*************** Sometime in the past ***************

 

Jungkook sat at his desk, fuming at the attention the new guy was getting. Everybody was fawning over this handsome guy, Jimin, who was apparently Taehyung’s best friend since childhood. Jimin’s branch had closed down recently, and as a result, he had been relocated to the Seoul branch, where he was ruining Jungkook’s life.

 

Now Jungkook didn’t normally hate the new workers— in fact he was typically the one to make them feel comfortable in the office. He loved getting to meet new people, but Jimin was something else. Jungkook had acted nice initially, until Jimin started to become a threat to his rank in the office.

 

Not only had Jimin stolen his position as the best employee in the office in the short time that he had been there, but he had also stolen all the attention from the other workers. Nobody except for Yoongi would talk to him even though they were friends before Jimin came. Even Seokjin, who had doted on Jungkook like a younger brother, had abandoned him.

 

“Move out of the way Junglebook, I want to talk to Jimin,” Seokjin yelled as he elbowed Jungkook aside in his effort to sit at the already crowded table Jimin occupied for lunch.

 

“My name’s Jungkook!!” he yelled out to nobody’s attention.

 

It had only been two weeks since Jimin had come to the office, but Jungkook already had enough, which lead to the start of his pranks on the other man. It started out simple, like stealing his pens and other small items, but had quickly escalated into a grand affair as Jimin began to retaliate back.

 

“Yoongi-hyung, he’s driving me crazy! I’m 100% certain that he’s trying to get me fired with his pranks! You can tell by that handsome smirk of his,” Jungkook yelled as he glared at Jimin across the break room one day.

 

“Hmm… what did you say Jungcook? I was trying to listen to the story Jimin was telling,” Yoongi absentmindedly said as he ate his food.

 

“Yoongi-hyung!!!! Not you too!” Jungkook shouted as he gripped Yoongi by the shoulders and shook him back and forth.

 

“What???!! Okay fine, but what else did you expect to happen? Jimin is an extremely charismatic guy, but I’m sure all the attention on him will eventually die down,” he tried to reason with Jungkook as he rolled his eyes.

 

“Not soon enough. I need to put a stop to his evil plot before everyone completely forgets about me.”

 

“Look man, Jimin is honestly a pretty nice guy and I really don’t know why you hate him so much. Also, I’m getting super tired of you always talking about Jimin. He’s literally all you talk about at home. It’s always Jimin this and Jimin that. To anybody else, it would almost seem like you had a crush on him or something,” Yoongi lazily said.

 

“That’s crazy! Why would I like him?” Jungkook burst out. Yoongi simply shrugged and went back to eating, completely unbothered. But Yoongi’s statement got Jungkook thinking.

 

Do I honestly talk about him that much? Could I have a crush on him? That’s completely absurd! I don’t like Jimin... right?

 

*****************Present*****************

 

“Hey Jackson, you want to hang out tonight or what? My friends and I were going to go to this new club later today,” Seungri called over to his deskmate.

 

“U-u-hhh. Not today, man. I’m like really busy later on,” Jackson hurriedly replied back, a bit too suspiciously. Luckily, Seungri didn’t seem to notice anything weird and simply shrugged. “Your loss man.”

 

Kibum suddenly stormed into the office and stomped his way to Hyungwon’s desk, shattering the peaceful atmosphere of the building.

 

“What the is this!” Kibum shouted at Hyungwon whilst pointing at a photo in a magazine. Everyone paused in their work and watched on in anticipation of how Hyungwon would react.

 

Hyungwon glanced up from his phone briefly before returning to his game, “That’s me.”

 

“I know that’s you! But WHY didn’t you tell anybody that you’re a MODEL!” Kibum shrieked.

 

The entire office exploded in shock at the revelation. “What!”

“He does have the perfect physique for a model.”

“He’s a model?”

 

“At Seoul Fashion Week, nonetheless,” Kibum continued to spill the tea.

 

Unperturbed by the reactions he was receiving, Hyungwon uninterestedly responded to the sudden inquiry, “I’ve been a model since I was a teenager. I do some runway work when I have free time.”

 

“Why didn’t you ever tell us!” Seokjin questioned, highly interested in the sudden news.

 

“You never asked,” Hyungwon responded simply before putting in his earbuds, a clear signal that he was done talking to them.

 

While the entire office calmed down from their sudden outburst, Jimin was anxiously bouncing up and down in his chair. Taehyung glanced over at his friend in concern, not used to this type of behavior. Jimin had been acting odd since the party yesterday, especially when Jungkook was around.

 

“You look really off today, what’s wrong Jimin?” Taehyung asked, seriously concerned for his friend.

 

“Something happened yesterday with Jungkook at the party. Something I didn’t tell you and I’m kind of really freaking out right now,” Jimin whispered with intense worry etched upon his face.

 

Taehyung reeled back in shock at the fact that Jimin didn’t tell him something, but quickly composed himself, “Spill it Jimin. What happened with Jungkook?”

 

Jimin snuck a glance around the office before gesturing at his computer screen, “Not out loud where everybody can hear us.”

 

Taehyung got his drift and nodded back in understanding. He watched as Jimin hurriedly typed out an email and waited for it to reach his inbox.

 

[9:10]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

Ok, so like you remember how after our talk Jungkook came up to us right? Well, he took me over to the break room cause he said he needed to quote, “talk with me”. We get to the break room and he’s like not saying anything so I start freaking out and I’m totally not mentally ready to talk with him after I decided I actually do have feelings for him. So I get ready to leave BUT GET THIS— he asks me out on a date! JUNGKOOK ASKED ME OUT!

 

-Jimin

 

Taehyung’s mouth opened up in shock as he read through the email. He looked up at Jimin with wide eyes before furiously typing on his keyboard.

 

[9:15]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

OH MY GOD!!!! JUNGKOOK ASKED YOU OUT!!!!! I totally knew this would happen one day! It was so obvious that he had feelings for you. WHAT DID YOU SAY?????

 

-Taehyung

 

[9:18]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

Well… I just stared at him BECAUSE HE ASKED ME OUT and I wasn’t ready for it and he’s just there waiting for my answer, so I manage a quick “I’ll have to think about it” before I blasted out of there. BUT LIKE SERIOUSLY what was I supposed to say??!! I just decided that I have feelings for him and suddenly he declares his love for me?? And there’s this small part of me that thinks it could all just be prank.

 

-Jimin

 

Taehyung threw his head back and groaned out in exasperation as he read the last email. Was Jimin really going to be this thick?

 

[9:22]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

Why would you think he’s trying to prank you? Didn’t you say that he’s been a bit nicer towards you recently. He’s probably come to terms with his feelings just like you did.

 

-Taehyung

 

Jimin read through the email before looking up at Taehyung with uncertainty. Jungkook had been acting nicer lately. Plus, he couldn’t recall the last time he had been pranked. Surely Jungkook couldn't be that cold hearted?

 

Was Taehyung right? Did Jungkook truly like him?

 

[9:26]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

Of course I’m right.

 

-Taehyung

 

[9:26]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

I can confirm that Taehyung is right. As someone who lives with Jungkook, I can assure you that he does have feelings for you. The only reason he pranked you in the beginning was to get your attention. He really doesn’t hate you or anything. It’s actually quite the opposite.

 

-Yoongi

 

After reading the signature on the last email, Jimin felt his spirit leave his body. How did Yoongi know what they were talking about? Unless…

 

Jimin quickly checked the recipients of the email, only to discover that in his hurry, he had sent a mass email to the entire office— not just Taehyung.

 

[9:28]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

PLEASE SAY YES!! That boi totally had feelings for you. I thought it was SUPER obvious but clearly you didn’t notice. UNBELIEVABLE!!

 

-Seokjin

 

[9:28]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

AHHH!!! MY OTP IS GETTING TOGETHER!! Seungri you owe me 100,000 won!!

 

-Hoseok

 

[9:28]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

YOU GUYS COULDN’T HAVE WAITED ANOTHER THREE MONTHS!!!! DAMN YOU HOSEOK AND YOUR LOVE INSTINCTS!!!!! :((((((

 

-Seungri

 

[9:29]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

You guys are totally cute together!! I think you should say yes to the date, just to determine whether or not you actually have feelings for him. But of course, it’s up to you. :) <3 <3

 

-Luna

 

[9:29]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

HAAA!!! I KNEW IT!!! I’m never going to let you live this down >:) !!!

 

-Kibum

 

Jimin honestly wasn’t sure what he wanted to do first, throw his computer out the window or walk onto a street full of traffic. He settled for slamming his head against his desk repeatedly. The one thing he wanted to avoid had happened— everybody knew about his incident with Jungkook, and most importantly, his feelings.

 

He had to face everybody eventually, especially Jungkook. Gathering up the courage, Jimin looked around the office and was met with mostly sympathetic (and some smug glances). Everybody seemed to think he should say yes to Jungkook, even Namjoon who had stuck his hand through the blinds of his office window in order to give him a thumbs up.

 

Jimin felt a sudden surge of confidence course through his body— until he was struck by a frightening revelation. If he had sent out a mass email to the entire office, then that meant that… Jungkook had also gotten it!

 

“OH MY GOD TAE!! I SENT THAT EMAIL TO JUNGKOOK!!!” Jimin screamed out in total distress, scaring his best friend.

 

“Okay Minnie you need to calm down. Luckily, Jungkook has been in the restroom this entire time, which means that he hasn’t read your email yet. We probably have some time to delete it before he gets back,” Taehyung tried to reason with Jimin. He hopped over to Jungkook’s desk and wiggled the mouse to get rid of the screensaver, only to be met with a blank screen asking for a password.

 

“You wouldn’t happen to know his password would you?” Taehyung nervously asked his friend. Jimin yelled out in frustration. Jungkook would be back any second now.

 

“Leave that to me,” Yoongi said as he pushed Taehyung’s hands away from the keyboard,”Aha! Got it! I seriously can’t believe that he uses ‘InternationalPlayboy’ as the password for all his devices.”

 

Jimin navigated to Jungkook’s email and found the nefarious email thread. He scrolled through emails to ensure that all the messages were accounted for. The notification suddenly blinked, signaling that a new email had been sent. Curious, Jimin opened up the new email.

 

[9:40]

SUBJECT: I’m dying

 

If you need me to get rid of somebody, I know a guy.

 

-Creed

 

Jimin, Taehyung, and Yoongi all glanced up at Creed who was smiling disturbingly back at them, before sharing a look among each other. They all seemed to share the same thought, What exactly was his previous job before coming here?

 

“Umm, no thanks Creed. We’ve already handled the email situation,” Taehyung timidly told the man. Creed simply nodded before turning back to his computer.

 

“Remind me to never get on his bad side,” Jimin whispered to the other two as he quickly deleted the email thread. Just in time too, because Jungkook had finally returned from the restroom.

 

Jimin had finally made up his mind (without the help of his annoying coworkers) and it was now or never. With one final glance at Taehyung for support, Jimin took a deep breath and walked up Jungkook.

 

Jungkook looked at him in mild shock, but Jimin beat him to the punch before he could say anything.

 

“Yes. I’ll go out with you.” Jimin couldn’t help but smile at the way Jungkook’s face lit up.

 

*****************************************

 

Jimin nervously tugged at his clothes, attempting to calm himself down before Jungkook arrived to take him to dinner. They had agreed to go out for a simple meal as their first date. “Simple” being the keyword here, yet Jimin had sat in front of his closet for hours, trying to put on the perfect outfit before finally settling for a nice white sweater and his favorite black skinny jeans.

 

Before he could contemplate changing his outfit again, the doorbell rang, signifying that Jungkook had finally arrived. Jimin let out a small “fighting” to his reflection in the mirror before going to answer the door.

 

Before him stood Jungkook, looking as fine as ever (because yes Jungkook was handsome, even if Jimin had never admitted it to himself before) with his button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of skinny jeans.

 

“Ummmm… hi. These are for you,” Jungkook timidly stammered before handing over a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers.

 

“Wow, these look beautiful. Give me a moment while I put them in a vase,” Jimin called out as he headed back into his house on the search for a vase. He could’ve sworn he heard a faint “You’re beautiful” coming from the man at the doorway.

 

Jimin took this time away to calm himself down because this date was actually happening and it was completely nerve wracking. After placing the flowers in a vase and watering them, Jimin took a quick breath before heading out to meet Jungkook.

 

“You look really nice too. So where are we going to eat?” Jimin tried to confidently start up some conversation.

It was clear that Jungkook was obviously taken aback by the fact that Jimin had heard his previous statement— he hadn’t intended for the other to hear his ramblings. Jungkook’s shy demeanor was doing nothing to help Jimin’s own nervousness.

 

“Are you fine with going to some restaurant Yoongi-hyung recommended? I hear it’s really good,” Jungkook energetically replied, trying to erase the awkward air around them. It worked, seeing as how both men became more relaxed.

 

Jimin nodded with a bright smile. “That’s fine with me. The food better be good or I’ll go complain to Yoongi that he has bad taste,” Jimin joked. Jungkook let out a loud laugh, “I’d like to see that happen. Yoongi-hyung would probably be so offended.”

 

Maybe this date would turn out just fine after all.

 

Unbeknownst to the two, across the street was a car filled with five people following their every move.

 

“Quick Namjoon! Step on it or we’ll lose them!” Seokjin screamed as he followed Jungkook’s car with his binoculars.

 

“Onward Namjoon!” Taehyung yelled from the backseat.

 

“Namjoon- HYUNG. Why does nobody ever address me properly,” Namjoon bitterly whispered.

 

“Jungkook’s car is literally less than fifty feet away from us, so you really don’t need to use those binoculars hyung. And are you forgetting that I literally told him which restaurant to go to, meaning we don’t need to follow them there,” Yoongi sighed in exasperation as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

 

“It’s for the experience Yoongi! If we’re going to spy on them, we need to do it properly,” Seokjin shouted back, not keen on Yoongi attacking his sleuthing methods.

 

Yoongi rolled his eyes at Seokjin’s exaggerated actions. Why was he even here again?

 

“Just play along hyung. He seems to really be into this,” Hoseok whispered into his ear. Oh yeah, that’s why he’s here. Yoongi had only agreed to spy on Jungkook and Jimin’s date once he heard that Hoseok was tagging along. Damn you Seokjin for knowing my weaknesses.

 

At the restaurant, Jungkook and Jimin seemed to be having a great time. The awkward air had completely disappeared and the two were currently laughing at something Jimin had said.

 

“OH MAN that’s hilarious! I can’t believe drunk Taehyung went onstage and rapped that entire song! Did you record it?” Jungkook howled with laughter.

 

“Did I record it? OF COURSE I did!” Jimin replied through his giggles.

 

“That’s a pretty funny story. But I BET it’s not as funny as the one I have about Yoongi-hyung.”

 

“Well now you have to spill the story,” Jimin said, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

 

“Yoongi-hyung is going to kill me,” Jungkook groaned before continuing with his story, ”But whatever, I’ll risk it. So, it’s like three in the morning and I hear this noise coming from the living room, so I get up to investigate with my phone as a weapon. Here I am thinking it’s a burglar, but it’s literally just Yoongi crying over a picture on Hoseok’s Instagram because he looks so damn good in it.”

 

This story ultimately led to another round of laughter. “Man those two are so blind,” Jimin remarked with a shake of his head.

 

“What are they laughing at?” Taehyung questioned as he “sneakily” stared over his menu at the laughing pair.

 

“Well, if someone had let me bring my binoculars, I would be able to read their lips,” Seokjin complained as he glared at Yoongi.

 

“For the last time Seokjin-hyung, binoculars aren’t very inconspicuous. They would only draw attention to us,” Yoongi glared back.

 

“I agree with Yoongi-hyung,” Hoseok voiced out his opinions as he wrapped an arm around Yoongi, trying to shield him from Seokjin’s wrath. Yoongi immediately weakened his glare and began to blush. Seokjin smirked at him, obviously amused by his reaction.

 

“They’ve stopped laughing and look really serious now. Something must have happened,” Taehyung reported to the group, causing them to focus their attention back on the mission at hand.

 

“WHAT HAPPENED!” Seokjin yelled out, attracting the attention of the entire restaurant. Luckily for them, Jungkook and Jimin didn’t seem to notice his outburst.

 

Unbeknownst to Jungkook and Jimin, and all those spying on them, at the opposite end of the restaurant sat another pair on a date. One very familiar person was having a dramatic outburst.

 

“Oh my god! I can’t believe they followed me here! I knew I was being a bit too obvious earlier,” Jackson whispered loudly to his date, Mark, as he spotted Seokjin, Namjoon, Taehyung, Yoongi, and Hoseok in the corner sleuthing.

 

Mark— used to this over the top behavior— followed Jackson’s gaze and found the spying group in the corner. Unlike Jackson however, he happened to notice that the group was spying on another couple in the restaurant and not them. Of course Jackson would get the wrong idea.

 

“I’m so sorry about this Mark. I never intended for this to happen. Now our date’s ruined!,” Jackson tried to apologize.

 

“No it’s not,” Mark nonchalantly responded, clearly amused by his behavior and touched at the fact that he was sincerely apologizing.

 

Back with Jungkook and Jimin, the pair seemed to have finally calmed down from laughing. Neither Jungkook nor Jimin knew what to say next, leading to a comfortable silence between them.

 

It was the perfect time for Jimin to say what was on his mind since he was first asked out. “Why did you ask me out? I thought you hated me,” he said a bit quietly.

 

“I never really hated you— well, maybe a just a bit in the beginning. I guess I was just jealous that you were close with everybody except for me, which is why I played all those pranks to get your attention. But I can assure you, my feeling for you are real,” Jungkook sincerely said.

 

That took Jimin for a turn. So Jungkook really did like him. Jimin found himself elated at this news.

 

“Why did you go out with me if you thought I hated you?” Jungkook asked.

 

“Because Taehyung helped me realize that maybe I did like you, you know despite all those pranks you played on me,” Jimin weakly glared at him before smiling.

 

“Well if it’s alright with you, I would like to start over. Let’s forget about that rocky beginning and start again,” Jungkook suggested.

 

“I don’t know. I mean, I had a great prank planned out for you,” Jimin teased with a smirk, “I’m just kidding. Of course, I would like that.”

 

The pair stared at each other lovingly, neither one wanting to break eye contact. This were finally falling into place.

 

“So are we just going to pretend like we don’t see our friends spying on us from the corner,” Jungkook muttered without looking away from Jimin.

 

“I mean I totally was— but like what else did you expect from those nosy guys? Also, did they honestly think we wouldn’t know they were here after Seokjin-hyung’s outburst? I feel bad for Namjoon, he’s got to live with that for the rest of his life,” Jimin replied as he took another bite of his food.

 

“Well it was on his own accord. He was the one who proposed after all,” Jungkook laughed out completely entranced with his date.

 

Jimin quickly peered over his shoulder to see that their spying friends were busy arguing with each other and not paying any attention to the them. “Now’s our chance! Let’s leave before they notice,” Jimin hastily whispered before grabbing Jungkook’s arm and pulling him towards the exit.

 

Jungkook blushed at the close contact but allowed himself to be dragged away by the enthusiastic guy with a small chuckle. They hurriedly left the restaurant before their friends could notice their absence.

 

“So my good sir, where to?” Jungkook jokingly asked once they had reached the safety of his car. His tone conveyed a complete sense of amusement at their quick escapade.

 

“Since we didn’t get to eat any dessert, let’s go for some ice cream. Preferably somewhere where they can’t find us.”

 

“Well, there’s this really great place Yoongi-hyung told me about...,” Jungkook started.

 

“JUNGKOOK!” Jimin shouted, interrupting him.

 

“I’m just kidding. I know the perfect ice cream shop where I’m sure they can’t find us,” Jungkook grinned as he started up the car. Jimin couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“NAMJOON! Why didn’t you tell us they left?” Seokjin yelled out, attracting the attention of the entire restaurant. He gave them a glare that scared them into looking away.

 

“Well I tried too, but you were too busy fighting with Taehyung to notice,” Namjoon attempted to calm down his fiancé.

 

“If you had just accepted that you played no role in getting Jikook together, we wouldn’t have lost them,” Taehyung shaded Seokjin as he took a sip of his tea. This action got Seokjin riled up again.

 

Yoongi let out a giant sigh in annoyance. This really wasn’t the way he planned on spending his evening. At least Hoseok also seemed to be fed up with Seokjin’s actions, judging by his eye roll. “Hey, Yoongi-hyung, let’s leave before these two break out in a fist fight,” Hoseok whispered to him as he nodded in agreement.

 

While Taehyung and Seokjin resumed their argument and Namjoon tried to apologize to the rest of the restaurant for their behavior, Yoongi and Hoseok made their escape.

 

“So where to now, hyung?” Hoseok asked as he walked alongside Yoongi on the street. Namjoon and Seokjin had been their ride, so they were forced to walk now.

 

“Well, lucky for you, I happen to know this really good ice cream place that is not too far away,” Yoongi suggested in a playful manner. Hoseok grinned back at him. “Sounds great! Lead the way hyung!”

 

Maybe this day wasn’t entirely a waste.

 

“Are they gone?”

 

“Yes, Jackson they’re gone now.”

 

Jackson let out a giant sigh of relief, “Whoo!! Man those guys are too much sometimes! I still can’t believe they followed me here!”

 

Mark looked on in total amusement with his face propped up with his hand and a goofy grin on his face as Jackson continued to ramble on.