

But, of course, Hoseok was never the one to be able to appreciate all the fine qualities Yoongi possessed, so there was no point in saying anything and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “ Why would I be hiding him? He moved in two weeks ago and I thought I had mentioned that to you. However, seeing how thirsty you are for him, you horndogs, I am glad that it slipped my mind, because I really cannot afford him moving to another country to escape you two and leaving me alone to pay the rent which I cannot manage on my own. Also, for now he hasn’t been bothering me and I can actually tolerate his presence on a daily basis, so you better not scare him off, you creeps.”

He narrowed his eyes at Hoseok and Taehyung who seemed indignant at being described like total creeps ( which they 100% were) when Hoseok huffed and said, “ Anyone would be lucky to receive attention from us, right Tae?”

The brown-haired guy nodded fervently, saying with a formal expression, “ I couldn’t agree more with you gentleman Jung Hoseok. Now, Mr. Lucifer, to redeem yourself for your false accusations, would you be so kind as to ask the lovely Seokjin if he is single and ready to mingle?”

Yoongi didn’t even blink as he flat down rejected his friend with a firm “No.”, before placing a few bills on the table and getting up to leave.

“ See ya later, losers.” Yoongi said with a dismissive wave at his two friends that were now sulking and throwing insults at him.

He was glad that at least he was back to normal with those two dorks after his outburst about the song.

However, all this time Namjoon was silent and still refusing to meet his gaze and Yoongi took a deep sigh, before he placed a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder and said in a quiet voice, “ Can we talk?”

It was hard to swallow his pride, but he really didn’t want to fight with his best friend, or not be on speaking terms, so he felt relieved when Namjoon said, “ sure” and left the café with him while those two idiots now started bickering about who Seokjin would choose between the two them.

If you ask Yoongi, if his roommate had any taste in men then he wouldn’t chose either one of them.

“Look, I didn’t mean to say all those things. It’s just that I was taken aback, and I don’t want you to pity me.” Yoongi released a long sigh as he said that to Namjoon while walking next to his taller friend.

The blonde stopped in his tracks before placing a hand on Yoongi’s shoulder and staring at him with something similar to disbelief.

“ God, we have known each other for 7 years already and you are still the same stubborn, prickly cactus just like the day we met.” Namjoon said in an exasperated voice and Yoongi frowned at him, starting to protest, ‘ Hey, watch your mouth, you little…”

However, Namjoon, the rude actually shushed him by placing a finger on his lips ( gross, who knows where that finger has previously been) and continued in a serious voice, “ You should know by now that pity is definitely not on the list of things I associate with you. If anything, I pity myself for having to constantly endure your grouchiness.”

Yoongi now threw daggers at his FORMER-best friend thinking how Namjoon’s personality was no walk in the park either, but the latter still disabled him from speaking, because God forbid that he actually opens his mouth risking for the dirt and germs from Namjoon’s filthy finger to enter his organism and cause his immune system to crash, so he kept his mouth shut.

“ However, despite all of your flaws, I am proud to be your friend. And no matter what, I want you to be genuinely happy. Even though you say that you are fine, the fact that you still flinch every time Jimin’s name is mentioned and refuse to talk about him or even see him, although 3 months have passed since then, just proves that you are still struggling. And you can glare at me all you want, but you know I am right. I know that you say how you have moved on, but have you really? I just don’t want you to be stuck in that sort of low mood anymore…After all, it’s hard enough dealing with you when you are supposedly pleased with your life which is hard to tell when that is, since your resting- face rarely changes into something else, but lately it has gotten even worse. You are too young to have wrinkles and since I am sure that no one will date you with that foul-mouth and personality of yours then at least you have to maintain your unfairly good-looks if you want to at least get laid from time to time.”

After Namjoon had finished his monologue, or more like his ode about all the negative traits Min Yoongi possesses which according to Namjoon was almost everything except his appearance, he finally removed his finger from his lips.

Gee, thanks best buddy for making me feel better about myself, Yoongi sarcastically thought in his head.

Namjoon gave him a sympathetic look as he squeezed his shoulder and said in a softer voice, “ Yoongz, I just want the best for you. That is why you need to face your demons and stop being haunted by Jimin and what happened between you two. You know that I am here for you. As well as Hoseok and Taehyung, if they ever forgive you from hiding that pretty roommate of yours from them.” Namjoon grinned teasingly and Yoongi scoffed.

Why did everyone think he was hiding Seokjin?

He wasn’t even his type, and also he didn’t harbor such feelings towards his roommate.

How could he when his mind was still filled with memories of that person…

The image of a shorter, pink haired male still lingered in his mind even though he tried to forget him.

But, it wasn’t that easy forgetting someone who you have known for so long and shared your most intimate secrets with.

Hell, it was even worse erasing someone from your memory who you have lived with and who knew all of your quirks and still accepted you the way you are.

He knew that Namjoon meant well, but he just didn’t understand.

How could he understand the pain of loving someone so much and trusting them only to have your heart broken by that same person?

No, Namjoon didn’t know what it was like.

But, Yoongi sure as hell did.

He knew the feeling of that one name leaving an acid-like feeling in his mouth every time he wanted to say it out of habit whenever he entered his apartment, only to stop himself at the last minute.

He would always scold himself in those moments.

After all, some habits are hard to get rid of.

And Park Jimin definitely qualified as one of those habits.