After exchanging only a few more words with Hoseok, Chorim headed home. Hoseok’s positive aura was actually too much for Chorim to handle considering she herself was actually quite a sluggish person. She didn’t want to wake Seulgi up with any noise so she returned to Taehyung’s place instead. She freely entered, not caring if Taehyung and Jimin were still sleeping or not and luckily for her, Taehyung was already awake and in the kitchen making breakfast.
“I really should change the passcode…” Taehyung snidely remarked, thinking that Chorim wouldn’t hear him. Chorim threw her bag across the room at Jimin and kicked her shoes off at the front. Jimin paid no attention and was curled up in a ball wrapped up in his blanket with only a hole for his face and one for his hand holding out his phone which he was engrossed with as usual.
“Oh stop it. You love having me over.” Chorim walked over to the fridge to check for food but found nothing worthwhile.
“How was it?” Taehyung asked.
“Yeah, the guy took Taetae back. I don’t know, it was kind of weird. Did you know the reward was 1 million Won? 1 million for a small dog.”
“1 million!?” Jimin exclaimed. Chorim and Taehyung turned their heads to the absurd sight of just Jimin’s face poking out of the blankets and innocently staring at them.

“Exactly my reaction.” Chorim said to Taehyung, “He looked genuinely confused as well when I told him it was too much. I’m not sure if he’s too innocent or too stupid.”
“Did you take it?”
“No, of course not.” Chorim went over to annoy Jimin and sat on his stomach, pretending he wasn’t there. “Anyway, it’s not like I’ll be seeing him again.” Chorim remained silent as Jimin struggled underneath to get her off. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door which was still slightly open.
“Chorim?” A voice called out.
“Seulgi!” Chorim got up to greet her friend at the door, “You're up! What’s wrong?”
“Water’s not working.” Seulgi said, sleepily rubbing her eye,  “I heard your voice from next door so…” Seulgi was still in the dress from last night which she had slept in.
“Oh, it’s just a little fault, I can fix it.” Chorim said, soon realising that Seulgi was keenly looking at her, waiting to be introduced. Chorim sheepishly smiled at Seulgi and then turned around.
“Guys, this is my friend, Seulgi. She’s staying with me for a few days.”
“Hello there, it's nice to meet you.” Seulgi sweetly waved at the guys.
“Seulgi, this is Taehyung,” Chorim gestured towards Taehyung and then towards Jimin was on the couch, “and this is Jimin, his unofficial roommate.” At what must have been a record speed, Jimin had gotten rid of the blanket and tried to ‘casually’ sit upright on the couch with his snapback on. He greeted Seulgi with an embarrassing attempt at a cool nod which made Seulgi giggle because she thought he was cute. Conversely, Chorim wanted to facepalm herself because he looked like an idiot.
“Alright, I’ll head back then. I'll see you guys later!” Seulgi exclaimed with a bright smile and an enthusiastic wave.
“Speaking of seeing people, Sungjae’s going to be here in an hour. Damn...” She unintentionally said out loud after Seulgi left.
“Sungjae? Where are you guys going now?” Jimin asked. For the past weeks ever since they met, Chorim and Sungjae had been hanging out on a regular basis which even Jimin had noticed. Having known Sungjae for so long, Jimin suspected he had ulterior motives. Jimin quickly glanced at Taehyung to see how he was responding but as expected, Taehyung didn’t seem to have much of an reaction (nor could Jimin properly see his facial expressions).
“Some pop-up shop in Myeongdong. I don’t know, he's quite a spontaneous person.” Chorim quickly grabbed her bag and shoes, not even bothering to put them back on, “I'll catch you guys later.”

Both Chorim and Seulgi had started getting ready for the day next door. Seulgi was going to go meet with her mother whilst Chorim was going to head out with Sungjae.
“So Jimin was pretty cute.” Seulgi said casually. Chorim never gave it much thought because she saw him so often but she was aware he had a charming face and knew he would be quite popular if he styled himself properly… and started interacting with people instead of computers.
“What about Taehyung?” Chorim asked, highly curious about what an outsider’s first impression would be like. It couldn't be much worse than her first impression of him.
“Taehyung? The guy with a mop on his head?” Seulgi sniggered, “He seems kind of scary, doesn’t he?” Chorim remained quiet and carefully applied her mascara. Oh, you’d be surprised… She knew he had the type of face that Seulgi would go absolutely crazy over.
Seulgi slipped out of her dress and roamed around the apartment in nothing but her bra and underpants to look for clothes to wear. Chorim enviously looked at Seulgi’s toned arms and legs and well-defined abs and then pinched at her stomach. Hrm… Chorim hadn't gained a noticeable amount of weight but it seemed prominent in her eyes when she compared herself to someone like Seulgi and that was enough to make her anxious. It came as no surprise to Chorim because she knew she had a poor diet. She excessively ate junk food and when she wasn’t eating out or having dinner at Taehyung’s, she was eating ramen noodles. Even having a decent metabolism wasn't going to save her. She realised that ever since meeting Taehyung and Jimin, she didn't worry about constantly maintaining herself to such a high standard which was strangely both a good and bad thing.
“Seulgi, I think I have to start working out again.” Chorim said with a frown.
“Why? Do you even have a gym membership?”
“No…” Chorim sulked, “Do I look like I can afford a gym membership? I’m just going to go for jogs. You know, use nature’s gym.”
Chorim continued to touch up her make-up in the bathroom. The doorbell rang and Seulgi went over to open the door despite only wearing a big oversized shirt she randomly found and no pants. Sungjae, who had expected Chorim to be at the door, was caught off guard by the sight of Seulgi and greeted her with a shy bow. As she was leaning against the door frame, Seulgi eyed him from top to bottom and took a liking to him immediately even though he wasn’t her type with his cute and innocent face.
“Is Chorim home?” Sungjae asked.
“Yeah, she’ll be out in a minute.” Seulgi tilted her head with a charming smile.
“Ah, that’s fine, tell her to take her time.” He grinned back at her. She closed the door behind her and then rushed over to Chorim who was hopping around, looking for her right shoe in the kitchen.
“Holy sh*t Chorim, what kind of place is this? A p*nis garden?”
“What?” Chorim didn’t bother lifting her head up as she frantically searched.
“First Yoongi, then Jimin, and now this Sungjae guy? Introduce me puh-lease.”
“Well, I can introduce you but I can’t introduce you to Sungjae.” Chorim immediately slipped on the right shoe as soon as she found it and then rushed over to the door, “Alright, see you later! Don't forget to lock the door!”
“Wait, why not?” Seulgi cried out just a little too late, after Chorim had already left.

~

It might seem odd for Chorim to commit herself to anything but when it came to maintaining her physique and beauty for the world, she was quite determined. The very next morning she woke up extra early in order to fit in time for a jog around the city. Even if she was going for a run, her face still needed to look flawless and her long hair needed to be in a stylish ponytail. Even her exercise gear, which had been rotting away in her overfilled and unorganised closet, were branded and coordinated. Chorim checked herself out in the mirror and nodded to herself, satisfied. She knew it was a bad start to the morning when she bumped into Yoongi as soon as she went outside. She wanted to ignore him but he wasn’t going to let her get away so easily.
“Going for a jog?” He asked her.
“No sh*t.”
“Good on you for making lifestyle changes.” He mockingly slow clapped with a sly grin. Even if he didn't have any ill intentions, the fact that it was coming from him irritated Chorim.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chorim glowered at him. He smirked and unexpectedly leaned over to pinch her bare thigh. She scared him off by pretending she was going to knee him in the face. Without saying another word, she quickly ran down the stairs.
“Be careful!” He said in an insincere tone.

I...hate...jogging…I hate...moving... She had only managed to jog around a few blocks before she genuinely feared she’d die from cardiac arrest. Her last stop was at the park and she stopped at a drinking station to catch her breath and then tried to hide the fact that she was dying when other runners went past even though she was sweating profusely. Her legs, although long and slim, felt as if they were made out of jelly but she refused to sit down. She decided to hide herself from onlookers and leaned against a big shady tree. It was a nice sunny day with a cool breeze which blessed everyone's skin.
‘Arf arf!’ Chorim looked down and saw Taetae standing at her foot and happily wagging his tail around.
“Taetae!” Chorim squatted down and let the cute fluffball playfully and bite her hand. Wait... She looked around in the general vicinity and couldn’t see the guy named Hoseok anywhere. I swear to god, does this guy just go around losing dogs all day? Chorim took out her phone and went into her log of recent calls. She pressed on his number and continued looking around whilst the phone rang. After a few seconds she could hear the sound of a ringtone getting louder and louder. She then saw Hoseok frantically running over with his phone in his hand. When he reached her, he bent over, gasping for air, and then crashed into the ground to lay down. Taetae excitedly ran over and started his cheek as he breathed heavily on the ground. Chorim noticed that whilst most people at this time were at the park to exercise, Hoseok was again dressed quite casually in street wear. Tempted by the sight of Hoseok resting on the lush green grass, Chorim gave in and decied to sit down beside him. She didn’t have the strength to walk away just yet with her wobbly legs.
“So is it your hobby to play hide and seek with your dog or…?” Chorim asked as a joke. Hoseok chuckled as he fixed the collar and leash around Taetae’s neck.
“Truth is, Mickey actually belongs to my older sister,” Hoseok said, “but I’ve been forced to take care of him for a bit. She would murder me if I lost him.” Hoseok looked into the distance, absolutely terrified as if he was experiencing war flashbacks.
“So, I’ve saved your life right?”
“Yes, you really have. Twice actually.” Hoseok beamed. Chorim found his bright smile quite contagious.
“Taetae no!” Chorim yelled out all of a sudden. Taetae had started pissing on Hoseok’s shoe whilst they were talking. Chorim was pleasantly surprised by Hoseok who, instead of getting angry and scolding Taetae, just patted the clueless puppy before letting it roam around again. He kept the same kind and cheerful expression on his face as if nothing had happened. Such a nice person…
Chorim and Hoseok properly introduced themselves to each other during their talk under the tree with Taetae occasionally barking to get their attention. He even asked why she had named Mickey 'Taetae' and wanted to meet the person he was named after. The most peculiar piece of information that Chorim picked up was the fact that Hoseok had only recently moved back to Seoul after a year but he didn't reveal from where and why. She was uncomfortable with him constantly asking her how he should repay her when she wasn't after anything but he was very persistent. He suddenly clicked his fingers and then pointed at her.
“Ah, I’ve got it. Chorim, are you signed up to a gym?” Hoseok asked. Chorim slowly shook her head and then jokingly narrowed her eyes at him as if his suggestion had ill intentions and implied something. She was highly amused by the gradual horror that overtook Hoseok’s bright face as he realised what she might have been thinking.
“Ah, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I really didn’t.” Hoseok said, extremely flustered, “I just thought you’d appreciate it since you’re obviously out for a jog and…and...” Chorim burst into laughter and tried to restrain herself by covering .
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I get what you mean.” She smiled to reassure him. Hoseok took out his wallet and gave her a small square card with a QR code printed on it.
“I’ll set you up with free gym membership! Just give that to the reception desk and they’ll be able to sort you out. I'll message you the address.”
“Oh, thanks.” Chorim said as she gratefully received the pass, not even once questioning how Hoseok was able to give such a thing out so freely.
“No, no, it’s the least I can do for you.” He was genuinely quite happy to have sorted something out.
‘Arf arf!’ Taetae barked as he pulled against the leash, clearly bored. Hoseok got up and then wiped the grass off his pants.
“I’ll see you around then. At the gym perhaps?”
“Yes and hopefully not because you lost Taetae again.” Chorim . He rubbed the back of his neck and flashed her a bashful smile before heading off. She looked at the card in her hand with a huge grin. Sweeeeeet, free gym membership.

~

Later in the day, Sungjae stopped by Taehyung’s house with hamburgers and fries but only Jimin was at home. Whilst they were eating and playing games, Jimin decided to probe Sungjae about Chorim but the plan seemed to backfire on him as soon as he asked.
“What the ? Where is this coming from?” Sungjae furrowed his eyebrows at Jimin and paused the game. He continued to chew because his mouth was full of food.
“Wait, so you aren’t interested in her?”
“What...no?” Sungjae his lips and placed his burger on the table, “Jimin…” Sungjae looked as if he was suffering from an internal conflict on whether to continue or not and then threw his head back and groaned out loud, “Fine, I was going to keep this a secret from you guys for a bit longer but…” He took out his phone and then went to his gallery, “I have a girlfriend.”



Jimin was awestruck by the photos and then started whacking Sungjae over the head, feeling betrayed.
“You a**hole. Since when?” Jimin cried, clearly hurt that his friend didn’t inform him earlier of such an important thing.
“Three months ago? Her name’s Sooyoung, she’s an intern at my father’s company.” Sungjae looked at her photo lovingly like a proud boyfriend. He abruptly put his phone face down onto the table, “So there, I’m a taken man so I have no interest in Chorim.”

“You’ve been hanging out with her so often I thought...”

“Ah, Jimin, Jiminy, Jimin.” Sungjae crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair, shaking his head disappointingly, “Sooyoung is with us like 90% of the time. I'm the third wheel to be honest.” At the sight of Jimin’s annoyed face, Sungjae leaned in closer, “I'm doing all this because I think Taehyung and Chorim match well so I’ve been...how do I put this...I’ve been testing out the waters and planting the seeds.”
“That sounds so wrong but go on.” Jimin narrowed his eyes at Sungjae.
“No it...shut up. Anyway, whenever she's with us, I always speak positively about Taehyung. You know, subtly reveal the big ol’ softie that he really is. We both know he has a hard time expressing himself otherwise.”
“Alright…”
“And the best thing? Doesn’t it seem like he’s jealous of me?” Sungjae let out a throaty evil laugh. All Jimin could manage was a slight nod. Jimin came to realise that he too had taken a liking to the thought of Chorim and Taehyung being together. After all, it had been a while since he saw Taehyung so comfortable with another girl. Even though they were always bickering, Jimin could tell that Taehyung was quite fond of Chorim and her company which is why he never changed the passcode to his place even though he always complained about it.
“Even just slightly, right? B*stard is probably too dense to realise his own feelings so we, you and I, as his brothers, have to help him.”
“How?” Jimin asked with a lot of anticipation, absolutely hooked on Sungjae’s theory.
“I’ve got absolutely no clue.” Sungjae said very seriously with his eyes incredibly sharp and focused. Jimin clenched his jaw and glared at Sungjae, highly irritated. “But I know where to start.” Sungjae added with a wise smirk. Jimin’s silence urged him to continue, “Fun fact, did you know Chorim is pretty good at giving haircuts?”
 

A/N: °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°