Winter 2015

Yoongi wasn’t one to go down without a fight. It made him wonder, then, how he got roped into going drinking with Rapmon on Friday night, when he clearly remembered refusing to do just that. Another inexplicable occurrence, he supposed. Though this one wasn’t exactly without its perks; Rapmon- that bastard- was paying for his drinks, and Yoongi was going to milk that for all it was worth. Damned jerk.

“Why am I here? Isn’t this supposed to be a coworkers thing? I literally work at a rival company. I’m tired. I could be sleeping right now. If I keel over tomorrow from exhaustion, you are so going to ing pay. LET ME LEAVE .” The last part came as Rapmon snagged Yoongi’s collar, the latter having turned around to head for the door in a last ditch effort to escape while he still could. They were at a familiar bar, with a familiar face heading towards them, the only difference being the shock of pink hair G-Dragon now sported.

“What the  is up with everyone and goddamn pink ? Pink-mon and Pink-Dragon, GREAT. I swear, I’m surrounded by idiots,” Yoongi glared at the latter, as he unhooked himself from Rapmon’s grasp. G-Dragon simply smirked, as usual.

“Why Suga, you should join the club. Pink would really suit you,” G-Dragon purred in an all too dangerously delighted tone, eyes glittering. Yoongi took an involuntary step back, sneering.

“Don’t call me Suga. And no way in ing hell am I letting you anywhere near me with hair dye. Last time you colored yours, your hair looked like ing tamago sushi. Nope.”

“Actually, come to think of it, you would look kinda cute with pink hair, hyung. You should really consider it,” Rapmon nodded his head thoughtfully, and Yoongi was one-hundred percent done with the two.

“No. End of story. Now, where are your stupid coworkers, Rapmon? I don’t want you two conspiring about any more dumb ideas and I could really go for a damn drink right around now.”

“Oh, yeah. Uhm,” Rapmon glanced around, suddenly looking nervous, “they should be here somewhere…”

“Who yah looking for?” G-Dragon cocked his head to the side.

“Short kid, brown hair, thighs for days, and another guy, also short but kinda thin, wavy brown hair? They’re part of a larger group, too, a bunch of coworkers,” Yoongi snapped his head up at the mention of the first guy. He could think of a short kid, with brown hair and thighs for days. A very specific one. One that he had no desire to see , let alone drink with.

“Rapmon… what are the names of these coworkers?” he said slowly, horror and a strong hint of a threat coloring his voice. Rapmon suddenly became very preoccupied with looking anywhere but at Yoongi, and Yoongi knew . He knew this whole situation had seemed weird, and this soing explained it. Just as the younger finally opened his mouth to reply, however, G-Dragon stepped forward, eyes slightly menacing, lips pressed together into something Yoongi wouldn’t really consider a smile. Somehow, though, the expression left no room for argument.

“Why don’t we let them introduce themselves? I think I know who you’re talking about, they’re over here, I sat them at a booth not that long ago,” G-Dragon began striding towards the back of the bar, past the dance floor. Yoongi was fairly certain he didn’t want to let them introduce themselves, but something about G-Dragon reminded him of those psycho bunnies they always have in movies. Those ones that look really cute and playful until they get pissed, and then they eat your face off and giggle afterward. He didn’t really think it would be wise to mess with that. So he followed. Dragging his feet every step of the way, but still. Following.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. To see that damn face again, smiling up at him expectantly (because the kid had to know he was coming, right?)? Perhaps smirking? Maybe looking at him with those same sad eyes he had just before he turned around to leave that day. Yoongi wasn’t really sure, but there was definitely some sort of expectation, and what he found was completely different. And perhaps Jimin would never do or say what he expected. Or perhaps he was expecting the wrong things. Either way. He was pissed, and what he encountered didn’t change that.

As they walked up to the booth, Jimin was laughing. Not giggling, or chuckling, or snickering, but full on, tummy-holding whoops of laughter, the kind that brings tears to eyes and makes sides ache. The colorful lights of the bar were playing beautifully on Jimin’s skin, his head was thrown back, his straight, white teeth on full display, and god damnit this was somehow worse and probably totally on ing purpose.

Yoongi watched as Jimin registered who had arrived, fascinated and confused as his face transformed from one of merriment to  panic in the span of a millisecond. Which seemed weird. Yet, oddly satisfying. And it wasn’t until he felt his shirt being jerked around his neck that he realized he had already turned to make a not so graceful exit stomping towards the nearest door, but G-Dragon had already caught him. Slowly shuffling back around to face the table, Yoongi was grateful for the colorful lights that he hoped were covering the burn in his cheeks. Since when did he care enough to make a fool of himself like that? What was he so worried about? And why the hell did Jimin seem so scared of him?

Oh, well, maybe because he had brutally rejected him just a few days before. That seemed semi-feasible. Well good. Maybe he’ll keep his ing distance.

“Sorry,” he muttered, only loudly enough for his companions to hear. He refused to look up, glaring instead at his feet, unsure if he was cursing them more for making a fool of him or for not acting fast enough to actually escape. He heard Rapmon apologizing, something about Yoongi being really shy- hah, as if that’s what it was- and introducing the both of them. When he could avoid it no longer, he finally looked up- and of course made eye contact with the guy whose eyes were still slightly wide and lips were pressed into a thin line. A stray part of his brain noted that it was the first time seeing Jimin without his big- glasses, but who the hell asked your opinion anyway? It’s not like he had seen much of him to begin with. And that was irrelevant. Tearing his eyes away, he smiled politely at the rest of the people seated in the booth.

“Annyeonghaseyo. My name is Min Yoongi. Please take care of me.”

***

He had already accepted that he wouldn’t be seeing Yoongi that night. Jongdae was right, Rapmon-sunbae would probably bring Jin-hyung. So when he finally stopped laughing like an idiot and realized who had shown up at their both, he completely froze. He stared helplessly as Yoongi’s face went from quiet fury to vindictive ( oh my gosh, he’s not even trying to hide it) before turning on his heel, stopped only by the bartender who snagged his collar before he could escape. Jimin kinda wish he had just let him. He once again couldn’t remember why he had ever thought this was a good idea, and Yoongi was clearly of a similar mindset.

Rapmon awkwardly laughed, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. “Annyeonghaseyo, my name is Kim Namjoon. I think I’ve met most of you by now, though. Also, sorry, my friend is kinda shy-” As if anyone could believe that- “Thank you for inviting us.”

Yoongi was blushing and shooting daggers at his feet, but he finally looked up- right at Jimin. The younger’s eyes widened and the elder tore his gaze away. Yoongi was still as beautiful as he remembered him being- even looking ready to murder someone. Today he was dressed in a black blazer, a shirt with stripes of patterns, and a white snapback worn backwards. And somehow, despite the change of scenery, and the vastly different situation, he was reminded of the first time they made eye contact. Yoongi seemed a little pissed that day, too.

“Annyeonghaseyo. My name is Min Yoongi. Please take care of me,” Yoongi bowed and Jimin turned his head away, unsure of what to do or say. It was his fault the guy was here, and he suddenly understood what people meant about wishing a hole would just open up and swallow them, at this point. This was such a bad idea. Jimin, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking? God, where’s Hobi-hyung when I need him? I was so right.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I'm Kim Jongdae,” (thank god) the elder coworker took the lead, offering Yoongi a hand and bowing slightly. “Please, sit. We were about to order the first round of drinks.”

“Thanks,” Rapmon smiled, looking more than a little relieved to be able sit down. Jimin watched out of the corner of his eye as Yoongi and Rapmon took the seats across from him and Jongdae. He caught the glare Rapmon shot Yoongi, too. Avoiding contact, Jimin instead turned to the coworker on his other side, smiling widely.

“Hey, Youngjae, what do you think we should do? A round of Soju first or beer first?” Youngjae gave him a weird look, clearly unsure why he was talking to him about it (they rarely interacted, despite dancing at the same studio), but refrained from commenting on his behavior.

“Jimin-sunbae, aren’t you a bit of a lightweight? If I were you, I would suggest beer.” Youngjae continued, a grin creeping across his face, “Maybe not the best idea to get too wasted with the new boss, you know.”

Jimin laughed, and noticed Yoongi’s jaw clench subtly at the outburst (not that he was secretly paying attention to the elder- what?). Ignoring him- crap, crap , wait, should he be ignoring him? Yeah, right?- Jimin nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Hey, Jongdae-sunbae, a round of beer?”

Jongdae had been chatting with the bartender and the two new arrivals, but turned when Jimin called out. Jimin was surprised when it was the pink-haired bartender who replied.

“Aw, but what’s life without a little fun?” Turning back to Rapmon and Jongdae, he winked and continued, “Shots of soju, I presume?” The two smirked knowingly, nodding their heads in unison and Jimin couldn’t help a small flare of resentment at being brushed aside. Who the hell did the damned bartender think he was? And what the hell, Jongdae?

“Oh, no no no, G-Dragon, I know exactly what you three are doing. I was the one that planned that scheme last year to begin with, remember? You can’t use my own against me. No. Nope. Beer.” Jimin was startled by Yoongi’s aggressive outburst, and still confused and a little miffed by Jongdae participating in… whatever this was. They were supposed to be best work buddies...

“Come on, hyung, I thought you wanted to get drunk? Relax! You just finished your first week of work,” Rapmon rolled his eyes and nudged the elder, before nodding to G-Dragon. Yoongi opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by a delighted exclamation from the bartender, a dangerous glint in his eye that had Jimin feeling uneasy. Okay, seriously, who is this guy?

“Great! Soju it is, then. I’ll be right back,” G-Dragon beamed and clapped his hands together before sashaying off towards the bar.

“Do you have any idea what just happened? And when did Jongdae-sunbae and Namjoon-sunbae become so chummy?” Youngjae leaned in slightly, looking lost and a little indignant. I feel you, man.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but I assume Rapmon-sunbae and Yoongi-ssi know the bartender. G-Dragon or whatever his name was,” Jimin shrugged, subtly watching as Yoongi proceeded to quietly hiss at Rapmon, who simply brushed him off with a chuckle. Turning to Jongdae, Jimin poked the elder. “What the hell?”

“What?” Jongdae asked, clearly trying to hide a smirk. Jimin gave him a look dripping with ‘Oh please, don’t give me that , you know exactly what I’m talking about’ and Jongdae just laughed. He freaking laughed. “Don’t worry Jimin,” Jongdae grinned a little too mischievously, and it finally occurred to Jimin that he might have- okay, no, definitely- figured out who Yoongi was. He had told him he thought Rapmon would bring Jimin’s soulmate. Damnit, why had he left Jongdae alone to talk to Rapmon? But wait, then, did Rapmon know ? And again, when did they become close?

Although it had been his idea to begin with, Jimin suddenly felt like someone else was pulling the strings in this situation.

He frowned, “You better not be planning anything, sunbae.”

“You’re one to talk,” Jongdae rolled his eyes and Jimin opened his mouth in indignation before the arrival of G-Dragon with bottles of soju and shot glasses cut him off. Jimin was a bit wary of the alcohol, as Youngjae was correct, he was a lightweight, but accepted his shot regardless. Jongdae stood up, glancing around at all the coworkers before turning towards Rapmon and raising his glass. “To the new member of the team, Kim Namjoon-ssi. May his songs be the most kick- of all, and his time with us memorable. It’s an honor to have you at the company. Cheers!” They all shouted in unison and clinked glasses together before tipping them back, downing the first round in one collective gulp. After everyone had a new round poured, it was Rapmon who stood, looking awkward but determined.

“Thank you so much for inviting me along today, you all have been so welcoming. You know, it’s funny, life is like a shot of soju, I-”

"Yah, none of your philosophical bull today Rapmon. Just thank them and be on with it,” Yoongi sighed, and there were chuckles all around. Despite having only been at the company for three days, more than one of them had already experienced a Rapmon rant, Jimin especially. The guy’s thoughts were always strange and deep. It was a rabbit hole best to avoid falling down.

“Hyung, you can’t just interrupt a toast like that,” Rapmon whined halfheartedly, though chuckling a little himself as well.

“Well someone has to save us from another hour long speech of yours,” Yoongi glared up at him, but there was no malice behind it. “So get on with it, this shot won’t wait forever.” I thought you didn’t want to be doing shots?

“ Fine. Thank you all. I look forward to getting to know you all better. Please take care of me,” Rapmon bowed, then lifted the glass. “Cheers!”

They all downed their second shots and settled down, breaking off into groups as conversation started up around the table. Jimin usually would have talked to Jongdae, but he seemed to enjoy chatting with Yoongi and Rapmon, so Jimin turned instead to Youngjae, doing his best to avoid the two. Also, he was still a little salty- though definitely not jealous - about Rapmon and Jongdae.

“How are things with JB? It’s been a couple years now, right?” Jimin didn’t know a lot about Youngjae, but he at least knew JB was his soulmate, so he did his best to make conversation. Based on the way the guys eyes lit up, he had picked the right topic.

“Yeah! We’re actually thinking about getting married soon. We both have stable jobs at this point, we’re soulmates, and we just don’t see any point in waiting any longer. He actually already proposed,” Youngjae blushed and held up his left hand, revealing a thick gold band. Jimin’s jaw dropped, any thoughts about the guy sitting across from him almost completely forgotten ( almost) . The news was completely unexpected, and he felt a momentary twinge of guilt for that, relatively certain Hobi-hyung probably knew.

“Wha- why didn’t you guys announce it? How did he ask? Oh my goodness, wait, let me pour another shot, we are drinking to this,” Jimin grabbed the soju bottle (frankly kinda glad to have an excuse to keep drinking. He might be a lightweight, but damnit, Yoongi being right there was just too much, and he was annoyed with everything anyway and just- he didn’t want to be sober anymore). Topping off their glasses, the two downed their third shots of the evening before Youngjae proceeded to explain JB’s elaborate scavenger hunt proposal that had happened just a few days earlier. The conversation eventually meandered to other things, and the two found themselves laughing over unexpected common interests (why the Hulk could beat anyone in a fight sparked a hot debate amongst those around them, the two defending the superhero until the bloody end).

After a few more shots, however, Jimin was feeling light, tipsy, and an itching urge to dance. Turning to Jongdae to insist that the elder go out on the dance floor with him, he overheard the conversation between him and the two Jimin had temporarily managed to forget about.

“Wait, what? You rap underground too?” he cut off whatever Jongdae had been about to say, turning to Yoongi. The elder looked slightly shocked that Jimin had spoken to him, and the latter belatedly realized that he had been avoiding doing just that as Yoongi’s face immediately closed off. , , .

“Uhm, yeah. Rapmon and I have been friends since high school and we got into it together. I actually work for BigHit now, though, as a lyricist,” Yoongi shrugged, still looking a bit uncomfortable.

“What? BigHit? Why didn’t you go for a bigger company, like Rapmon-sunbae? SM is way better than BigHit,” Jimin was genuinely curious, and the liquid courage burning in his veins helped him forget that that was maybe not the best thing to ask if he was trying to get Yoongi to not hate him (sober Jimin would later scold him).

Yoongi simply snorted and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, sure. SM has a lot of cookie cutter idols that prance around on their puppet strings. I make realmusic. BigHit may be small, but I’ve known Bang Hitman for a long time, and the stuff he produces is legit, unlike the that comes out of SM.”

This, of course, resulted in an uproar from the table full of SM employees, and Yoongi proceeded to get in a slightly drunken, heated debate about the varying quality of various music companies. Some actually agreed with Yoongi, some were diehard SM supporters, and still others took the middle ground, claiming companies such as YG or JYP were actually superior to either BigHit or SM. By the end, however, everyone was chuckling and taking more shots, tempers slowly cooled by the soothing flow of alcohol and easy laughter. Jimin found himself in the middle of a conversation with Yoongi, the elder also having cooled off a bit with the alcohol, and the younger having overcome a bit of the initial panic.

“Okay, and what was with that pink haired earlier?” Jimin grumbled into his beer, barely noticing Yoongi nearly choking on his own alcohol at that comment.

“Wha- G-Dragon?” Yoongi sputtered, schadenfreudic glee twisting his features. Jimin nodded, oblivious to a certain presence that had appeared behind him. “I mean, yeah, he’s an . But what’d he do to tickle your pickle?”

“He was rude . And, and… fake?” Jimin was trying to remember what specifically had bothered him. He just remembered that he was bothered.

“It’s more rude to talk behind the back of someone you don’t know a thing about, Sunshine,” the voice came from right next to his ear, but he was too sluggish to startle, instead slowly glancing up at the man with the shock of pink hair. He snorted.

“Even drunk I can tell you’re the type to meddle in other people’s crap,” Jimin thought back to the beginning of the night, finally remembering, albeit somewhat fuzzily, what had bothered him. “And it didn’t take knowing me for you to brush me aside so rudely.” G-Dragon didn’t say anything for a moment, but his eyes narrowed and he seemed to be studying Jimin, before he turned to Rapmon.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” he jerked his thumb at Jimin before turning back, grinning. “You’re perceptive, kid, I’ve been paying attention to you. And I appreciate someone that can call out people’s , when necessary. You’ll really need that skill someday, trust.” G-Dragon twisted slightly to wink at Yoongi- who was a lovely shade of scarlet at this point- as he said this. “You’re right, I do like to meddle, and I do a damn good job of it, actually. Also, I’m G-Dragon, by the way, and you’ll probably see a lot more of me in the future.” He shook the hand of a thoroughly confused- the alcohol really wasn’t helping- Jimin, before bouncing off into the crowd once again.

“That ing-”

“Okay, am I way more drunk than I thought, or was that guy a total weirdo?” Jimin cut off Yoongi’s rant before it could begin, and the elder seemed to deflate slightly, eyeing Jimin warily from across the table.

“Nope. He’s a weirdo. But apparently he likes you.” Yoongi sighed. “And that’s probably a good thing, because once I saw him encounter someone he really didn’t like, and you don’t want to know what happened.” The elder shuttered.

“Ah… Okay…” Jimin wasn’t sure what to say, suddenly becoming starkly aware of the fact that he was sitting across the table from Yoongi , chatting nonchalantly about some stranger that Yoongi seemed to know all too well, and he was hit by how odd it was. Some of the initial panic rose in his chest, and before it could truly set in, he desperately turned to Jongdae, who had gone back to chatting with Rapmon, poking him in the ribs.

“Sunbae, let’s go dance. And you guys should come too,” he added, turning to Rapmon and Yoongi. Neither seemed like the type for it, but he felt that he should be polite, and also, he may or may not be slightly interested in the idea of dancing with Yoongi. Interacting with the guy terrified him, yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

He was surprised when Rapmon jumped up, eyes bright, and began tugging on the elder’s shirt.

“Hyung, hyung, come on, this’ll be really fun. Let’s go dance.” Rapmon had begun bouncing on the balls of his feet, and Jimin wondered just how much he and Jongdae had had to drink while he wasn’t paying attention. The guy seemed way loose.

“Oh my gosh, did you say you were going to dance? Can I come?” Youngjae piped up from Jimin’s right.

“Sure! Come on, Jongdae-sunbae, let’s gooo,” Jimin began shoving the slightly reluctant elder out of the booth, and eventually the only one still sitting was Yoongi, who had refused to budge. Rapmon seemed to still be trying to convince him, but gave up after a moment, making a face.

“Fine. But if that song comes on, you better get up and join us,” Rapmon shook his finger sternly, and Yoongi seemed to turn a darker shade of red. Oh? What song? Jimin didn’t ask. Yoongi’s face seemed to promise murder.

“Why the would that come on at a bar? Go dance.” Yoongi shooed him away, and the group moved to the dance floor.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that although Rapmon was the most enthusiastic about dancing, the only one that was maybe worse than him was Jongdae. And Jongdae couldn’t dance. At all. Jimin and Youngjae, after eventually getting over the initial shock and tears from laughter, were putting their years of practice to good use and busting some moves, Jimin especially eliciting a few wolf whistles from the surrounding crowd. Blushing at first from the attention, he eventually simply allowed himself to get swept up in the music and rhythm of his own body.

Occasionally, he would glance back. Yoongi was one of the only ones left at the table, and Jimin still had a clear view of it, but every time he checked, he felt a small twinge of disappointment. For some reason, perhaps it was the alcohol, he had thought that maybe the elder would glance his way. Perhaps it would be one of those magical movie moments, where he could catch Yoongi staring, and hold eye contact as he body rolled or something… maybe entice the elder to come dance with him. Just… something . Anything. Anything to indicate that maybe Yoongi had some kind of interest in him. Because what if his suspicions were correct? What if he had somehow ended up in a one-sided soulmate situation? What if he really wasn’t Yoongi’s soulmate, even though Yoongi was his? What if everything he had hoped for, waited for, agonized over his entire life… wasn’t meant to be? He snapped his head away, closing his eyes.

No. I won’t end up like them. I don’t want to. I want Yoongi. I want my soulmate. Somehow… somehow this is going to work out.

***

“So, wait, let me get this straight. You made me hang out with you today, despite us hanging out a couple days ago… just to get Yoongi out of the house and socializing. But then you found out his soulmate would probably be there. And Rapmon knows. And you told G-Dragon about the whole situation?” Jin nodded, blowing on his cup of tea. “Damn… and I thought Hoseok was the devious one.”

“Well, he is. But that’s why he and I are friends,” Jin grinned. “You know, it’s funny, I think the only one who realizes that Hoseok and I hang out is Taehyung. He often comes along, actually, but, the kid is a sweetheart, and he keeps his mouth shut about these things.” Jin chuckled, “I don’t think Jimin even realizes that his best friend and I are close. And I don’t think he knows how far back Joonie and Hoseok go, or that Hoseok has actually met Yoongi before.” Jin cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “He would probably be upset, actually. But Hoseok isn’t dumb, and there was nothing he could do, so he just stayed out of it. Hence why I’m the one being devious this time around,” Jin sighed contentedly. “Hyosang, I understand why Hoseok and G-Dragon like to pull the strings like they do. It’s entirely too fun.”

Hyosang shook his head, the corner of his lips tugging up into a disbelieving smile. “Just remember to not get too involved. Those two need to figure out their own . They’re soulmates, I’m sure it’ll work out.”

“I know. I just like helping them with a little shove in the right direction, occasionally.”