Seokjin’s hand was shaking only slightly as he knocked on the door. He heard the shuffling of footsteps and a pair of low voices. He tapped his fingers on the handle of his suitcases, beginning to wonder if he was at the wrong place.

All his worries were extinguished, however, by the face he was met with when the door was opened.

“Hey.”

Seokjin recognised him immediately. “Oh! Kim Namjoon.”

“Yeah. Kim Seokjin, right?”

Namjoon was a couple centimetres taller than him. He had strong, manly features that made him look quite serious and a little intimidating. When Seokjin had first met him at the coffee shop, he bowed politely and shook his hand. It was all very business-like at the time compared to now.

He nodded and Namjoon stepped aside to let him squeeze into the dorm. After propping his two suitcases against the wall and shrugging off his backpack, Seokjin gravitated towards the kitchen. Naturally.

It was small. Very small. There was hardly any room to breathe, let alone cook. But it was what he was expecting when he joined. Namjoon had told him before that the company was very small, with not a lot of money to its name. Suddenly, that offer from SM didn’t seem so bad.

“We heard you can cook.”

It was a different voice this time, one he hadn’t heard before. He swivelled round and lowered his head to meet eyes with a dark, lean figure. His eyes were droopy and held an aura of deepness about them, while his face was round and soft. His height accompanied with his child-like features made him look quite cute, Seokjin thought. Not that he was going to say it aloud.

He opted to smiling instead. “Kim Seokjin,” he introduced politely, and held out his hand. The other stared at it hesitantly for a second before shaking it. Seokjin smiled again. “And, yes, I love to cook.”

“Min Yoongi,” he replied. “And you better ‘cause me and Namjoon have been living off pizza, fried chicken and instant noodles since we got here.”

Seokjin was appalled. “That’s awful! Do you eat anything healthy at all?”

“I had mushrooms on my pizza last night if that counts,” he shrugged.

“Nope. That will not do,” Seokjin said, shaking his head. “Where’s the nearest supermarket around here? I’m cooking us steak for dinner.”

“Steak?”

“Yes, steak.” Seokjin studied Yoongi’s stunned expression and wavered for a second. “I can cook it well. I’ve never given anyone food poisoning before, so you’re safe in that sense.”

Yoongi’s lips twitched, as if he were going to smile but stopped himself. “I’m just surprised you can afford it,” he murmured.

Oh. Seokjin’s throat dried up. “W—well, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. How many am I cooking for?”

Namjoon appeared at the door. “Five tonight. Me and Yoongi, you, and two others are being dropped off after they finish school—Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook.”

“Oh, they’re students? How old?”

Namjoon scratched his head. “I think Jimin’s around sixteen or seventeen. Jungkook’s fifteen.”

Seokjin’s eyes shot open. “Fifteen? Surely they can’t debut him at that age.”

Yoongi scoffed. “Sure they can. Entertainment companies could probably debut ten-year-olds if they really wanted to.”

“It’s just that... there would be a five-year gap between us.”

“It’s the same with a lot of groups,” Namjoon said. “There are probably bigger s in the industry.”

“I suppose so.”

He shrugged. “It’ll work out somehow. Anyway, didn’t you say you wanted to find the supermarket?”

Seokjin nodded. Namjoon offered to take him and reached for his wallet.

“What are you doing?” Seokjin asked.

Namjoon blinked, confused. “Getting my wallet?”

“Oh, no, no, no, I’ll pay! I’m the eldest after all.”

Namjoon and Yoongi shared a look Seokjin didn’t quite understand, but he shrugged it off and headed for his bag to find his wallet.

While they were grocery shopping, Seokjin wondered what kinds of food Jungkook would like. Maybe he was allergic to something he’d bought, which prompted him to ask Namjoon to list off every allergy under the sun so he wouldn’t accidently buy something he could possibly be allergic to.

“What if he’s vegetarian? Do you think he’s vegetarian?” Namjoon was about to answer when he was cut off by Seokjin’s endless worries again: “Maybe I should make japchae instead…”

After endless internal debating, Seokjin decided to get ingredients for both steak and japchae. I’ll just ask him when he arrives, he thought.

“Kids like ice cream, right?” he said as they walked down the frozen food isle. “We should get some ice cream.”

“What if he’s lactose intolerant?” Namjoon joked. Well, it was meant to be taken as a joke, but it caused Seokjin to go over everything in the trolley again.

“Actually, let’s just buy candy instead,” he mumbled. “You can’t go wrong with candy.”

You probably could, but Namjoon wasn’t going to dispute it.

It took Seokjin approximately eight minutes to buy an assortment of candy ranging from sour to sweet; flavours ranging from strawberry to banana:

“Right, that should do it.” Namjoon nodded. “Oh! What about chocolate? He might prefer some chocolate. I’ll just grab these―”

“Those have peanuts.”

“Oh my god!”

Eventually, the two reached the tills to pay for everything. They’d managed to practically fill the whole trolley with different meats, a variety of vegetables, soda and milk, and a selection of snacks for the younger boys arriving later. They went a little over budget, and it ate away the majority of Seokjin’s allowance, but he didn’t mind if it meant everyone was going to be well-fed.

It was nearly six in the afternoon when Seokjin and Namjoon arrived back at the dorm. They were welcomed by a new face, one with chubby-cheeks and a sweet smile.

It was Namjoon who spoke first. “Park Jimin, yeah?”

The boy’s smile widened. “Yup, that’s me.”