It’s way too early in the morning when Yoongi’s phone starts to buzz and light up.

[Private Chat – Min Yoongi IS old and grumpy]

justinseagull: hyung, hyung you awake?

justinseagull: hyung are you ignoring me?

justinseagull: hyung you know I can do this all day, right? Just answer

justinseagull: hyyyyyunnnng!!!!

GENIUS: d’’s wrong with you? It’s 5 in the morning.

justinseagull: oh, so you’re not awake?

justinseagull: is it because you’re too old to stay up late?

GENIUS: I’m deleting this chat from my kakao page

justinseagull: so grumpy

justinseagull: my bad go back to sleep grandpa

GENIUS: I question the validity of our friendship

justinseagull: as you should

Yoongi’s cranky and somewhat sleep deprived when his eyes finally open at three minutes past eight in the morning. He’s dreamed of several gruesome ways in which to punish Jungkook for his lack of respect for the elderly. Stretching his legs, he rolls to one side, tangling himself further in the alternative down comforter, his bones crackling as though begging him not to move. It’s a free day, and he giggles maniacally at the thought of not doing anything.

A Friday with no flights, no crazy passengers, no one telling him what to do, how to feel, or how to deal with his unresolved childhood issues. Briefly, he wonders if Jimin’s working. The thought is fleeting because the moment Yoongi’s mind pictures the smaller man with the chipmunk cheeks and the dangerous derriere, the image is immediately replaced.

Springing up to sit in the bed, Yoongi’s confused by what’s occurring. Why instead of crescent moon smiles does he see boxy ones? Why instead of mischevious flirty glances does he envision innocent, curious ones? How did Kim Taehyung take over his mind when Jimin’s all he’s looked at for three years? Shaking his head like it’s an etch a sketch, he tries to remove Taehyung from his mind. It doesn’t work. In frustration, he runs his hands through his hair, disheveling his locks, then picks up his phone. He needs a distraction.

To: Jungcrook

why the early morning chat?

From: Jungcrook

????

To: Jungcrook

did you drunk message me at five in the

morning?

From: Jungcrook

me? when did I…

oh,

wait…

maybe???

To: Jungcrook

you little you disrupt my sleep, and it’s not

even for a good reason

From: Jungcrook

what Tuan got the good stuff

To: Jungcrook

again he’s your hyung

From: Jungcrook

again he’s not here

From: Jungcrook

plus you should feel flattered

not angry

To: Jungcrook

???? flattered ????

From: Jungcrook

yes

aren’t you touched that even in an inebriated state

I still want to talk to you the most 😊 😊

To: Jungcrook

 I’m deleting this convo

From: Jungcrook

but you texted

To: Jungcrook

>_<

accurate

Yoongi contemplates the consequences of what he’s about to do. Handing over more ammunition to Jungkook is possibly not the wisest move he’s ever made, but he needs some clarification, a perspective less cluttered than his own. He takes a deep breath and proceeds to type.

To: Jungcrook

so I have this friend and

From: Jungcrook

so you then

To: Jungcrook

 can’t you read? It says friend

From: Jungcrook

okay hyung

you have a “friend”

He can almost picture Jungkook making air quotes with his fingers, and Yoongi grimaces. It was a bad idea, but it’s too late now. Looking at the phone once again, he blows at a stray lock that’s slightly covering his right eye; he needs a haircut.

To: Jungkcrook

right, so my friend has liked one person for a

really long time

From: Jungcrook

AKA flight attendant with the hella firm

that kid’s delicious hyung

oh, the things I could to that

To: Jungcrook

 uhm, no, that is off limits

u little and it’s not him

secondly, he’s not a kid, he’s your hyung

From: Jungcrook

uhm, he’s not here and secondly,

I can’t hyung, a person you’ve been

talking about banging for like two years

To: Jungcrook

when have I ever?????

also, hyung’s not dependant on location he’s

older no matter where he is

From: Jungcrook

Fine hella firm HYUNG

and you did that night at

Ken’s party when you got 

drunk called Taeyeon noona a

and proceeded to barf in the punch bowl

BEST NIGHT EVER

It’s confirmation, really. He’d known that asking Jungkook for advice was a mistake, but he’s desperate, damn it, and the kid, for all his jock like bravado, always seems to hit the nail on the proverbial head, ultimately saying exactly what Yoongi needs to hear like some idiot savant of random advice.

To: Jungcrook

I’m gonna live as though that never

happened back to my friend, so he’s liked this

person for a while but now there’s this new

person that keeps invading his space and taking

up his thoughts and my friend may like it, a lot,

and he’s not sure what to do because the

person he likes has finally noticed him even

asked him on a date, sort of

From: Jungcrook

firm hyung asked you out

DAMN

To: Jungcrook

uhm, er, no? my friend, remember

are you even reading this?

are you even reading this?

From: Jungcrook

sorry thought we’d given up that game

okay fine, so your “friend”

does he like this new person?

To: Jungcrook

maybe, yes???

he doesn’t…know he could

maybe???

possibly???

I don’t know I can’t even tell if he’s human

half the time pretty certain he’s slightly touched

he was talking to a wall when I, er, my friend first met him

From: Jungcrook

tell your “friend” that he

should give new person a chance

To: Jungcrook

stop it with the “quotes” also why shouldn’t my

friend go after his long-standing crush who’s

finally noticed his existence, after 1000 years?

From: Jungcrook

naw, despite liking firm hyung for

that long new person still managed to make an impact

your “FRIEND” should follow the

white rabbit see where the rabbit holes goes

To: Jungcrook

you think?

From: Jungcrook

hyung, you’ve been hung up on a fantasy for too long

whoever this other person is, they’ve somehow

managed to break through all your defenses

you owe it to yourself, to find out why

To: Jungcrook

damn it I said it was my friend

From: Jungcrook

Anything you say hyung 😉

To: Jungcrook

and uhm, thanks man

I’ll tell my friend what you said

From: Jungcrook

yw

also, hyung

if it works out for you and new person

can I get firm hyung’s digits

To: Jungcrook

I’m deleting you from my contacts

After hitting the end button, Yoongi tosses the phone on the bed before throwing himself backward on the mattress, joining the handheld device. Jungkook’s words have him feeling conflicted as they swim in the ocean of his mind. He’s pined after Park Jimin for so long, it’s more a matter of principle that he try with the man, almost as if not pursuing him after he’s shown interest would be a waste of Yoongi’s three years of one-sided attraction.

Taehyung’s an unexpected turn of events. Not once as he was being forced to sign up for the class did Yoongi think he’d find anything that would make him thankful for losing his cool with the with the world’s most obnoxious passenger. But here he is excited, dare he say happy, to spend two days out of his week in a room filled with people with varying degrees of emotional conflict.

He smiles, his mind playing a short film of his interactions with Taehyung from the wide-eyed terror of their first encounter i