As if it already wasn’t awkward enough, Jimin’s next study date suddenly evolves into some next level third-wheeling session even though there were four of them; he’s reached a new height of discomfort right in the comfort of his own home.

                  He looks up at Sanghyuk and Junghwa, who are both seated across the coffee table coddling each other like gross birds. “… When did you two even start dating?” he asks, setting aside the math homework they didn’t start yet. “I thought you couldn’t stand each other…”

                  “I thought so too,” Sanghyuk replies, gazing lovingly into Junghwa’s eyes. She blushes. Jimin winces. “But you know what they say, boys tease the girls they like.”

                  “You called her a chicken- in the middle of class once,” he breathes. “Everyone heard.”

                  Junghwa lets out a giggle. “It’s a love-hate thing! But I have to be honest…” She holds one of Sanghyuk’s hands. “I went up to Chanyeol a couple weeks ago and told him that I had a crush on him. I got turned down really bad. Hyukkie found me crying and while he was comforting me, I… That’s when I saw his sensitive side.”

                  He scratches his cheek. “You’re embarrassing me.”

                  “It’s true, though!” She beams at him. “And you’re my type too. I just never realized it while we scuffled.”

                  “You mean while you were drawing on each other’s backpacks?” Jimin tries not to gag when this newly found couple nuzzle noses. He looks to his right where Chanmi sits, intending to exchange mortified glances when he remembers they’re supposed to be awkward with each other. Consequently, his gaze dives down onto the table.

                  He hasn’t looked at her at all since they stepped into his house. How could he? Jimin doesn’t even know what to say to Chanmi, so avoidance is the only thing he turns to. He plans to stall confrontation for as long as possible.

                  The other two are quick to notice the tension between them. “… Uh,” Sanghyuk gives Junghwa an exaggerated hand signal. “Jimin, I suddenly have to check your fridge.”

                  “… Oh. Oh! Yes, we’re going to check your fridge.” The girl stands and backtracks into Jimin’s kitchen. “For head lice. Or something.”

                  Sanghyuk looks at her with an ‘are you ting me right now?’ expression and shakes his head. He flees into the kitchen after responding to Jimin’s pleading eyes with a thumbs-up.

                  Jimin curses under his breath. He fidgets with his pen. He doesn’t know what to do. Should he say something and risk further damage? Maybe not. Maybe he’ll just wait this out and see if a tornado can come him away.

                  She speaks first. “… Jimin, um… Do you still remember what I said to you before?”

                  He hesitates. “… Y-Yeah.”

                  “Can you just do me a favor?” Chanmi digs at her nails. “Just… Just forget what I said.”

                  Jimin clutches the pen in his hand. He takes a deep breath and says, “no.”

                  She looks at him, her eyes practically begging. “Please? I don’t want us to be awkward like this, and—!”

                  “And it wouldn’t be fair,” he interrupts, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I… I-I’m not going to deny your feelings. I’m not going to forget what you s-said, because it’d be rude as and… it wouldn’t be fair to you.”

                  Chanmi lets out a long sigh. “… But it’s not like you’re going to say yes.”

                  “Y-Yeah, you’re right… You’re right, because I was thinking of someone else. I-I just didn’t realize… If I said yes— if we dated for real, I’d be lying to you. I’d be lying to myself.” His heart is beating so fast. Please, he thinks, please understand. “If we dated while I thought of someone else that wasn’t you, it wouldn’t be fair. You deserve so much better.”

                  She processes his words, moving her gaze away. “… I really like you,” she breathes. “You’re so honest… Not a lot of guys are like that, you know?”

                  “Ch-Chanmi, you’re—I like you too. M-Maybe not in the same way, but… you’re important to me,” he stammers, glowing red from his emotional outburst. He works up his last bit of courage and holds her fingers. “And I’d hate to lose you. I-I don’t have a lot of friends.”

                  Her laughter is sincere, but he doesn’t miss the stray tears that she wipes away too quickly. “Yeah, I know… Just tell me, does that someone else—does he make you happy?”

                  Jimin stares at her until his cheeks become a little pinker. He never told her what gender his someone else was. All he does is utter a simple “… yeah.”

                  “I guess that’s all that really matters then.” Chanmi smiles and brusquely punches his shoulder. “Thank you, Jimin. I… I think I’ll be able to get over this, knowing you’re going to be alright. Maybe I’ll find my someone else another day.”

                  “D-Do you want me to introduce you to one of my friends…?”

                  The girl snorts and starts flipping through her notes. “Maybe I’ll just wait for that someone to find me.”

                  Sanghyuk and Junghwa return to the table with impeccable timing, sporting twin grins as if they’re just eavesdropped on the world’s best kept secret. The latter discreetly shows Chanmi a couple Facebook profiles of allegedly single boys before they actually dive into studying, a mere forty minutes after they came to Jimin’s house.

                  Their math review is a breeze this time around, seeing as Jimin already went over the basic equations the last time they got together. It’s still not void of Sanghyuk’s terrible sense of humour (‘your graph looks like a ’) or Junghwa’s very important questions (‘why does a plus b have to equal c? I’d rather have it equal ab, because abs you know’).

                  They manage to finish before sunset, largely because the couple of the group accidentally scheduled the study date right before their date-date to an amusement park or somewhere mildly romantic. Sanghyuk and Junghwa leave the house arm-in-arm with promises to buy Jimin more ‘adult things’ as thanks.

                  Chanmi decides to leave too, because despite the fact that they reconciled and mended their friendship, she needed a little time to get all the awkwardness out of her system. Jimin doesn’t argue with her there; he’s just happy she decided to give him a warm hug before she left.

                  After cleaning up the living room, Jimin decides to take his homework upstairs. He steps into his bedroom and flicks the light switch, at once letting out a startled shriek when he sees what invaded his space. “AUGH!”

                  Taehyung looks up from where he’s sitting on the edge of Jimin’s bed. “Hey,” he greets casually, on a juice box. His own work is spread out across the mattress.

                  “What—” he sputters. “Were you here this whole time?!”

                  The guy walks over and pokes him in the chest. “I’m always here. In your heart.”

                  Jimin frowns. “Tae, please.”

                  He giggles and tosses the juice box into the trash. “They were doing construction work in my building so I came to study in your room, where it’s nice and quiet.”

                  “You could’ve joined my study group downstairs,” Jimin replies, sitting at his desk. “Or at least let me acknowledge your presence.”

                  “Nah, I didn’t want to disturb.” Taehyung pauses. “Actually, I was going to let you know but when I came down, you were having a moment with Chanmi, so…”

                  “… Oh…” Jimin starts blushing and groans. “… Well.”

                  “It’s okay, you did good man. You didn’t it up.”

                  “… Th-Thanks, I guess.”

                  Taehyung sits back on the bed and picks up his textbook. “Why’d you let her down, though? I thought you kids had a thing.”

                  “Oh, um…” Jimin hesitates, but decides to spill the beans because Taehyung is his best friend and he should know about everything regarding his love life. “I-It’s because I kissed Yoongi-hyung.”

                  Silence takes over the room faster than a blizzard in the tundra. Jimin squints at the wall, waiting for some sort of explosion. He waits for some sort of anything. It’s silent for a whole minute.

                  Then Taehyung goes, “well was he better than me?”

                  He looks at his friend, not sure what to make of his indifference. “… Y-You’re too calm about this. I… We’re probably together. Probably.”

                  “Uh, okay. I’m not really surprised,” the guy says, grinning. “I’ve been pinning for you two to become a thing since the war of 1812.”

                  “… Wait—! You knew?!” Jimin looks aghast. “So this whole time—!”

                  “I’ve been shipping it,” he replies. “The tension between you and Yoongi was pretty real. I was wondering when one of you was going to snap. Speaking of which, who made the first move?”

                  Jimin takes a second to buffer. “… Uh, it was me, I guess.”

                  Now Taehyung gets shocked. “ARE YOU ING SERIOUS?!”

                  “W-WHY IS THAT SO HARD TO BELIEVE?!”

                  “YOU’RE PARK JIMIN! LAST WEEK YOU WALKED HOME WITH A LEAKY TAKE-OUT BOX BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO SHY TO ASK THE CASHIER FOR A BAG!” he cries, “A BAG!”

                  “THEY RAN OUT!”

                  “HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT? YOU DIDN’T ING ASK!”

                  Jimin groans again and almost chucks his phone at his friend’s face when it buzzes in his hand. It’s a text from Chanmi that reads, ‘important question’. He has a slight heart attack and answers with multiple question marks.

                  Her next message says, ‘how long do you think sanghyuk and junghwa r gonna last? i bet you ₩5000 they’re breaking up in two months.’

                  He laughs a little and types up a reply.

                 ‘two weeks if he shows her his figurine collection’.