Chapter 3 – Mad Skillz

Namjoon opened the door and she couldn’t help staring at him for a moment. He was wearing red sweatpants, a loose white t-shirt that exposed his collarbones rather indecently, and a red snapback on his head. She had never seen him in anything other than his school uniform before, so she needed a moment to regain her composure. He looked crazy hot.

“Oh hey,” he flashed her a dimpled smile, “come on in.”

She followed him inside and they got set up in the kitchen. His house seemed pretty normal and she couldn’t help looking around curiously. After offering her something to drink (which she declined), she pulled out her notebook and they quickly got down to business.

They went over the experiment line by line and, within 30 minutes, he seemed to have gotten it.  Insook was a little puzzled because he didn’t seem that confused and understood everything on the first try. And she wasn’t the best at science either. She thought her explanations probably made no sense at all, but he seemed to get it. She didn’t understand why he’d asked her to come over, or why he even needed her help.

Just as they’d reached the end of it though, his phone rang. He picked it up from the table in front of them and looked at the screen.

“Oh, sorry, I have to take this.” He apologized to her before answering, “wussup?”

‘Waah… even his phone manner is cool…’ she thought, with an inner sigh.

She watched him talk on the phone with his friend for a few minutes, during which he kept casting apologetic smiles in her direction, before he hung up.

“Sorry, that was my friend Suga. He’s having a party at his place tonight and wants me to come over earlier to help set things up…” he explained, after having hung up.  “Hey!” he added, like he’d just had a great idea, “you should come!”

“What? Me?!” she was genuinely shocked.

“Yeah! It’ll be fun! As my way to say thanks for helping me out today” he replied, giving her a wink.

Her heart did little backflips inside her chest.

“I dunno… it’s not really my scene… I won’t know anyone…” she stuttered.

 “You’ll know me! And you’ll make new friends, come on!” he went on, eagerly.

She thought it was a terrible idea, but in the end he could not be deterred and she agreed. He gave her the address, told her the time and then they said goodbye.

***

Yoongi lived by himself in a small studio in the basement of an old bunker in Hongdae. His parents lived in the countryside in Daegu, but since he wanted to become a musician, they’d agreed to let him move to Seoul, as long as he kept up with his studies and finished high school first. Since he didn’t have any neighbours (the other rooms in the bunker were just warehouses and one pizza restaurant), it was the perfect place to hold parties, since the noise never disturbed anyone.

Suga and J-Hope were already busy setting up when Namjoon arrived, so he just jumped right in, giving Hoseok a hand moving a big table against the wall while Yoongi was connecting his computer to a huge set of speakers.

“So how come you’re late?” asked J-Hope, setting down the table with a satisfied grunt.

“Oh I met up with that girl.” replied Rapmon, dusting off his hands and resting against the table.

“Oooh… that was fast!”

Rapmon flashed him a sly grin, “what can I say… I got mad skills.”

Suga chuckled from his end of the room and J-Hope made gagging sounds, pretending to choke.

“I invited her to the party tonight.”

“Oooh…” cooed J-Hope, “let’s see how that goes…”

“Oh and I told Jimin he and his friends could come too. That’s cool, right?” he directed that last part towards Suga.

“Sure,” answered the redhead, without looking up from his work.

“Apparently, one of his new friends is a huge fanboy,” Rapmonster laughed.

“Oh yeah?” asked Suga, standing up, “then we’ll have to be on tonight. No disappointing our fans” and he flashed a big grin before hitting a few buttons on the console in front of him. Sound came busting through the speakers and he gave a little satisfied nod.

“Guess we’re ready to go.”

***

Later, Insook was sitting on Soonja’s bed, telling her about everything that had happened. She chattered away for several minutes while her friend changed into her work shirt and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. Finally, giving the mirror a satisfied nod, she came to sit down next to Insook.

“You have to come with me though!” she added, grabbing her friend’s hand.

“I can’t, why do you think I’m wearing this crap? I’m working tonight!” explained Soonja, pointing at her shirt.

“Just ask your folks for the night off, pleaaaaase?” begged the shorter friend, grabbing her arm and pressing her head against it like she was a puppy cuddling her master.

Soonja’s family owned a pork-belly restaurant in Hongdae and part of being a good daughter meant helping out and working there as a waitress in her downtime.

“Babe, you know I can’t. Friday’s one of the busiest days, and Nara has the flu,” went on the taller girl, patting Insook’s head.

“But Noonjie…” she pouted, but there was nothing to do.

“What I can do however, is help you look decent.” said Soonja, giving her a big smile, “come on, get up!”

So they spent the next hour giving Insook a mini make-over. Soonja straightened her hair and used some product in it to make it look all glossy. Then she applied some mascara on her friend’s lashes, and a bit of blush on her cheeks to give her a nice little flush. She also let her borrow one of her favourite lip gloss, as long as she promised to return it the next day. She tried to get her friend to wear some of her cuter clothes too, but since their sizes and height were completely different, everything just ended up fitting weird, so they had to abandon the idea.

“Aah… it’s ok…” said Insook, giving up, as Soonja was heading for the closet for yet another outfit, “I’ll just wear jeans and a nice top. It’ll be fine.”

Soonja narrowed her eyes at her but didn’t say anything. Then she looked at her watch and sighed. “Oh crap, I really should get going.”

They parted ways outside their houses, giving each other a hug, and Soonja left for the station while Insook stood on the sidewalk waving at her. Then she walked back to her own home to finish getting ready.

***

Insook arrived at the address Namjoon had given her at exactly 11pm. He’d said the party started at 10pm, and she hadn’t wanted to be the weirdo who showed up first and had to sit awkwardly in a half-empty room, not knowing anyone. She could guess she was definitely in the right place though, feeling the vibrations from the loud music emanating from the very walls of the building.

She stood in front of the door, wondering if she should knock, or ring the bell or just go in, but she was saved the trouble when the door opened from inside in front of her. The loud music suddenly seeped into the relatively quiet night, seeming to envelop everything around her.

“HEY! You came!” exclaimed Rapmon, loudly, matching the noise level from inside. He had traded his sweats for jeans and a leather jacket, and the red snapback for a black one, but he still looked just as fine as he had earlier.

She gave him a shy smile, and he moved aside to let her in.

“I just gotta run to the store real quick. You go on in. I’ll be right back.” And then he just left her standing there at the top of the stairs.

She walked down the stairs, pausing to take a deep breath in front of the door before turning the knob and pulling it open. What greeted her was even louder music, interspaced with the sounds of many people having a good time. She estimated there must be at least 50 people crammed into the relatively small space, and she didn’t recognize a single face. Wait, that was not true, she recognized the guy at the DJ-ing table with a pair of headphones pressed against one ear; he was one of the two guys Rapmonster always hung out with. His name was Min Yoongi, but everyone called him Suga. He looked different than he did in school though, dressed all in black with a black beanie on his head, bopping his head along to the music. Seeing the intense look of concentration in his eyes, she thought she could understand why so many girls at school seemed to fancy him, though she had never really seen the appeal before.

Not knowing what to do with herself, she walked to a corner of the room that seemed to have free wall space and stood there with her back against it. There was a “bar” table to her right, and a guy standing there, pouring himself a drink asked her if she wanted anything. He was dressed all in white, which she thought was a rather odd fashion choice, but actually, the look suited him quite well since he was so skinny. He had the hood of his shirt up over his head, so she didn’t realize until he turned around, handing her a cup, that it was J-Hope; Rapmonster’s second partner-in-crime.

“Cheers!” he said, clinking his glass to hers, so she smiled and obligingly took a sip. But having never drunk beer before, she made a face as if she’d bitten into a lemon and the boy broke into a huge mirthful laugh. She was horribly embarrassed and stared down into her drink, feeling her cheeks redden, while trying to think of something intelligent to say, but the boy just patted her on the shoulder. Still chuckling, he walked off, calling out to some friend of his he had recognized in the crowd.

‘Great…’ she thought, feeling like a loser.

She waited there for some time but didn’t spot Namjoon again. After a while, a couch nearby freed up and she sat down on it, observing her surroundings. Other people seemed to be having a good time. She wondered what their secret was.

*

The door to the apartment opened again and Jimin, followed by V and a super excited Jungkook walked in.

“Waah!!” exclaimed Jungkook, looking around, eyes full of wonder.

“Try not to look like this is your first party, Kookie” Jimin told him in a side whisper, waving at someone at the back of the room.

“But Jimin, it is my first party!”

“Oh, hey man!”

Out of the crowd, Rapmonster appeared and exchanged a little fist-bump handshake with Jimin. “This is your friend?” he asked, and the younger boy nodded, shaking his hand eagerly. “I thought you said Taehyung was coming too?” added Rapmon, looking left and right behind them.

“He is…” started Jimin, and then looking around, he realized that V had vanished without them noticing, “Ah… I guess he went off somewhere.”

Rapmon shook his head, “I guess some things don’t change…”

The music died suddenly and you could hear the crowd beginning to whisper, wondering why.

“Oh hey, I gotta, go. Talk to you later!” said Rapmon, slapping Jimin’s back in a friendly manner before running off towards the DJ booth.

“What’s going on?” asked Kookie, confused.

“I think they’re gonna perform.” Said Jimin, walking a little closer to the DJ platform, where a crowd had already started gathering.

“Alright peoooooople!!!” Rapmon screamed at the top of his lungs, and the crowd cheered. “Are you reaaady???”

Suga gave him a beat and Rapmon was off. Jimin couldn’t tell if he was free-stying it, or if the song was rehearsed, but one thing was for sure, his old friend was a genius when it came to rapping. Junkgook watched, almost in rapture, as the blonde boy was soon joined by J-Hope, who took over after a few minutes. Then when the song ended, Suga jumped from behind his table, and J-hope started beatboxing. The crowd bobbed their heads eagerly while Suga delivered his lines, and then, when he was done, all three of them took a coordinated little bow and the crowd cheered the loudest they had so far. After that, Suga returned to his position at the DJ booth and the music started again.

“Waaaah!!! That was so cooool!!!!” Kookie was squealing, actually jumping up and down next to Jimin.

“You think so, kid?”

Again, Rapmon had materialized next to them, seemingly out of thin air, but this time, he was holding three cups of beer, one of which he handed one to Jungkook, and then to Jimin.

“Oh yes!” he nodded vigorously, which made Rapmon laugh. “You should see us when we actually rehearse though.”

“You mean that was freestyle?!”

“Jungkook close your mouth, you’re drooling,” said Jimin, in an unimpressed voice, which again, caused Rapmon to laugh.

“I like this kid” he said, patting him on the shoulder, and Jungkook beamed.

“But seriously hyung, how do you even know each other?” asked the youngest, after he’d gotten over his daze.

“We used to go to elementary school together.” answered Jimin, taking a sip of his beer, “and why you call him hyung and not me, huh?”

“Oh really?” asked Jungkook, ignoring him and looking at Rapmonster, “What was Jimin like back then?”

“He was such a chubby little kid! Haha!” said Rapmon, grinning at a glaring Jimin,“He’d follow me around everywhere!”

“Oh, you mean like he’s doing to me now?” said Jungkook, and Rapmon burst into laughter again, slapping his thigh as if it was the funniest thing he’d heard all week.

“Hey, I resent that!! I’m cool now, hyung!”

“Sure you are” the other two both said at the same time, which caused another fit of giggles all around.

Jimin made a sulky face and said, “Fine. I’ll show you.”

He shrugged out of his jacket, revealing his bare, muscular arms in the process, and handed it to Jungkook, before walking right into the middle of the area where people were dancing. As if on cue, a great bouncy beat came on and he motioned for people to give him space.

“What’s he doing?” asked Jungkook, curiously.

“Just watch.” said Rapmon, a smirk playing on his lips.

Jimin broke into a complicated dance and a circle quickly formed around him, cheering him on.

“Did you know he could dance like that?!” asked the younger boy, shocked.

Rapmon nodded, smiling, and screamed “go Jimiiiin!!” and then to Jungkook, “yeah, he wants to be a dancer. Didn’t you know?”

Jungkook shook his head. He kept staring at his friend, eyes wide with newfound respect.

After about a minute, the crowd parted to let another person into the circle. The boy, who was dressed all in white, looked at Jimin, nodding his head to the music and smiling appreciatively as he acknowledged the brown-haired boy’s skills. Then, he flipped his cap backwards and motioned at Jimin to give him room, so the boy obliged and stepped back.

J-Hope started dancing. His body moved as if he was made out of rubber. While Jimin had been good, this guy was on another level entirely. He popped to every beat, turning left and right, dropping on the floor for a few b-boy moves, doing a handstand and jumping back up, to finally end it grinning and taking a bow in front of his opponent.

Jimin rose up to the challenge, snapped a few moves of his own, followed by a series body rolls where he teasingly lifted up his shirt, flashing a bit of skin (to the delight of all the females present) and finished the whole thing with a front-flip, landing on his knees to the cheers of the crowd.

J-hope came over and they clasped hands together as he helped him up. “Not bad, kid!” he told him, out of breath and laughing.

“No way hyung,” gasped Jimin, “You’re really cool! You have to teach me!”

And J-hope just laughed some more. They walked out of the crowd, which slowly returned to normal, and went to join Rapmon and Jungkook who were still standing where he’d left them.

“Hyung! You were so cool!!!!” said Kookie, and Jimin kinda glowed because Jungkook never called him hyung.

“Eheh…” he gave out an embarrassed smile, taking his jacket back from his dongsaeng.

 “You guys were awesome, man.” Said Rapmonster, “Hey, here’s a thought! Next time we play at the club, you guys should prepare a choreography or something.”

“Really? You mean it?!” asked Jimin, excitedly.

“Oh, it’s a good idea!” said J-Hope, clasping him on the back. “I’ve been trying to teach them how to dance for ages, but they’re hopeless!” he added, laughing at Rapmonster.

“Hey! I resent that! Look at my awesome moves!” said the leader, before breaking into some strange kind of gorilla dance that seemed to require him to scrunch up his face as if he was in pain as well, causing everybody else to laugh.

“No?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

And they all shook their heads.

“Ah well…”

“So how about it?” J-hope asked Jimin, “Would you like to join our crew?”

“YES!!!” exclaimed Jimin, actually jumping up and punching his fist in the air.

And they all laughed.

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The scene with Jimin dancing is seriously my favourite thing I've ever written... XD 
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