Author Note:

The walk to the practice room was short. Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook had walked ahead as Taehyung lingered behind them, his thoughts wandering in his own little world. It was cold outside. A breeze swept across his face, blowing strands of hair out of place. Taehyung let out a deep breath and hugged his hands together to warm himself up. “It’s freezing”, he mumbled to himself, as if mentioning it would solve the cold. The cold was annoying him, but he felt comfort at the same time. It somehow matched with his current state of mind. It felt cold and empty. Why did he feel cold and empty? He shrugged and took a moment to close his eyes and feel the weather and the serenity it brought.

“Taehyung-ie, walk faster, you’re trailing behind”. Jimin waved over with a small smile on his lips. He looked up and nodded before speeding over next to s. His hands found their way into his pockets as he took over the same pace.

“We have an interview in the morning, right?” Jungkook asked. Hoseok nodded tiredly and Jungkook groaned. “That means no sleep, no rest. I seriously feel like I will collapse one of these days”, he muttered. Taehyung wrapped an arm around the younger’s shoulder and smiled. “Come on maknae, rest is for the weak. You still have to win over all noona fanhearts”. The younger smiled instantly, feeling re-energized at hearing the word ‘noona’. He sprinted ahead the last few meters to the building.

“Faster you lazy people. We need to practice. You guys need to match my perfectness” he grinned as he ran away from the older boys who were trying to catch the bratty maknae. 

--

It was one of those days.

“Repeat that step Taehyung”, their dance teacher corrected the boy, showing the exact steps again so that he could repeat it. Taehyung tried his best to match his teacher as he felt his legs struggle to keep up with his willingness to succeed. He was trying. He really was, but his mind couldn’t seem to focus. He willed himself to pay close attention to the steps. The group restarted their choreography from the beginning and Taehyung felt he was doing a bit better. At least he thought so. His feet seemed to be unwilling to co-operate that night, leaving the boy annoyed with himself. Why was he making mistakes? He should know the steps by heart now. He sighed and tried again.

“Taehyung, you can’t be wasting our time. Everyone is doing well, why are you making mistakes? Haven’t you been practicing properly?” Namjoon scolded him when the mistakes were more persistent, leaving the other members with frustrated looks. Taehyung hung his head low and muttered an apology.

“Get it right, stay here longer till you know it by heart.” The leader’s stern voice meant there was no room to argue, which he wouldn’t anyway. He had to do better. His mood reached a low it hadn’t reached in some time now. He tried to focus better, remembering the steps, counting them in his head and looking at the routine of the other members. He had to match them or it would mean they all would be held back in their progress.

As practice came to an end for the other members, Taehyung stayed behind. He would get the choreography down, even if he had to stay up all night. He saw the members leave one by one, a few of them shouting goodbyes and see you soons before disappearing through the door. Taehyung waved his hand shortly and started dancing again.

The music came to a stop, which was the cue for Taehyung to walk over to the radio and restart the CD. He took a small sip out of the bottled water on the table and wiped away the heavy drops of sweat on his forehand. He was tired, and he needed to get up early in the morning. He had to try harder. He put the bottle back on its place and moved to the middle of the dance room. Again.

He didn’t know how long he had been trying to memorize his steps, immersed in the heavy beat of the music when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to face the owner of the hand, which left him curiously raising his eyebrows.

“Hoseok hyung? Didn’t you leave already?”

He was greeted by a smile. The older boy was still in his dancing clothes, the snapback on his head keeping the hair out of his sight. He seemed drained out of energy.

“I’ll help you”, he stated and Taehyung thought he saw a small flash of guilt cross his face before the older boy took the lead. He doubted for a second, thinking whether he should tire his friend any further. He needed the help though, and it was much more comforting to practice together. A small smile spread across his face. His friend was there for him.

“Thank you.”

Hoseok repeated the steps Taehyung wasn’t confident in. Taehyung followed the elder’s instructions and he felt himself focus somewhat better now that someone was taking the time to slowly work through it. They stayed for two more hours within the four walls of the practice room before having accomplished their goal and going home to get the little sleep they would get to start the new day freshly.      

--

“Yes, the next question asked by our international fans is for V and Suga. The question is: if you had the chance to date one of your group members, who would it be?” The announcer looked at Taehyung expectantly. He took the microphone from Namjoon in his hand and turned around to look at the other members. He scanned their faces briefly, wondering if they had ever thought about the question before. Taehyung did, out of curiousity. 

“I will choose J-hope.” A look of surprise could be seen on Hoseok’s face, before a nervous laugh escaped his lips. Had he replied too fast? He didn’t doubt for a second, the answer rolling off his tongue with familiarity. Maybe it was because Hoseok had helped him earlier, the only one that cared enough to come back to the practice room teach him and keep him accompany. He was that way, always shown him support in these little ways. And he didn’t doubt that he would fall for the guy, had they met in another life.

He flashed a bubbly smile to the older, the latter avoiding his gaze at first before stuttering out a response. “Ah, I’m your J-hope.” He looked at Taehyung awkwardly before a realization hit him as he tried to correct his phrasing. “I’m your hope!”

Taehyung giggled, his lips lining into a rectangular shape and the other members joined in. The studio filled with loud and incomprehensible laughter and noises. Some were comfortable and some uncomfortable laughter. Taehyung hadn’t noticed how Jimin glanced at him a few seconds longer than normal, a foreign glint in his eyes, neither had he noticed how he exchanged this glint with another member in the group. As the host recollected the attention, the show continued, the boys fulfilling their parts till the filming was over.