"Are you alone again?"

Jungkook smirks as he finishes his cup of coffee. 

"You know I'm rarely alone."

"Don't sass me, young man."

On the phone, his Jin hyung still sounded like a mother; Jungkook had to keep himself from laughing. "Well, I am alone right now," he answers, "But there are people here and some of them have been staring at me for an hour."

"Of course they would. You're Jeon Jungkook."

"You make it sound like a big deal."

"Aren't you?"

Jungkook rubs his the back of his neck as he stares outside the window again. 

"Anyway," continues Kim Seokjin, "The next time you ditch a press con, do me a favor and do one of two things: show up or tell me why you're ditching. Because to be honest, you're not the one facing the annoyed press."

"Ah hyung, but you're there, right? Your handsome face is enough."

"You bet your sorry it is," answers Jin, "But that's not the point, JK. I know you have problems and I know you're trying to sort them out, but giving us a head's up isn't going to hurt. People want to see you."

Jungkook sighs. "I know, I'm sorry hyung," he replies, "It's just...I don't know. I think I need to clear my head."

"Then why are you there?" asks Jin, "I talked to Yugyeom last night when you went missing. He told me you drove back there."

"Aisht, Yugyeom can't shut up."

He hears his co-idol sigh exasperatedly. "Ah JK, why do you do this? You know that you're not okay. Why are you there? Are you some sort of masochist or something?" he asks, "Why are you doing this to yourself, Jungkook?"

The younger idol also heaves a sigh as he stares at the people passing by. 

"I don't know, hyung," he replies, tapping on the table, "Maybe, it's better this way."

The first part of a relationship is always the best -- Jungkook knew that well.

A day after the kiss, it was an episode of awkward flirting, red cheeks, and confessions. Jungkook found out that Jimin never dated Hoseok; if anything, Hobi was the first to know about Jimin's feelings for Jungkook. In return, Jungkook admitted his suspicions about Jimin and his roommate.

Jimin laughed at him. 

A month after the kiss, Jimin and Jungkook were all over each other -- in secret, of course. 

Liberal as the community was, the couple was still uncertain if the people would accept their relationship. Only Hoseok was privy to that information. Despite the secrecy, however, they managed to be affectionate whenever, wherever.

A kiss behind the practice room, hands interlocked under the table, a little footsie here and there -- they did all of that without anyone noticing. 

There were near misses, but no one really caught Jungkook and Jimin. Sometimes, JK wondered how no one caught them yet. 

"I guess we're that good," Jimin explained one morning. 

Jungkook's hands slithered around his waist. 

"You want to know exactly how good?"

Jimin laughed. "Shut up."

A year after the kiss, they decided to live together.

Their goodbyes was always a sad thing for Jungkook, even though they were only a floor apart. He was  never a big fan of kissing Jimin goodnight; it meant he had to wait hours again before he could see him. Jimin said he felt the same, but he didn't want to sound too clingy. 

That was when Jungkook suggested they live together.

"Are you sure?" Jimin asked one day as they sat in the cafe, "I mean...it's a pretty big step."

"Of course I am," answered Jungkook, "What's wrong with it? I'll be living with you. Plus, nobody's going to assume anything."

"Well, people will wonder why I left Hoseok hyung."

"You can tell them he started having feelings for you and you don't like that."

"I don't want Yoongi hyung to strangle me, thank you very much."

"Ah well, but I think everyone will understand," insisted Jungkook, "C'mon, Chim Chim," he said, calling his lover by his nickname, "What do you say? I already saw this place that we can both afford and it's nearby."

"Wow, Nochu. You did your research, huh?"

Under the table, he reached out for Jimin's hand and squeezed it. 

"Of course. I really want to do this with you."

He sincerely wished Jimin would say yes. Jungkook was already tired of having to part with him every night. He wanted something permanent with Chim Chim and living together was the first step. 

After a minute of biting his lip and thinking, Jimin smiled.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Life with Jimin was a happy one. Jungkook couldn't be more grateful to the deities above for leading him to this caring and loving man. Every night, he'd come home to a meal (sometimes burnt, depending on Jimin's cooking), a warm bath, and extra kisses and hugs. He had someone to talk to whenever he was stressed, especially when he was promoted to senior frontline dancer for hiphop (Jimin was his counterpart in the contemporary dancing department). There was always an extra pair of hands comforting him whenever he missed his family or worried about the future. 

Each day ended the same.

"I love you, Chim."

"I love you too, Nochu."

Two years after the kiss, however, things changed.

Jungkook's talent started to gain him the attention he deserved. After countless dance competitions and performances, people started to notice that he was a Jack-of-all-trades. Apart from the dancing, he showed off his vocal prowess and rapping skills, which amazed the entire company and spectators. Being one of the youngest in the batch, no one knew he could pull everything off.

But he did. 

Suddenly, everyone wanted him to be part of their performance. Apart from the dance company, he also got special offers outside and he took them all with glee. After all, this was his intention in the first place: to bear the fruits of his talent. He was tired, but it was  okay. Finally, Jungkook was living the dream.

Except it also took its toll on his relationship with Jimin. 

His super packed schedule meant he was rarely home; if he was, he was super exhausted. Sometimes, Jimin would want to reach out to him, to ask his day, or to just talk, but Jungkook was too tired to do so. Even a simple dinner was too strenuous already; he rejected one too many dinner dates. He'd see Jimin's face change whenever he does; sometimes, it's that adorable pout, other times, it's an annoyed remark. 

"Well, I guess I now know your priorities," he would say in an irritated tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jimin just scoffed as he went out of the room, leaving Jungkook annoyed with his reaction. 

That wasn't the only fight they had. 

Eventually, Jungkook noticed how they were always at each other's throats frequen