set the day after the previous chapter, 2cd year out of school

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minghao approaches dawon and slings an arm around her waist, pressing his lips to her cheek.

'hey, babe,' she purrs, sliding her hand over his stomach.

'okay, literally what the ,' jungkook says, nonplussed, 'when did this happen?'

'when did what happen?' minghao asks innocently, his thumb hooked into dawon's jeans pocket.

jungkook gives him an indignant look. 'this!' he exclaims, gesturing wildly between minghao and dawon, and minghao bursts into laughter.

dawon steps away from minghao, grinning wildly. 'we're just ing with you, man.'

jungkook blinks at them. 'wait, seriously?'

'uh, yeah,' dawon assures him.

'…okay, but you two have never been that touchy with each other,' jungkook says, gesturing between the two again.

dawon and minghao glance at each other and shrug not quite in unison.

'and?'

jungkook narrows his eyes at them. 'weird way to with someone,' is all he says.

'don't react so well, then,' minghao returns, then reaches out to swat dawon's . 'we could have kept that going way longer.'

dawon laughs and hipchecks him as jungkook looks on suspiciously. 'but it would come between my relationship with jihyo's s.'

'would it?' minghao asks with a teasing smile.

'couldn't risk it,' dawon replies gravely and minghao tilts his head in acknowledgement.

'can't argue with that.'

'i am so… something right now,' jungkook cuts in, eyeing them warily. 'it's somewhere between confused and unsettled, it's weirding me out.'

dawon raises an eyebrow at him. 'chill, kook. it's not that big a deal.'

'uh huh,' jungkook replies, but is cut off before he can continue by a yell of his name, and he gives them one last side eye before going to greet the new arrivals. 

/

jungkook's been staring for a little while before he turns away determinedly, looking at jimin who's leaning against mingyu, her legs over jungkook's lap.

'so like earlier they said they were just ing with me and they're not a thing but that-' he jerks his thumb to where dawon's straddling minghao behind an armchair, attached at the mouths, drinks forgotten next to them, '-is not ing with anyone anymore. like level with me, are they actually a thing?'

'who are you talking about?' mingyu asks, confused, and jimin makes grabby hands at jungkook until he takes them to pull her up so she's in his lap and can see from his vantage point. she immediately bursts into giggles and reaches back for mingyu who levers himself up to kneel over jungkook, who suddenly feels quite crowded. 

mingyu snorts and falls back, jungkook shifting jimin off him again when he has the space.

'they hooked up like a month or so ago but that's it,' jimin shares and waves yugyeom over. 

'i don't think they've been in the same place since,' mingyu adds, taking the joint yugyeom offers.

'who are we talking about?' yugyeom asks as mingyu hands the joint over to jungkook after jimin shakes her head at his offer.

'dawon and minghao are hooking up again,' mingyu tells him, and yugyeom's eyebrows raise.

'gyeomie~' jimin coos, 'get me another beer?' she smiles winningly up at him as he gives her an unimpressed look. 

jungkook's eyeing the half-hidden couple again. 'so when you say they hooked up-' he starts.

'they ed,' jimin cuts in and mingyu coughs on smoke as his exhale turns into a laugh. 

'so like they're basically dating,' jungkook says.

'you know that doesn't constitute dating,' jimin tells him, amused. 

'yeah, but not everyone's a commitment phobic ho like me.'

'it's hao,' mingyu points out, 'gonna take some time before he gets his act together.'

jimin cranes her head to look up at mingyu. 'are you saying he likes her?'

'no,' mingyu replies easily, 'but i'm not saying he doesn't like her either. why, does she like him?'

'too early to say for sure,' jimin rejoins and the two of them narrow their eyes at each other. jimin sticks her hand up in the air. 'spies?'

'spies,' mingyu agrees, shaking her hand awkwardly. 

'that looks ing ridiculous,' yugyeom comments lazily, joint back in hand.

'shut up,' jimin says, 'where's my drink?'

'up my bum,' yugyeom rejoins.

'well, damn,' jimin giggles, her eyebrows raised suggestively, 'that's impressive.'

yugyeom grins at her lasciviously, and repositions himself with his thumbs hooked in his pockets, hips jutted out. 'it's on tap, comes out the front.'

mingyu and jungkook collapse into laughter as jimin lets out a laughing yelp and yugyeom dodges her flailing limbs with a laugh.

'imma break that tap,' she threatens, 'imma ing break it.'