The fourteen boys' friendship was, diagram-wise, a giant web. However, such a complex and elaborate history would take too long to explain with its details and subsets, thus, when asked how such an extensive relationship began, they ultimately traced it back to the very source: to the Underground.

It was Hoseok, or as he was more prominently known back in the day: J-hope, whenever he was dancing with his old crew against strangers, hyped up by the wild crowd and free styling to a rhythmic beat; who had first met Jaebum. It was a particularly nasty day, Hoseok remembered as he called the past to mind, a Tuesday night that turned bloody after he had an explosive falling out with his ty crew (it was bound to happen really, Hoseok just stuck with them because a crew was a requisite to a Daejeon session). The aftermath was him lying on a dirty alley, nose broken and feeling like absolute , when Jaebum appeared, and of course Hoseok was skeptical; I mean, c'mon, the boy looked like a crime syndicate with sharp eyes, a ton of piercings (were those snakebites?), and a black on black outfit that weren't really doing him any justice—but he had surprised Hoseok (who ever since learned the essence of not judging a book by its cover) by politely offering to lend a helping hand and then the rest was, well, history. It wasn't the best of beginnings, but it was the start of a solid friendship.

Well, when Hoseok really thought about it, he had already been friends with Yoongi long before, neighbors and all, and Jaebum was linked with Jinyoung through JJ Project, their old underground duo stint, plus Jackson and Namjoon had already been attached at the hip right from the very start, so technically there really wasn't a central figure in the origin of their friendship, just a trigger. It was more like puzzle pieces arbitrarily falling in place as their friendship gradually broadened until all fourteen became acquainted with each other.

It was rather insane to think, in hindsight, how they all just serendipitously encountered one another, as if the planets had, cheesiness aside, aligned together for them, in perfect congruity. Now Hoseok wasn't really the superstitious type, not that he didn't believe in ghosts and all that—nah, those were most definitely real—but he wouldn't exactly define himself as an avid believer and upholder of the supernatural. And yet, the dancer couldn't help but think that some celestial force, fate even, was at play when he met Jaebum. If anything, it was a blessing in disguise, and Hoseok continued to believe that this five year bond with thirteen amazing individuals was predestined.

And that was how the fourteen going to the same university came to be. The three youngest of their circle had barely graduated, little starry-eyed freshmen, but they had already planned to stay with their seniors since high school. They all lived in an apartment ("it's part of the college experience, eomma!") though they were split in half because one room was only designed to hold a maximum of four people and it was scientifically impossible to house all fourteen of them. (Well, they probably could, for the sake of defying science, but the landlord wouldn't allow it.)

And so seven lived in one building, while the rest lived in another. Not that it really mattered anyway, their apartments were barely a five-minute walk from the other, and they would end up sleeping over and switching places more often than on their own respective beds. The two separate buildings felt more like an extended home of sorts to them.

Overall, college was—overpriced tuition, lousy schedules, ty professors, and a ten thousand word paper due tomorrow aside—fantastic for the rebellious and hot-blooded males. All-nighters, frat parties, and a long list of unhealthy—and more often than not a flimsy excuse to neglect their studies—activities had become the norm. It was far from perfect, but they had made a home out of each other. Living together was a game changer for the huge group; being in constant vicinity and sharing a domestic lifestyle had brought the boys even closer (literally and figuratively).

Some more than others, Hoseok supposed as he gave a cursory glance to Yoongi and Jimin making out in the corner.

"Ugh! Get a room already!" Jungkook complained, sitting criss-cross applesauce on their knockoff fur carpet. (Not that he was any better. Hoseok tried not to snort at the touchy-feely younger male next to their long-legged maknae, looking as if he wanted to surgically implant himself on the boy.)

Their large pack was staying at one of the apartments for a movie marathon. The primary reason for their untimely pastime was, oddly enough, because of one certain machinery: a brand new and luxurious television set that looked awfully out of place sitting in their cramped and unruly living room. The seven residing males had unanimously decided it was time to buy a new TV (don't bother asking what happened to the last one), each resident chipping in. For a bunch of unemployed (and financially supported) students, it was rather impressive (though highly unpractical) that they even had the spare change to spend on the enormous appliance. And it was only common sense that such an expensive purchase would call for a celebration, which lead them to the situation now, eight boys congesting in one room. The rest of the group were either in the kitchen or out and about, in charge of preparing their food after a brutal game of rock, paper, scissors.

Yugyeom was sorting through DVDs on the floor when he shouted suddenly, eyes crinkling and lips stretching thin, showcasing bright pink gums and pearly white teeth. Jungkook tried not to stare too long at the endearing beanpole this time. (He failed, of course. Yoongi's low snicker further rubbed it in.)

The beaming male picked up a bunch of DVD cases from their haphazardly thrown stockpile on the floor—

(Jinyoung was seething as he stared at his ruined collection, eyes flashing a murderous red; if you squint, you could see the smoke permeating through his flared nostrils as he screeched, "I ing arranged those according to release date, you lil' s! Do you know how much time and effort that took?!"

"You need healthier hobbies, hyung." Kunpimook remarked casually, lying on his stomach on the hardwood floor as he flipped through their cache.

The subsequent glare from the older male had the Thai native withering into himself and dragging his fingers along his lips, zipping his mouth shut.)

—and raised them high in the air as if they were heaven sent. "Hyungs, how about a horror movie marathon?"

The responses were immediate, mainly an effeminate shriek from one convulsing Hoseok on the plush sofa, and a petrified Youngjae repeatedly shouting "No! No!" in accented English. They both looked at Yugyeom as if he'd just uttered a satanic self initiation ritual.

Hearing their adamant rejection to his proposal, the pale boy's cheerful spirit significantly deflated, shoulders sagging in defeat. With a pout, he swiveled around to face his same-age friend. "Kookie-ah, how about you?"

Upon eye contact, Jungkook swiftly bent his head down and stared at the random DVDs he had picked up but hadn't bothered reading the title because counting the moles on Yugyeom's face was a more stimulating activity.

"Uhh..." the second youngest male stammered lamely, forcing the cogs in his brain to move again and form a semi-coherent reply because what were they even talking about? "Uh, yeah, I'm down for whatever."

Yugyeom's consequent grin was blinding, and Jungkook's inner self was patting him on the back because yeah boy, that smile was for him. "Really? Yes, we've got two votes already!"

But Choi Youngjae, the second year music major, held more than what he let on. What most people didn't know was that Youngjae was a very ambitious boy, with a cunning mind hidden within an illusorily innocuous face. He could pull off dubious plans when given proper incentive, and now that he realized that the ghastly horror genre was a running candidate for their movie marathon, the perfect opportunity to put his hidden talent to use had presented itself. Him, along with an equally dexterous Hoseok, made up for a frightful team.

"Jaebum hyung!" The angelic boy whined to the elder who was engrossed with setting up their newly-bought television set for their impending leisure activity. So far, all the male's been able to accomplish was take the TV out of the box.

"HDMI? What the ? They didn't teach this at school," they could heard him whisper to himself, immersed with the twelve-page manual that came with the appliance. Youngjae sighed and got up, unable to bare seeing his hyung's pathetic attempts at comprehending technology. The rest watched painfully as Jaebum tried for the third time to fit the AVG cord into the electric socket.

Youngjae stole the long wire from the fellow music major's clutches lest he break the hard-earned TV before they could even use it. "Hyung, that's called a cable. It goes in the back of the TV, see?"

"We should've just gotten those staff people at the store to assemble it. This'll take ages," the Thai boy whined, proceeding to lie spread-eagled on the floor, effectively crushing the discs underneath him. Jinyoung didn't even blink as he kicked Kunpimook to the side, the young man rolling away with a groan.

"And be charged an arm and a leg?" Jaebum retorted spitefully, glaring at the twisted video audio wires. "This thing's already three months' worth of all our rents combined."

Not that Jaebum was complaining, of course. He loved the sleek LED machinery and all 65 inches of its highly developed engineering like a son. Just not the assembling part.

He bent down to reach for the back of the fastened DVD player, hit his head hard on the top shelf, cursed, then pushed his head further in. For a moment, he stilled, head stuck inside, before slowly moving back out, grumbling, "it's too dark to see."

Resisting the overwhelming urge to strangle the elder, Youngjae plastered on a faux smile. "Hyung! How about Hobi hyung and I handle this? We're pretty nifty with this stuff."

Hoseok looked over from the couch to eye Youngjae because he was certain he was a dance major, not a technician, but one evocative wink from the younger boy had the underground dance complying. Besides, Hoseok thought, anyone was better than Jaebum.

"Yeah, we've got this down." Hoseok stood up, maneuvering around the two bowling chums on the carpet (god, they were even beginning to look like each other), lost in their own little world. Hoseok felt like he was watching Animal Planet, witnessing some awkward mating ritual.

"You sure?" Jaebum asked hesitantly, eyeing the machinery almost sadly. "I mean, it's pretty complex, you know, with all the wires and , and it's kinda heavy, so-"

"Oh my god," this time it was Yoongi who spoke, eyes rolling as he readjusted his position on the loveseat he and Jimin were snuggling slash swapping faces in, "just stick to singing, Defsoul."

The mint haired man then buried his head between Jimin's neck and shoulder, who in turn laughed breathily, "yah, that tickles, hyung."

("Ew, affection." Kunpimook shuddered.

"Get your salty away."

"I actually want to be single." The younger male stated defensively.

Jinyoung snorted. "Like you have a choice.")

Jaebum bristled like a cat at the mention of his pseudo name. "In this house, we set and adhere to ground rules and rule number one is that we never speak of that name. Especially you, Agust D."

"Hyung," Youngjae, at his wit's end, pushed Jaebum down on the couch, "how about you go and pick out a movie to watch, okay?"

He nodded with a pout, grabbing a hefty stack from the ground and glancing through them. "I think I'm up for some action tonight."

Everyone in the living room simultaneously stopped what they were doing to face Jaebum who paused, backtracked, and blushed profusely. "Oh . What I meant was-"

Hoseok cut him off, patting Jaebum on the back with his own rendition of an understanding smile and a "no, it's okay, hyung, really."

Youngjae flashed him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, Defsoul, no need to justify yourself." Yoongi, the er, Jaebum glowered, derided smugly.

The 97 line were already howling with laughter, tears springing from their eyes as they rolled on the floor, Jimin chortling along with them. Jaebum hoped they ruptured an intestine.

He turned to Jinyoung helplessly, his partner-in-crime, the other half of JJP, but the raven haired Korean was staring at him with a look of absolute revulsion and shaking his head in disappointment. Jaebum could only watch as Jinyoung turned and left towards the kitchen where the rest of their group were, muttering, "this type of company is toxic to my brain and health."

With a distressed cry, Jaebum glared at the discs in his hand. Stupid movie, stupid TV, stupid friends.

"Hyung." Youngjae bounded up beside him, smiling serenely, and was Jaebum lucid dreaming, or was that a halo on his head? "Have you chosen a movie yet?"

"Oh, uh, no," Jaebum cleared his throat, blinking thrice, before looking back down. "There isn't anything in particular that I want. Wait, how's the TV?"

"All done."

"For real?"

"The manual had explicit step-by-step illustrations. Plus, the back panel's color-coded." Hoseok deadpanned, moving to squish in beside him on the two-seater couch. Two-seater, as in for two, Jaebum thought as he was crushed in the middle, on the receiving end of dangling limbs and prodding organs, but of course none of his friends cared about regulatory furniture measures. Jaebum knew he should've stuck with Sungjin or Hyunwoo back then.

"Whatever, Einstein. What do you wanna watch?"

"Well," Youngjae trailed off, briefly glancing at Hoseok before moving in for the catch. "Since we've noticed that you've been a little stressed and all, how about we watch something light, like a drama?"

"Drama?" Jaebum contemplated, thinking back to the collections they had, and they had everything, really. Their maknae was something short of obsessed with those stuff. He recalled one time hearing giggling coming from the living room at six in the morning, and when he walked in, the youngest was on the couch, watching the television playing whatever episode of whatever drama was on. It was a frighteningly vivid image. Now that he thought about it, maybe that was why their old TV ceased to function. (Well, aside from the painstakingly obvious crack in the dead center of the screen.)

Just as the elder reached for their stash of dramas, a bag's worth was placed eagerly on his lap by one Hoseok, smiling equivocally. Jaebum had raised a doubtful brow, given the dance major a brief, gauging stare, before sighing, deciding he was too old for this , and returning to his collection.

(From behind him, Youngjae fist bumped Hoseok.)

"Hey boys, we're back!" A clamorous voice resonated all throughout their dorm, which could only mean one thing, or rather one person.

Jackson bursted in the room, eagerly tackling a startled Yugyeom and Jungkook on the carpet, and successfully gutting Kunpimook who was lying a little ways in front of them. "Hey, let me in on this maknae fest!"

Namjoon followed in after him, considerably less hyperactive and with a number of plastic takeouts on either hand. "Hey, can I get some help here?"

Nobody budged.

Namjoon huffed noisily, stacking the bags on the coffee table that was pushed to the side to make more room for fourteen, post pubescent men. "Wow, thanks for the offer guys, really feeling the love here."

There was a chorus of replies, all variations of: "we love you too."

Jackson guffawed loudly, one arm slung on either of the coconut duo's shoulders. "Alright, who's ready for a movie?"

"Ugh, get off me, hyung." Yugyeom grunted, trying to push off the elder's elbow knocking into his shoulder blade.

"Sheesh, is the wittle maknae embarrassed by his hyungie?" Jackson cooed, pinching both the younger's pale cheeks bashfully before grabbing him by the neck and planting a huge, wet kiss on his forehead.

"Oh my god, stop, ugh, ew—Namjoon hyung! Help me!" The giant baby pleaded in his high pitched voice, trying to escape from his excessively affectionate and extra hyung's ministrations, the rest cackling from the sidelines.

It wasn't fair, really. Despite being the youngest age-wise, Yugyeom was definitely more mature than most of his hyungs. Take one Jackson Wang Jia Er as a prime example. In cases like this, only Namjoon hyung could handle the Hong Kong native and his abnormally disruptive behavior.

"Oh, so now you want my help, kid?" The older rapper remarked but acquiesced, pulling off one overly-touchy Jackson (Namjoon never considered him to be the same age), with a "c'mon, go call the others, the food's gonna get cold."

Besides, Namjoon reckoned as an afterthought, eyeing a subdued Jungkook. The other baby might not like the Chinese foreigner's over the top tendencies, especially given the fact that he obviously held no reservations with skinship.

"Oh, now that you mention it," Jackson muttered, looking around to do a head count. "What the—how long does it take to microwave popcorn?"

"Two to four minutes," Kunpimook supplied without breaking away from concentration as he flipped a half-full water bottle. "Jinyoung drilled that in my head after I burned the sixth one."

"Oh, I remember that one. Lol." The tall maknae quipped with a snort to his exuberant roommate.

"Ha. Easy!"

"Easy!"

The others groaned as Jaebum snapped, "shut up, you dorks."

"Dude, Seokjin hyung and the rest have been in there for at least half an hour," Jungkook informed to no one in particular. "You sure they're even there?"

Right on cue, Mark stumbled in with Seokjin, both carrying bowls of popcorn, Taehyung and Jinyoung following after them, clutching plastic cups and bottles of soft drinks.

"What took you so long?" Jackson all but questioned, stealing a bowl from the American who plopped down on a beanbag in front of the TV.

"Taehyung and Jin hyung kept eating the popcorn so we had to pop one again, plus Taehyung couldn't decide on the flavor, and so we kinda experimented by adding everything into one, and..." the older male grimaced at the mere thought, before shaking his head ruefully. "By the way, don't go into the kitchen for a while, we hadn't cleaned up yet and there's this really bad stench in the air."

Jaebum turned to Jinyoung for confirmation and he, in turn, nodded somberly. Jaebum's eyes narrowed in distrust. His hyung senses were tingling, and something felt positively off with the four newcomers, but he didn't get to linger on his suspicion because the other boys were beginning to get antsy, urging them to play a movie.

(It wasn't until the morning after that Jaebum's suspicions were confirmed by a loud scream from Kunpimook that woke them all up. Turned out the four ended up not only experimenting on the popcorn itself, but the whole refrigerator's contents as well. Kunpimook was the lucky bastard who got to test out Taehyung's milk and vinegar combo.)

Namjoon plopped down on the single recliner in the corner, pulling the lever and lying back. "C'mon, just put something on already!"

"So what're we watching?" Seokjin asked, foraging through the plastic bags—Chinese this time—as well as trying to find a vacant space to plant his bottom on. He eventually opted to squeeze next to Kunpimook on the floor, the only unoccupied area in the crowded expanse.

"Youngjae and Hoseok suggested a drama," Jaebum offered, lifting a stack of discs. "Who's up for it?"

"But hyung, we want horror!" The tall maknae protested sulkily. Jungkook, the ever dutiful boyfriend that he was, shouted in agreement.

Youngjae and Hoseok were openly glaring at them now, threatening the younger duo with hostile gazes. But Yugyeom and Jungkook were steadfast, not backing down either.

Youngjae exhaled gravely. He didn't want to use this, but the maknaes left him no choice in the matter. The older boy had to pull his trump card.

"Hey! You should listen to your hyung!"

Youngjae's retaliatory strike was a fatal direct hit, and Yugyeom and Jungkook looked beaten, unable to make a single retort. There was nothing they could do; it was complete defeat.

"Aish, if you kids want to watch that movie so bad, then go watch in Gyeom's room." Jaebum finally relented, rubbing a hand on his face. If this was what it felt like to be a father, then Jaebum was having second thoughts with wanting three children—let alone one.

Almost immediately, Yugyeom sprouted back to life.

"Really, hyung? Yay!" the youngest male cheered happily, posture straightening up. "Who wants to watch with us?"

Jackson and Namjoon were about to offer going but a pointed look from Mark and Seokjin made them pause, expressions nonplussed. Hoseok was smiling as if he'd just won the lottery, and hidden from both boys' view was Jimin giggling into a smirking Yoongi's shoulder. ("You think it'll finally happen, hyung?" "Jesus, those idiots can't take a ing hint if it's staring at them right in the eye.")

(In the corner, Jinyoung, Taehyung, and Kunpimook were eyeing each other darkly, whispering in hushed tones.

"So how much are you gonna bet?"

"Seven thousand won says someone's getting laid tonight. I mean, c'mon, horror? All alone in a room? With a bed?"

"Eight thousand won. Second base at most, and a long-awaited confession."

"Ten thousand, and nothing's gonna happen. As per usual. I'm eating good this week.")

Yugyeom frowned at the lack of volunteers. "Seriously? Some of these are really scary, though."

Jungkook, on the other hand, was quick to catch on, easily picking up his hyungs' unusual actions. The brunette male didn't know if he should feel embarrassed or use the situation set up by his seniors as a tactical advantage. Well, either way, he sighed as he glanced at a guileless Yugyeom. He was just glad to be spending time with the towering boy.

"Why?" Jungkook had opted to tease his taller yet immature friend instead, knowing just the right buttons to press, "you scared, bro?"

Yugyeom held back a sneer because was that a challenge he heard just now? "You wish. Let's do this!"

Grabbing a bowl teeming with buttered popcorn and an armful of horror films, the coconut heads raced off down the hall.

"Leave the door open!" Seokjin called after them.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Mark reminded flippantly.

 

~

  

Yugyeom pretended not to flinch as he watched the lights begin to flicker on, off, on, off, the lead character moving off her bed to stare at a dark, shadowy figure of a woman appearing and disappearing on the floor by the threshold. Subtly, the younger boy drew his bed covers closer to his long frame, eyes peeking through the huge pillow he was clutching. Adjacent to him, Jungkook was in a similar position, only he held his phone in front of him, the sparse light from the device illuminating his facial features, peeking up at the screen every few seconds. The two freshmen were in Yugyeom and Kunpimook's shared room, holed up in blankets on the younger's bed, with the curtains drawn and the light turned off as a foreign horror movie played on the laptop in front of them, volume turned up to the highest. The bowl of popcorn laid on the floor, contents emptied.

"Scared?" Jungkook taunted his coconut headed friend, but there was no malice in his tone as he bumped the boy's shoulder gently.

"Me? Pfft, not a chance."

Yugyeom forced himself to laugh, bumping the brunette haired boy's shoulder back. He watched silently, shoulders taut, as the main character edged closer to the floor, towards the woman in the shadows, when the lights completely shut off and the unfamiliar figure abruptly pounced on the main lead.

Yugyeom buried his head back down on the pillow, unable to continue watching because his heart was beating a mile a minute and goddamn it, why did he choose a horror movie again? It wasn't like the young student was a total scaredy cat. He wasn't afraid of his own shadow unlike some people (specifically people who went by the names of Youngjae and Hoseok), but there was something about this movie, along with the fact that there were only two of them watching and the sound effects were almost deafening, that made the young dancer's blood run cold and his imagination run wild. Suggesting a horror movie marathon and questioning his whole life 20 minutes in was beginning to top charts on his long list of 'Dumbest Things I've Ever Done'. Now he had to say farewell to being able to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and would probably end up sleeping next to Kunpimook for a week. (And Kunpimook was the absolute worse sleeping partner Yugyeom ever had the chance of sleeping with.) Why did he even consider this monstrosity of a film over a Korean drama that actually had a plot and wasn't trying to kill him by messing with his circulatory system?

A derisive snort from beside him made Yugyeom pause from his mini crisis to look at his friend. Jungkook, the little , was openly laughing at him, head thrown back and mouth wide open as he threw an arm over his scared friend's shoulder.

("It's not funny!"

"Dude, I thought it was physically impossible but you somehow managed to get even paler."

"Well duh, she was the splitting image of you. ing terrifying.")

Yugyeom not-so-secretly watched, enthralled, as the other male's eyes formed crescents and his nose scrunched up lightly, laughing full heartedly. Yugyeom's heart pounded harder against his chest. It was totally the stupid movie's fault.

The lanky boy remembered belatedly why he chose to watch a horror movie. It was because of the dork beside him that wouldn't stop laughing, a particularly cute dork that Yugyeom wanted to impress with his grand display of bravery. And oh, how it backfired.

Yugyeom turned his attention back to the TV, because he most definitely preferred watching a ghost or ghoul or devil or whatever that thing on the screen was, scare him until he had nightmares for days, than gawk stare at his friend who most definitely was not cute or good-looking in any sense, angle or form. In fact, Yugyeom felt the need to further point out, that his friend looked quite ridiculous at the moment, with hair sticking up all over, and a fuzzy sweater that looked like it had previously been a rug and the designer just ran out of material to use.

Yugyeom had to stop his appraisal because Jungkook turned his head and he saw him looking and ohmygod they were staring at each other and they were so painfully close and Yugyeom could die right then and there but then Jungkook gave him a small half grin, all bunny teeth and twinkling eyes and Yugyeom could barely see him through the dim lighting but the younger's heart began palpitating and jesuschrist he felt like he was melting inside, every fiber and atom holding his body together erupting and self-combusting.

So maybe Yugyeom wasn't completely honest. Maybe he thought Jungkook looked hella cute and way more handsome than the models on the front cover of Kunpimook's fashion magazines, but that was okay. That was natural. Maybe he thought that Jungkook would look nice even if he was sporting a buzz cut or wearing a trash bag, but that was alright. Maybe he thought Jungkook was the ing sun shining down on the entire solar system and that was acceptable. Yugyeom wasn't weird. He could think that his friends looked beautiful in a totally platonic, non-romantic and non-ual way. Yugyeom could appreciate art when he saw it.

But art was not something meant to be touched, especially by the likes of one Kim Yugyeom. It was supposed to be preserved, avoided in close proximity, and given extreme caution when handled. It was meant to be adored and given utter devotion, and Yugyeom was definitely not good enough to do that, so Yugyeom settled for the next best thing: he would look and admire from a distance.

With that final thought, the young boy trained his eyes back to the screen, hoping that the scary film would get his heart beating faster than ever, to forget the sensations that lingered on his chest, and to give his creative mind something else to imagine, lest he lead himself even deeper into a situation he would eventually regret.

(What Yugyeom didn't know was that Jungkook wasn't even paying attention to majority of the movie, instead sneaking gazes—and pictures—of the young boy with hearts in his eyes.)

(When Yugyeom was getting scared and hiding beneath the covers, Jungkook would slide closer and steal the boy's attention with feathery touches and tickles, limbs intertwining.)

 

~

 

"Hey, maknaes! What you u—" a hand was rudely shoved in the blonde man's face, effectively shutting the rambunctious foreigner up.

From the gaps between the assaulter's fingers, Jackson made out the sight of one Seokjin who was sending him a look of warning, wordlessly commandeering the younger man to keep quiet.

After hesitantly listening to his senior, Seokjin dropped his hand and motioned for the blonde boy to follow him (silently, the eldest reminded with a death stare, to which the Hong Kong native enthusiastically nodded to). Furtively, Jackson followed Seokjin down the hall to where the 95 liners and Kunpimook were crowding around. Upon closer inspection, Jackson realized that they were standing by a door left ajar, a door leading to the two maknaes to be exact.

Taehyung's and Kunpimook's heads disappeared behind the doorframe while Youngjae and Jimin were softly giggling at something on Jimin's phone. Unable to mitigate his curiosity, Jackson siddled up behind the two boys and glanced down at the handheld device. What he saw made him shriek giddily, and everyone immediately turned and shushed the blonde man.

Jackson covered his mouth and made a face holding some semblance to apologetic, but couldn't stop the cheesy grin that formed behind his hand. Next to him, Seokjin inched forward and grabbed the back of Taehyung's and Kunpimook's shirts, tugging lightly.

"C'mon," Seokjin hissed lowly towards his hyper dongsaengs, "you've taken enough photos. Leave them be for now."

Begrudgingly, Taehyung and Kunpimook moved away from the doorframe (", Jinyoung won. Again." "Well that's the last of this month's allowance."), and then they both shared evil leers, cackling wickedly as they followed after their retreating friends back towards the living room.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Seokjin slowly peeked his head inside the dark room, barely making out the two sleeping forms on the twin-sized bed. Silently, he navigated his way inside, careful not to trip on his feet, and shut off the running television.

Heading back to the door, he gave one last final glance to the two boys snuggled closely, a dozing Jungkook hugging the front of the taller boy who was curled up around him, head tucked neatly under the former's chin, both their legs entangled.

Eyes softening, Seokjin smiled knowingly and exited the room, closing the door gently shut behind him.

 

 

---

 5.3k words how

i am sOFT FOR THIS SHIP AND GOTBANGTAN CAN U BELIEVE

sorry if its ugly, my writing styles a work in progress. ill post this on ao3 as soon as i get my invite and set up an account lol. anw, thanks for reading and i hope i can make mutuals hehe. i will try to write more (and better) so watch out!!