“Welcome back.” Yugyeom offers Jimin a smile when the latter finally shows up for the next dance team meeting, despite all that’s happened and despite all his open wounds. Ever since that heart-wrenching conversation with Taehyung the other day, Jimin feels like there’s less obstructing his way. There are still obstacles of course, but he’s less fearful. For once in his life, he comes to the meeting with his head up, eyes bright, with a higher sense of confidence.

                  He senses some sort of mutual understanding when Jongin comes up to him and starts patting his head. Everyone on the team has heard about Seokjin taking credit for something that isn’t his. No one is talking about it, but they know, and Jimin’s okay with the silent support. They’ve taken his side of the fight, and that’s more than he can ever ask for.

                  “It happened to me once too,” Jongin murmurs while they’re going through group stretching exercises. “I came up with the theme for last year’s showcase and well, his name was written all over it. I was mad as hell.”

                  “Actually, he cried like a baby,” Seulgi comments from beside him.

                  “Don’t expose me.” He gently smacks her arm before turning back to Jimin. “But yeah, you’re not the only one.”

                  “And no one’s ever said anything?” Jimin asks.

                  “Well, we can’t…” Jongin frowns. “Unless you want to like, not come to school anymore.”

                  Yugyeom, who’s in the middle of a sit-up, lets out a snort. “Told you.”

                  Soonyoung passes by on his way to get a drink and wails when he overhears the conversation. They look at him worriedly until he disappears from sight.

                  “They’re lucky,” Seulgi says, “the freshmen have to bear with Seokjin until he graduates this June. We were stuck with the seniors for a whole two years.”

                  “What did you say about us seniors?!” Min shouts from across the room.

                  She shrieks. “Nothing! Nothing, unnie!”

                  Min strides up to them, arms folded over her chest. “I hope the lot of you stop fooling around by the time Seokjin comes in.”

                  “And when does he plan on coming in, exactly?” Jongin gives her a chilling stare. “It’s been half an hour since everyone got here.”

                   “Almost,” Yugyeom chips in. “Where’s Jane? It’s not like her to be late.”

                  Seulgi pouts. “Yeah, that’s true. Where is our little princess?”

                  It’s at that moment Seokjin finally walks into the dance studio, the same bandage stuck over his eye. Following meekly behind him is Jane, and the other members are shocked to see her tear-stricken and sniffling. They give each other startled glances as their leader takes his place at the front of the room.

                  “Hello,” he greets, smiling even when everyone else isn’t. “I have several announcements to make today, but I will give Jane the honour of going first. Jane?”

                  The small girl hesitates before stepping up to bow. No one reacts; there’s something wrong. “I-I’m sorry, everyone… but starting today, I’ll be taking my leave from the team. I—I’m quitting.”

                  “… What?” Jongin stands up, anger reflected in his tone. “Why? Why are you leaving?”

                  She rises and stutters. “Um, I—!”

                  “This is so sudden,” Seulgi breathes, almost tearing up herself. “Did something happen?”

                  “Now, now…” Seokjin starts. “She has her reasons, and it wouldn’t be right to—”

                  “SHUT UP!” Jongin screams, hands balled into fists. “JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE, WOULD YOU?!”

                  “JONGIN!” Min restrains him from stepping any closer to their leader. “Stop! Calm down—!”

                  The door swings open again and Soonyoung shuffles in, stopping cold when he sees everyone in the heat of the moment. “What—?” He lets out an awkward chuckle. “What’s going on, guys?”

                  Jane glances at him and chokes. “I-I’m leaving the team…”

                  His face falls. “H-Huh?” Everyone freezes as he approaches her, desperately grabbing her hands. “Are you kidding? P-Please tell me you’re kidding.”

                  “I-I’m not…” She starts to cry, tears falling from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Soonyoung.”

                  “Is it because you told him off?” Soonyoung shakes, his lip quivering. “You told Seokjin about Jimin’s dance, right? You told him that he took credit for something Jimin made, right?!”

                  “Wait, what?” Jongin stares at both of them. “She did?”

                  “Yeah! Everyone knows Seokjin didn’t come up with the dance finale!” Soonyoung cries, “but Jane was the only one brave enough to confront him! Why is she the one leaving, when she only did what everyone else was scared to do?! That’s not fair!”

                  “S-Soonyoung,” Jane begs, “stop—!”

                  “IT’S NOT FAIR!” He bursts into a fit of tears. “He made you quit the team, didn’t he?! He threatened you! You can’t leave!”

                  “Soonyoung!” she shouts, clutching onto his shirt. “Soonyoung, you can’t just accuse people of things like th-that, you have no proof—!”

                  Jimin stands there gaping in complete disbelief. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He looks at the small girl, at her stiff shoulders and is astounded by the fact that someone dared to stick up for him. He’s touched; he couldn’t possibly leave things like this.

                  He steps forward, in a breath, and promptly declares, “if Jane is quitting the team, I-I’m quitting too.”

                  Everyone turns to look at Jimin, eyes wide and mouths open. Even Seokjin looks mildly startled. Jongin wipes his surprise away and nods. “I’ll quit too!”

                  Yugyeom raises his hand. “Same.”

                  Min grits her teeth and growls. “Now listen here, kids…”

                  “Wait.” Seokjin stutters for a moment before ultimately acknowledging his defeat. “… Okay, alright. I… apologize again, Jimin, for taking credit. I wouldn’t want you, or any of you for that matter, to be leaving at such a crucial time. My other announcement was about the dance showcase coming up in several weeks, and it wouldn’t be much of a show without dancers.”

                  “S-So Jane isn’t leaving?” Soonyoung squeaks.

                  “No, I will let her stay… and I will give everyone the chance of performing a solo during the showcase.”

                  Jongin glares at him. “What’s the catch? How do we know you’re not just going to take credit for all our dances?”

                  The leader places a hand over his chest. “There is no catch. You will all perform your own pieces, so the audience will assume you made your own choreography, no? If not, I will guarantee it will be emphasized by an MC. I swear on my life.”

                  “That sounds good to me,” Yugyeom mutters. “I guess we’re staying?”

                  “Sure. We’re staying,” Jongin says, still glowering at him. “As long as you don’t try any more .”

                  Seokjin stares back before shifting his gaze towards Jimin. The unfriendly glint in his eyes makes Jimin look down at the floor. “… You have my word,” the elder says finally.

                  Jimin sighs a breath of relief, warily fumbling with his hands to stop them from shaking. He can’t believe he just did that. He can’t believe he just stood up to Seokjin. He’s pretty sure he wasn’t thinking straight, because he’d never cross paths with him if he were sane. When exactly did he grow a pair?

                  He doesn’t question it any further when he makes eye contact with Jane, who’s in the middle of a Soonyoung-induced hug. She smiles at him, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ as she wipes away the rest of her tears. It pays to be confident, Jimin thinks until he remembers that everyone is performing a solo number, and an unconfident, nervous wreck like him is no exception.

                  He starts shaking again.

--

                  After a couple hours at the desk, Namjoon slides his chair back and wipes his eyes. They’re burning from being exposed to backlit computer monitors, yet he’s quick to readjust his glasses and squint at the screen again. He confirms the final string of numbers resting against his browser and hits ‘upload’, giving his computer a couple seconds (not a couple minutes like other, slower computers; his can reach top speed because he’s upgraded it himself and this is something he regularly boasts about) to finish.

                  Once his browser dings, Namjoon turns to the little round contraption on his desk and unplugs it from the computer. It begins to light up, almost as brightly as the grin on his face. Then he turns to get his cell phone and opens up a chat with Jungkook.

                  ‘r u in school still?’ he writes, finding it appropriate to add more than eight question marks. ‘come down to robotics for a sec!’

                  The freshman immediately replies with ‘k’.

                  Namjoon puts his phone down and glances at his work before he’s startled by the monotone ‘hello’ from behind him. He swings his seat around and smiles. “Hey, man!”

                  Jungkook blinks, languidly chewing on a piece of bread. “Hello,” he repeats.

                  “It took a goddamn while,” Namjoon starts while picking up the machine between his index and thumb. “But I’m finally done my best AI to date.”

                  The younger male steps closer to observe. He watches as Namjoon places the robot on a math handout, letting it roll around and ink in answers to the questions. “I see.”

                  “It can even do geography and history,” he says, tapping the machine on where its head should be. “Art-wise, it can scan and give the exact hex code of colors or tell you what something’s made of. I’ve booted it with celebrity trivia, too… Hey Cookie, what’s the best-selling girl group right now?”

                  The robot pauses, whirrs for a few seconds and beeps, ‘GIRLS’ GENERATION’.

                  Jungkook stares. “Cookie?”

                  “Oh. Uh, yeah!” Namjoon smiles sheepishly. “You were pretty much the inspiration behind the bot, so I named it after you. I hope you don’t mind… and thanks.” He scratches his cheek. “For hanging around. I’m not sure if I could’ve done it without you.”

                  The freshman focuses in on the robot. “I am trying to remember that term,” he mutters. “… Ah. I believe it is ‘good job’.”

                  Namjoon gapes in surprise, having witnessed probably the greatest display of affection portrayed by Jungkook since he’s known him. Blinking at the slightest hint of a smile on Jungkook’s face, he’s ecstatic to know that in front of him, the kid seems a little more human.

--

                  Taehyung shovels the rest of his chips into his mouth when he spots a familiar figure from across the hall. “YOONGI!” he yells, trotting over to him.

                  Yoongi frowns when he approaches his locker. “Don’t make a scene, I don’t want staff to see me. I’m not supposed to be at school.”

                  Taehyung immediately settles down and stares at him with concern. “Why?”

                  “I got suspended.”

                  He slaps a hand against his mouth to restrain another outburst. “… What?! What did you do?!”

                  “I punched some kid in the face.” He shrugs, moving his textbooks. “I just came back to get my stuff.”

                  “Damn, Yoongi. Nice.” Taehyung pauses for a moment. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

                  “You already did,” the older male replies. “Swallow your food, I can barely understand what you’re saying. Also, that’s ‘hyung’ to you, ing brat.”

                  “Yoongi, did Park Jimin say anything about me recently?” he asks, watching him throw stuff into his bag. “Since you’re usually around, I thought you might’ve heard something.”

                  Yoongi looks at him. “You two in a fight?”

                  “Well… not exactly?”

                  “Then ask him yourself,” he says. “I’m not some kind of mediator, especially between you two. You’re supposed to be able to tell each other anything, right?”

                  “Yeah, I know.” Taehyung starts folding the empty chip bag into squares. “It’s just… It’s been difficult for me to talk to him lately, because I have work and all. And he told me he got a solo for the showcase, so he’ll be busy too.”

                  “Wait.” Yoongi freezes. “He got a solo?”

                 "Yeah. You didn't know?"

                 "I've been trying to deal with my suspension," he answers warily. "But wow, I'm really happy for him."

                 Taehyung bursts into a grin. "Right?! He's come so far."

                 "But that also means he has to spend more time around Seokjin." Yoongi sighs, "I don't know if I like the sound of that."

                 "... Yeah, I know what you mean." Taehyung juts his lip. "I mean, I respect Seokjin-sunbae and Park Jimin's my best friend, but I get really uncomfortable when they're together. It's like two completely different worlds crashing into each other and making some sort of explosion, like boom."

                 "I didn't get any of that, but yeah." Yoongi's phone beeps in his pocket and he fishes it out to read a text. He looks up at the other with wide eyes. "Get in my locker."

                 Taehyung gapes. "Sorry?"

                 "Get in my ing locker—!" He swings the door open and starts shoving Taehyung in between his books. "Don't make a sound, or so god help me, we will both die here." He closes it and slams on the door when Taehyung makes the slightest protest. Down the hall, he spots Seokjin rounding the corner and scowls. "What did you text me for?"

                 "Is Park Jimin always such a prude?" Seokjin says, opening the locker two paces away from his. "I couldn't stand him. He dared to speak against me today, he—embarrassed me in front of the whole team!"

                 "Then why don't you just kick him out?"

                 "You know why," he huffs, haphazardly throwing his things into the shelf. "I wouldn't imagine you'd be so intent on him leaving the team. He is your precious little boyfriend, aren't you happy he's achieving his dream or some ridiculous like that?"

                 Yoongi shrugs his shoulders. "I wouldn't want him to hang around someone who talks like this behind his back."

                 "Are you implying that I'm the villain here?" Seokjin laughs loudly. "Min Yoongi, please. You realize that despite whatever you may think, he would never leave the dance team for the world. It's because of my contributions that makes it so great."

                 He narrows his eyes at him. "Like stealing his work?"

                 "I believe that's how capitalism works," Seokjin says, smirking. "Survival of the fittest, Min Yoongi. The weak will subside into obscurity. The strong only get stronger."

                 "You're a ing liar," he growls, closing the space between them. "You're a fake, and a liar. You're only putting up with this to drive those two apart."

                 Seokjin slams his locker and steps closer as well, towering over Yoongi in height. "Don't you dare use that tone with me, Min Yoongi."

                 "Why shouldn't I? If you think you can get away with this, then you're mistaken. I'll punch out your other eye, ing bastard."

                 He smacks a hand onto Yoongi's shoulder, clawing his nails into his skin, squeezing until it hurts.

                 "… Should I remind you of your mistakes?"