"C'mon, rap with us!" He laughs hard, waving his hands.
   "No, come on, I can barely rhyme!" They all join him in laughing, and the beat loops on in the background. Jungkook has actually agreed to hang out with his other friends and Namjoon is so relieved they're getting along well, studying the way his little smile splits open into a toothy grin, how his laugh lights up his whole face.
   "JK, just start like this-" Hoseok lays down a verse that's a little too complicated and they all laugh uproariously again. He thinks it's cool that they call him Kookie and JK, that they're all so excited that he's here and they want him to be part of their group, even if it's intimidating as hell. Hopes the nervous sweat he's breaking out in isn't as obvious to everyone else as it it to him.
   "No, no, more like this-" Yoongi does the exact same thing and it's even funnier the second time. Jungkook is relieved when the joke devolves into turn taking, maybe trying to outdo the last performance, but mostly just having fun practicing their art.
   Without the pressure, he wants to try. Even though he knows he probably won't be any good, he steels his nerves a little bit every time he hears someone start a new verse, listens to the way they structure what they're talking about. They've each got such a different style but it still isn't hard to pick Namjoon as his favorite. There's an opening and he does not to look at anyone in particular as he does his best to keep his tongue untied. It isn't very many lines long but raucous cheering and loud claps fill the room when he's done, and he feels an overwhelming mixture of relief, accomplishment, and something like fitting in. When they walk home together later, Namjoon asks him what he thought, now that he actually had a chance to meet them.
   "I had fun! They were really cool. I-" he takes a quick breath, "still like you the best, though." Namjoon smiles and laughs it off, not really understanding. Jungkook laughs along because he loves the sound, because tonight was fun, because he's not worried.