Being a librarian was a challenge, especially for someone like Kim Seokjin. He loved books more than anything, usually devouring two a week, so he’d expected an enjoyable time as a librarian. But it was like being on a diet and frequenting a candy store; there were books all around him, all day, and he couldn’t read any of them. The senior librarians had reprimanded him more than once for reading on the job. His voice was also getting a bit less even than usual from whispering so much.

And there was this guy. This guy who wore the same white hoodie and expensive headphones every day, and sat in the same place every day, and probably had the Wi-Fi code memorized because he was on his beaten-up MacBook every day. Jin normally wouldn’t be worried about this behavior—there were plenty of library regulars, as Jin himself had once been, who came in quite often to check out stacks of books at a time. But this guy never read. Not once had Jin ever seen him pick up a book. In fact, one day when the guy arrived, there was a book on his usual table and he seemed so annoyed by it that he re-shelved the book (in the wrong place, might Jin add) before even setting up his laptop. But that wasn’t the only thing that bothered Jin.

Jin worked in the children’s department.

Hundreds of kids surrounded him throughout a shift, kids who asked him questions, checked out picture books with size 24 font. Kids who played pre-installed Winnie the Pooh games on the library computers. Kids who had to be reminded every ten minutes not to speak so loudly. And then there was the guy. A grown man, probably far into his college career, headphones cupping his ears, completely oblivious to every child around him knocking entire displays of books over or crying because they accidently ripped out a page. Jin had never even seen his face; it was always buried behind his laptop. He wanted to know why the man insisted on shamelessly loitering in the children’s section, when there was a perfectly good and considerably quieter adult section upstairs. Anyone who sat at the tables in the kid’s section was either a parent who didn’t trust Jin’s babysitting skills, or young students working on homework after school. And then one table with the guy. It was mysterious, in a way. Jin was never a fan of the mystery genre. Not even Agatha Christie.

The children were lovely, though. Jin had especially taken a liking to one boy, a bit on the old side for the kid’s section but not yet old enough for the teen section, named Jungkook. He was one of few young library regulars. Jungkook always made sure to greet Jin, despite risking a stern Shhh! from some of the meaner librarians. He would tell Jin about any new series he’d started, and this helped Jin make recommendations to the other children. A nice symbiotic relationship if there ever was one. Jungkook appreciated that Jin was the only male librarian (something Jin himself was less-than-proud of) and mentioned numerous times how he wanted a job there “When I’m an old man like you”.

Over all, Seokjin tried not to pay much attention to the guy in the corner. He wasn’t necessarily bothering Jin; rather it was the opposite. He wasn’t bothering Jin at all. He was just sitting, breathing, occasionally typing. And that bothered Jin. The librarian had been searching for a reason to kick the guy out for a solid two months, and found nothing.

And then came the fatal flaw. When laptop guy brought not only his laptop and headphones, but also a Starbucks cup. Jin mentally thanked the cranky old hag upstairs who established the “No food or drink in the library except water” rule and decided, Today is the day I finally meet Satan.

But he couldn’t just walk over there. No, that would be too sudden and forward. He needed a reason besides the coffee. And sure enough, within the next ten minutes, more than one child knocked over enough books to give him a reason. Jin sometimes did walk around the room to re-shelve books. He usually stayed behind his desk, however, to help kids find new authors or stamp students’ reading logs. It felt odd, being in that corner of the library after months. He’d avoided the problem table as long as possible. After all, Jin had no idea what kind of character this guy was. Maybe he was a really young ert who lingered in the library kid’s section like a desperate man lingers in a bar?

Jin straightened up any out-of-place books and quietly asked stray kids if they needed help with anything, but really he just wanted to get to the point.

The librarian tapped his unsuspecting rival on the shoulder and in one swift motion the other male pulled down his hood, removed his headphones, and tilted his head toward Jin. Jin wished he would put the hood back on and bury his face behind the laptop again. Because if Jin knew himself, he knew every time he looked into the corner from that moment onward he’d picture that face: the round cheeks, bubblegum pink hair styled as if he didn’t have headphones surgically attached to his skull, large glasses, full mouth, and dimples. On both cheeks. Jin loved dimples. And pink.

He looked… Not ugly. So not ugly, in fact, that Jin wondered how he’d ever been even mildly annoyed with this man. Why did he care if the guy sat in the kid’s section all day? Why did he care that he was obviously loitering and leeching off the Wi-Fi? He didn’t. But he had to stay professional. He didn’t really know how to address the man. “Sir,” That worked. “I’m sorry, but you can only have water in the library.”

Seokjin was not usually one to complain. Instead, he was the one other people complained to. He never had time to sort out his own problems, because he was too busy sorting out other people’s entire lives. So his room-mates (his poor, poor room-mates) had probably not prepared themselves mentally for Jin’s rapid and uncharacteristically disorganized explanation of his new life issues. “Hold on, hold on,” Hoseok interrupted, “If this guy’s been coming to the library every day for months, why have you never mentioned him?” He feigned offence, “Every day I ask you ‘How was work?’ and you’ve obviously been deceiving me!”

Jin sighed. He could never finish one sentence without Hoseok butting in. Hoseok was inarguably the bubblier room-mate, always turning everything into a production. Yoongi, on the other hand… was sleeping. Which he had most definitely not been doing when Jin began his story. Hoseok noticed this as well and shook Yoongi’s shoulders dramatically. “Wake up! Jin-hyung is having his mid-life crisis and that means yours is next, so pay close attention!” That only made Yoongi annoyed, so Hoseok followed up with something that would really get his attention: “By the way, Jimin stopped by while you were out and he said you were cute when you sleep.”

It wasn’t true at all. Yoongi had only been out for five minutes. For someone who didn’t care about Jin’s problems, Jin had helped him out a lot in dealing with his extreme and one-sided crush on the landlord’s son, Jimin. Yoongi did wake up at this, though, sputtering, “Then why didn’t you wake me the fu—” and upon realizing it was a lie, “I hate you. I’m going back to sleep; this isn’t exciting.”

“Fine, then,” Hoseok said curtly, “I’ll just have to hear about the library man-candy that Jin’s been sleeping on for months all by myself,” Yoongi acted with reluctance, but the fact that he kept his eyes open was enough to ensure Jin he had the man’s attention. “Now, hyung, you were just telling me why you’ve never mentioned this specimen before?”

Jin flushed slightly. It was embarrassing, but true: “It’s because I’d never seen his face before…”

Hoseok clapped and made a noise akin to a five-year-old girl. “That good, huh?”

“Sure, he’s… attractive,” Jin admitted, “But I’m not attracted to him. He’s still an . Seriously, he’s in a library every day and doesn’t even try to read! He just uses the Wi-Fi and brings in coffee when you’re not supposed to. What kind of guy does that?”

Yoongi smirked, “I feel like that’s something I would do.”

He earned a soft punch on the arm from Hoseok, “That’s because you’re an .”

“Guys, guys,” Weren’t they supposed to be mediating Jin, and not the other way around? “I’m looking for advice here.”

The more blunt of the two raised his eyebrows at Jin, “I don’t get it, what’s the problem? You’re a good-looking guy, you think he’s a good-looking guy. And you’re a librarian for God’s sake; that’s a hot job. I don’t care if it’s the kid’s section—I say you should bang him. Even if he’s not gay, just catch him at an off moment and-”

“The problem is that I want him out! That table is there for a reason and it’s not to accommodate freeloaders. He just happens to be attractive; that shouldn’t stop me from doing my job and telling him to go upstairs. I don’t even know what he’s doing, he’s just on his laptop-”

“Probably watching .”

“.”

He didn’t have to wait long at all. Less than twenty-four hours, actually.

Jin had just finished a new picture book display when the guy walked in. With a Starbucks cup. Jin felt his eye twitch. Surely no one’s memory was so poor that they break a rule one day, say they’re not going to break the rule again, then do exactly what they promised not to do the next day. ‘Won’t happen again’, my sweet .

He waited a few minutes. Just long enough for the guy to get comfortable, so Jin’s impending disruption would be even more unwelcome. He did eventually make his way over, though, and tapped him on the shoulder just like the day before. The guy’s hair was still perfect, cheeks still adorable, dimples still very noticeable (much to Jin’s dismay). “Sorry, sir, but you’re only allowed to have water in the library.”

The guy smiled. Jin was so gloriously screwed. “This is water.”

Okay. Water in a Starbucks cup. For hot liquids.

“Really?” Jin asked, still trying maintain a professional librarian-quality whisper but nearly failing. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” What else was he supposed to do, grab the cup and whip the lid off?

The guy nodded, as if to say, Get away from my table you nosy librarian I’d like to get back to my dubious water and ography now.

“And he put water in a Starbucks cup! What did he do, just re-use the cup from yesterday and fill it up in the sink? Either he’s lying or is just a terrible cheapskate.”

When Jin was younger, he’d wanted to be a singer. His voice was good; he knew that as well as anyone who heard it. But it was so… risky. Such a competitive business. So while Hoseok had followed his dreams and became a dance instructor, and Yoongi had followed his dreams and became a novelist, Jin was left to be a librarian. It wasn’t a terrible job. He loved being a librarian. But some days, he wished he could go back to college and pursue vocals rather than linguistics. Like today.

Because the guy was there. With a Starbucks cup.

Jin didn’t know whether to approach him or not. Because if he tapped the guy on the shoulder again, and the guy removed his headphones so smoothly again, and Jin told him he was only allowed to have water again, then he would probably look stupid for doing exactly the same thing as the day before and getting the same response. But if he didn’t talk to the guy, then it would just be Jin’s luck that an old-lady-librarian would approach him after work and say, ‘I saw that guy with coffee earlier. Do you not care about our rules at all?’

He worried too much. Hoseok said it all the time, and he denied it all the time, but that didn’t make it any less true.

So in the end, he left the guy to his laptop and headphones and Starbucks cup. Jin barely even looked over there the entire day; he was far too busy helping Jungkook with a book report and hanging up cheesy pro-reading posters.

Jungkook approached the librarian before he left and thanked Jin again for helping on the essay: “My teacher has never truly read Harry Potter until she’s read my book report!” Jin laughed and ruffled Jungkook’s hair, bidding him good-bye.

Jin didn’t think about it, but the guy always left around the same time as Jungkook, about an hour before Jin’s shift was over. He walked past Jin’s desk every day, right after Jungkook left, and Jin had never noticed. This time, he still pretended not to notice. That became quite a challenge, however, when the guy cleared his throat loudly. Jin turned towards him. The guy was tall. He raised his Starbucks cup slightly and flashed Jin a dazzling smile complete with full-dimple action. “It was coffee this time.” And then he left.

“I think I figured it out. He’s a genius.”

Yoongi chuckled, not even raising his head. “Well, you’re screwed, then.”

“Sir, I hope that’s water today.”

Jin always made it a priority to be polite, but he couldn’t help the edge that crept into his voice. He hadn’t even tapped the guy on the shoulder this time; he’d spotted Jin coming and greeted him with a cocky expression and a ‘Yes?’

“It is, actually.”

The librarian sighed. “I’m afraid if you bring coffee again, I’ll have to ask you to go upstairs. Unless you’re here with a child?” Detective Jin, on the case.

The guy smirked, “Is that your way of asking me if I’m single?”

Jin almost lost his composure at the man’s forwardness. Almost. “No, it’s my way of asking why a grown man is in the children’s section every day.” Okay, maybe that was a bit too much.

“Touché.” He was laughing. Jin took that as a good sign. “Well, I am single,” That information was completely unnecessary, “and I am here with a child.”

Not the answer Jin was expecting. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. He had never seen the guy interact with anyone, let alone any kids. Was he a single father? The guy was young. Maybe he was a teen dad whose girlfriend left him with a kid? Jin opened his mouth to say something, probably something stupid, but the guy beat him to the punch.

“You might know him actually,” Oh no. If this was going where Jin thought it was… “Jeon Jungkook?” If there was a God, He hated Jin. The entire universe was created just to ensure that Kim Seokjin’s existence would be miserable. “He’s my neighbor. I drive him here, get some work done, drive him home.”

“Who’s the guy who drives you here each day?” Jin asked in passing. Jungkook looked around briefly, and pointed to the guy in the corner, hidden behind the screen as usual. Jin laughed, “I know that, but who is he? Can you tell me a bit about him?”

Jungkook thought for a moment, not questioning Jin’s motives at all. “He’s my neighbor, Kim Namjoon,” Namjoon. And they had the same surname. If Hoseok were there, he’d probably spout some nonsense about fate. “He’s really nice, but a little weird,” Really nice, a little weird. Jin had only encountered half of that equation. “He’s a pretty bad cook, too.” Finally, something Jin could consider a flaw!

Jin cut in, “Do you know what he does for a living?”

“Yeah, he’s in college. He graduated already, but he’s going back for some reason. Like, who would want to go back to school? What a nerd!” Jin loved kids. “Right now he’s on something called a leap year?”

“A gap year?”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s a leap year. Anyway, that’s why he’s not at college all the time. My mom and dad pay him to watch me during the day. I told them I don’t need Namjoon—I mean, he’s not very social with me in the first place, but they still think I’m too young to walk here and stuff by myself.”

Jin smiled, “Jungkook, you’re eleven.”

“You don’t know my inside age. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Namjoon. He makes music, too, on his computer and that’s like his job, I guess,” That was it. Seokjin was sold. “I asked him if I could listen once, but he only let me listen to the intro for ten seconds and then he turned it off because the lyrics ‘aren’t for my ears’, whatever that means.” He actually sounded like a good guy, hearing Jungkook talk about him. “Since my parents are at work most of the day, he’s kind of like a dad to me. A really awkward dad who isn’t good at conversation.”

The librarian pretended to be offended, “I thought I was your awkward father-figure with poor conversation skills!”

The younger boy seemed to seriously consider this. “No, you’re a mom for sure.”

Kids were so funny. Jin laughed a bit louder than he should, earning a Shhhh! From another librarian. Betraying her own kind. “Wait, are you sure you don’t know much about him?”

“No,” Jin said, “I don’t. I didn’t even know his name.”

Jungkook frowned, “Really? Because he asks about you, like a lot!” How interesting. The man seemed so annoyed whenever Jin spoke to him, but talks about him behind Jin’s back? “What’s your favorite color, by the way?”

“Pink, why?”

The student shrugged. “It’s so weird that you both asked about each other,” A mischievous glint appeared in his eye, “I can’t wait to tell Namjoon that you asked…”

Oh no. That was not going to happen. “I’ll sign your reading logs for a month if you don’t, even if you don’t read anything and make it all up.” It was a terrible bargain, but the kid played dirty sometimes and Jin was desperate.

When Yoongi got home, Jin was cooking. He looked quite… disheveled. And since Yoongi worked from home and hardly left the flat, that could only mean one thing…

“Hey, where were you out to?” Jin asked with as little judgement in his voice as possible.

Yoongi scoffed, “You know where I was.” Right. With Jimin.

“I hope you understand we’re getting evicted if the landlord find out you’ve been in a…casual relationship… with his son for half a year.” Jin certainly didn’t approve of the relationship. Not only did he believe it was risky, he thought Jimin was leading his room-mate on.

The writer didn’t seem to care much, and Jin found that a bit sad. “Oh, yeah?” he asked, “And how’s your love life going?”

Jin decided to mess with his friend a bit, “Great, actually. I was just talking to Namjoon today, actually—Namjoon was the guy with the laptop by the way, but I’m over that now. He’s such a nice guy, and he makes music for a living. We have a lot in common. He drives one of the kids I see a lot to the library every day, and I just think that’s so cute and caring.”

Yoongi blinked, obviously not expecting that answer. Jin laughed and put the man out of his misery. “I’m kidding. He’s still a jerk. I asked him if he was here with a kid, and he said, ‘Is that you asking me if I’m single?’ Seriously, he gives me a headache.”

“Sounds to me like you actually do like him,” Yoongi remarked, a comment that Jin did not appreciate. “Where’s Hoseok?”

Jin had all but forgot about that fiasco. “He left a little bit ago. He’s at the studio giving a private lesson.”

This caused Yoongi to break into laughter. “Is that what he’s calling it? I can’t imagine who the lucky student it is, it couldn’t possibly be this Taehyung he won’t stop talking about. He’s probably teaching the poor kid the rare technique of lap-dancing.”

Yoongi’s sense of humor was sometimes too much for Jin. “Let’s face it, Yoongi, we’re all a mess.”

“What are the chances,” Yoongi asked, “that three guys would move in together in college, not knowing we were all gay, in South Korea no less, then all fail so tremendously at relationships in the same year? Hoseok’s dating his student, you have conflicting feelings for some illiterate , and I’m ing the landlord’s son. Let’s all make a resolution to get our together.”

The next day saw an exhausted Jin trudge into the library with only the promise of a paycheck to lure him to his desk. He couldn’t decide if he hated Namjoon or not. That annoyed him. Because sure enough, when Jungkook smiled at Jin upon entering, Namjoon not far behind him (Seriously, how had Jin not noticed they arrived together each day?), Jin couldn’t help but see how fine Namjoon looked.

But when he of course approached Namjoon about the contents of his Starbucks cup, the man grinned and said, “Today it’s water, but I might be in a coffee mood tomorrow. You never know.” And Jin was annoyed again.

So he’d asked Namjoon every day for the past week. It was a vicious cycle. Because the man would always say it was water, but somehow make it seem like it wouldn’t be water the next day. He was playing mind games, something Jin was never too good at.

The interesting thing was, he’d gotten to know more about Namjoon simply from his brief and frequent visits to the table. He knew the man mixed rap music on his laptop, because he’d heard it leaking through the headphones once. He learned that Namjoon was clumsy because one time when Jin was re-shelving books he heard something knock over, and sure enough it was the Starbucks cup (Which, surprisingly, was actually filled with water. While Jin was diligently cleaning up the spill, Namjoon whispered, “You didn’t believe it was really water, did you?” and Jin’s reply of, “Whether I did or not, this is exactly why coffee is not allowed in the library,” seemed to amuse Namjoon).

He’d asked Namjoon out of pure curiosity, once the ‘is it coffee or water’ business was out of the way (it was water again) if he ever actually read books. Jin was worried the question was a bit out of line, but Namjoon insisted it was fine. “I do read,” he claimed, “Just not here.”

“What’s your favorite book, then?” Jin asked.

“You have little faith in me. I like that,” Jin was positive he blushed, “The Catcher in the Rye.”

Jin almost laughed. Maybe the man really was a ert. “You know there are quite a number of assassins obsessed with that book?”

Namjoon did laugh. As much as he could while whispering, at least. “I know,” he said, “but I promise I’m not an assassin. Did you enjoy it? Didn’t think it was too ‘phony’?”

It was at that moment that Jin completely understood who Namjoon was: a huge nerd. Jungkook had warned him, too. “Of course not. You’ve got me there.”

“What about you; what’s your favorite?”

He couldn’t recall being asked that in a long time. It made him think. “Don’t make me choose! I’d have to say… The Picture of Dorian Gray.” What a masterpiece.

“Good to know.” Namjoon smirked, and Jin thought the whole thing was mysterious until… Oh, yeah. The book was basically a commentary on coping with your inner gayness. Great. Jin was pretty convinced at that point that Namjoon was flirting with him.

And he didn’t mind. Although his talks with Namjoon had been frustrating in the past, this one was refreshing, in a way. He could picture himself sitting in a restaurant, or on a sofa, or even on a bed with Namjoon, just talking, whether it be about books or not. Jin was starting to accept the idea that Namjoon made him feel intelligent and stupid at the same time, feel like there was a spotlight on him yet he could be himself. And Jin wanted more of that.

“I used to have a crush on Hoseok, you know.”

“I know,” Jin replied, turning the page of the book he was reading, “If it makes you feel any better, Hoseok had no idea.”

Yoongi let out an unenthused laugh, “I know that idiot had no idea. He still doesn’t. It was never a huge crush, or love, or anything like that, but it was enough that when he started dating Taehyung, I wanted to punch someone. I probably did punch someone; I don’t remember.”

“You did,” Jin smiled at the memory, “You punched me.”

“Ah,” Yoongi closed his laptop to give in his attention, “Sorry about that. Anyway, when we moved here, I was looking for a way to get over it. Not just to get over him, I mean there was never anything between us, but to get over the fact that he was in a relationship and I was living so pathetically. Then I met Jimin, we started fooling around, and before I knew it I was in love with the kid.” he started laughing again as if the story were hilarious, “And the best part is, Jimin thinks I’m using him because I’m still into Hoseok. And he’s fine with that. It took me too long to realize I was over Hoseok before Jimin even came into the picture. Isn’t that miserable? Isn’t that just ing sad?”

Jin didn’t know what to say. His room-mate was never one to share feelings or reach a breaking point. It was all he could do to approach Yoongi’s desk chair, put a hand on his head, and say, “Everything will work out alright. You’ll be okay. Now how about I make us some food?”

The phone in the library hardly ever rang. It was a place of quiet, after all, so the ringing led whichever librarian answered the phone to sound very annoyed. The general public had caught on to this. Apparently, not that day.

About half an hour after Jungkook and Namjoon left, the phone in the children’s department rang. An ongoing call. Jin jumped to answer it immediately, upon noticing how every child and parent in the room whipped their heads around in the direction of Seokjin’s desk. He tried to keep his voice low, but still audible, “Hello, children’s department, how may I help you?”

A timid, young voice reached him, “Yes, uh, is this Mr. Jin?”

Jin smiled, “Yes, is this Jungkook?”

Silence for a few seconds, then, “I mean, yes. Sorry, I was nodding, but you can’t see that. Anyway, I left my math binder under the table, I think. It’s blue? I need it for tomorrow because Namjoon said he would help me learn exponents. So I just called to ask, when does the library close? I don’t think Namjoon wants to go anywhere else tonight, but I can make him drive back there because I really really need it.”

Kids were so cute. Jin craned his neck to see if he could look under the corner table from his desk. Sure enough, a blue binder was resting by its foot. “Yes, I can see the binder from here. The library closes at 8:00, which is in about two hours.” Jin hoped he was close enough to Jungkook that he could make his next move, “If it’s easier for you two, I’d be happy to drop the binder off on my way home from work. I would need you address, though, is that okay?”

“One moment,” Jungkook was sweet when he tried to act like an adult. After about two minutes of what Jin assumed was a talk with Namjoon, Jungkook returned. “Yes, that will be fine,” He gave Jin Namjoon’s address to write down, and was about to hang up when Jin heard Say ‘Thank you’ from somewhere in the background. “Oh! Thank you.”

-Hey, Jin, what’s up?

-“Hi, Hoseok, I just wanted to call and say I’d be a little late from work today. There should be some leftovers in the fridge, did you see those?”

-Late? Did something happen?

-“No! Well, yes, but nothing bad.”

-You sound suspicious. Oh my God, are you going on a date or something? With coffee-??

-“No.”

-Oh my God! Have fun, get drunk, get laid for all I care, we’ll be here when you get back and you had better describe it in vivid detail. Oh , Yoongi whipped out the notebook from hell, you’re screwed when you come bac-

-“I’m really not going on a date, Hoseok, I just have to drop something off at this kid’s place that he left at the library. It’s not creepy, I promise, I know this kid pretty well.”

-…Wait. Is this the one who lives with coffee-? Is this why you didn’t call Yoongi, because you think I’m too dumb to remember?

-“…”

The apartment complex wasn’t out of his way. It was a nice, sturdy-looking building, perfect for a single man in college. It was just hard to imagine a family of three living there, which made Jin wonder how often Jungkook’s parents were in town at all.

He was nervous. Who would answer the door? Did Jin have something on his face? One resolution he’d made to himself before even arriving at the apartment was that if either of them offered Jin to step inside, he would say no. This was just a drop-off. He glanced down once more at the address paper, whose fold lines were far too worn for having been written two hours ago. Suddenly he was standing outside what the paper said was Namjoon’s apartment, clutching a blue binder with one hand and pressing the buzzer with the other.

Jin heard the sound of a lock shifting, a door opening, and there was Namjoon. In sweats and a tee-shirt. And Jin had been worried about his appearance. “Hello, sorry to impose,” Jin greeted apologetically, trying not to notice the window of skin between the bottom of Namjoon’s shirt and the elastic of his sweats.

“It’s perfectly okay,” Namjoon assured with a smile. As he took the binder from Jin, he caught Jin’s hand and inspected the work he’d done earlier that day, chuckling softly. “Hm. Almost forgot about this.”

Jin looked up at him, “What does it even say?”

“Well,” Namjoon leaned against the doorframe and dropped Jin’s hand, “You can’t speak English, so I guess you’ll never know,” Jin gaped at him in mock-offense, which apparently amused Namjoon. “You can come in if you want,” Oh, no. “I was just making some coffee, if you’d like some.”

And then it was judgement day. Because Seokjin had promised himself he would leave. He would drop off the binder and leave. But there was something in the way Namjoon had invited him inside, like he knew Jin wanted to come in even if Jin didn’t admit that to himself. The librarian found himself saying, “Coffee? Are you sure it’s not water?”

There was an understanding then that Jin would end up coming in, so Namjoon took it upon himself to speed up the process, “I guess you’ll find out,” He moved out of the doorway for Jin to squeeze through.

Namjoon’s apartment was nicer than one would imagine. Jin got a sloppy vibe out of the man, and had expected clothes or random furniture to be everywhere. Instead, the space was tidy with minimalist decorations. It was so unlike Jin’s style of everything pink or Mario-themed. Despite this, he didn’t hate the apartment. It was comfortable, in a way.

The whole thing was pathetic. They were two grown men, who flirted and yet still pretended that neither knew the other one’s name. As Jin was slipping off his shoes, he asked, “Where’s Jungkook?”

“His parents are on a business trip, so he’s spending the night here. He’s getting ready for bed,” Namjoon answered, “Which probably involves lots of sock puppets and way too much toothpaste.” He led Jin into a small kitchen and presented him with the coffee machine. “See, it is coffee.”

Jin laughed and sat down at a table. “Then I’ll have some, if you’re sure it’s okay.”

An excited voice came from where Jin assumed the bathroom was, “I’m all ready for bed!”

The pink-haired man must have seen the hopeful look in Jin’s eyes, because he said, “Would you mind putting him to bed? I’m sure you’ll be better at it than I am. I’ll have some coffee ready in a few minutes.”

Jin smiled and made his way to where Jungkook’s voice was coming from. He was brought back to his babysitting days, going to other people’s homes and putting kids to bed. “Jungkook?” he called.

He rounded the corner into a small bedroom and was greeted by Jungkook smiling at him from his bed. “Mr. Jin! Did you bring my binder?”

“Of course I did. Now how can I help you get to bed? Should I read you a story?”

Jungkook laughed, “I’m eleven, not five. You know I can read, I go to your library all the time! Can you just turn off the lights? Oh, and a glass of water would be nice.”

Kids were so demanding. He didn’t even say ‘please’. Nevertheless, Jin found himself in the kitchen asking Namjoon to find a glass for him, and returned to Jungkook, who hadn’t moved an inch. “Here is your water, sir.” Jin put on his best fake butler voice, “Is there anything else I can get for you? Does Namjoon usually give you a good-night kiss or something?”

Jungkook made a noise of disgust. “Does Namjoon usually give you a good-night kiss?”

“I actually don’t, Jungkook,” both Jin and Jungkook whipped their heads around to see Namjoon standing in the doorway. “Your coffee’s ready, by the way.”

As soon as Jin closed the door behind him, he braced himself for the inevitable interrogation. “Sorry I’m late, it was Jungkook’s bedtime and then I was offered coffee, so—”

“What did you do, make a pit stop after work to get married and adopt a child?” Yoongi and Hoseok were sitting at the kitchen table, as if they’d been waiting for some time. “Kim Seokjin, we were worried sick,” the writer pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, but was evidently more concentrated on the notebook in his lap, “It’s been three hours since you called. To compensate for our hardships, please give an accurate and thorough summary of what happened between now and about 8:30.”