It all started late the night before with a fairly innocent question being asked on the dance troupe group chat. Like always.

[Group Chat: Bop to the Top]

(23:01) BottomFeeder:

What y’all be wearing

(23:03) Baekdoor:

Why my, I thought u’d never be this straight to point Sehunie...

I just got out the shower so...

not really wearing anything...

...plus I’m already wet all over ;)

Wanna come for a visit?

(23:04) HoeHoe:

Can I join?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Or watch

(23:04) NoTwitAllowed:

why are you like this?

sigh

also, same Hobi...same

(23:05) BottomFeeder:

...

I meant for tomorrow’s audition....

Y’all need to find Jesus

(23:06) TaeMen:

Like you wouldn’t spontaneously burst into flames if you ever came close enough to a church like the rest of us

Spending the night ting with Hwasa, Baekhyun and some other guy from Grindr after that felt like a good idea at the time. Say what you might, but ting should be considered the eighth form of art, at least in Hoseok’s opinion. You have to balance the right amount of playfulness and charm while keeping it hot and minding how desperate you might come across to other people. It’s better if you have at least some knowledge of your subject and you can’t be blunt about it either, after all, the teasing is the best part.

Hoseok was full of great ideas that night, one of them being leaving the window open before he went to sleep. The goal: to be woken up by the gentle touch of sunlight on his skin while he enjoyed the sounds of people coming alive after a well deserved rest. The reality: his curtains were going crazy because of the strong wind that was blowing and instead of gentle sunlight, he got hail hitting his face all over.

Autumn weather is so amazing, isn't it? He shouldn't complain too much though. Summer had been long and warm, so much so that he all but forgot about fall and winter. But winter is always coming. Seems like September wanted to remind him of it. Why can't he be awoken only when September ends?!

He got up nonetheless and put some music to play to motivate himself not to go back to sleep. While the new Panic! at the Disco song played (he ain't a hooker selling songs ~not yet at least, not if his college plans work out~ but hey look ma! He made it to another college year), he laid his clothes down on his bed, nothing much: black sweatpants, a white baggy t-shirt and an even bigger gray hoodie to throw on top of it, after all he was past the point of trying to impress people on his first day. High homeless man couture.

Ping!

pick from Grindr guy. Impressive size. Though Hoseok is not a fan of pics being exchanged just because it leaves nothing to imagination, but receiving and sending photos of details that promise a good night at someone else’s bed, that’s gold right there. This guy clearly didn’t know how to play subtle and when you play the game of phones, you win or die. Dead it is. Hoseok tossed the phone into bed and started heading out of his bedroom.

As he went to the bathroom to take a shower, he wondered if he should get Jungkook up as well. He'd do that if the younger one wasn't up by the time he got out of the shower.

-----

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. The five stages of waking up that Jungkook went through after having embarrassed himself in front of an astounding four course meal full of nutritional value of a man the day prior.

At least he wouldn't have to see the dimpled stranger anymore. Sure he apparently lived upstairs, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to ignore your neighbors. Write it down kids: a pair of headphones (with no songs playing), sunglasses, a cup of coffee and walking fast while you stare at your shoes works miracles. Coffee sounded really good right about now. He probably should have had some before leaving the apartment. Now he would have to find a coffee shop before making his way to his first class.

The thing is, Jungkook was just too excited. He picked his outfit a week prior to that first day: a skin tight black pair of jeans, a graphic white T-shirt, a soft pink bomber jacket to go with the fake pink highlights he still had going on some parts of his hair, a plain black velvet choker, all the earrings he could fit in his ears and his round and golden framed Harry Potter-ish glasses. He felt cute. Dressed to impress and all that (what an adorkable fool).

The other thing was that Jungkook was hella nervous. He wouldn't know how to put it to words but he needed to do well on his first day. People from his high school had voted him most likely to succeed in life (what does that even look like?! how many years does it take to pay that off?) and he didn't want them to find out he actually had no clue what he was doing. But whatever it was, he had to be the best at it. His line of thinking is simple: if one thing goes wrong, then all other things would go wrong in a quick succession, escalating until everybody ends up dead. And that would be his fault. But that's only if something goes wrong, so chill.

Jungkook was going to the university for the first time. It was still 7:30 am, he’s first class wouldn't start until 9, but he just needed that sense of doing something so he hopped on the bus and on his way he was. He soon came to regret that decision (stupid boy) as he didn’t know exactly where his first class would take place. Sure, on his schedule it said “Main auditorium. Department of Plastic and Scenic Arts” but how would he find it? Maybe waiting for Hobi wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. He sighed.

Well, nothing he could do about it now. He was indeed lost, but he would be damned if he let it show to the cleaning crew walking around the campus. Instead he selected the playlist he’d prepared in advance (he had all the important details down for his first day of college. All but those that actually matter, of course) and while he searched for a coffee shop he started jamming to “Cool” the new Jonas Brothers’ song. It spoke to his heart, maybe he should do as the lyrics suggested and bottle some of his moves to sell them...it was early as hell, but he got a jogger's number already...too bad for her that Jungkook never doubted he was 100% into . Also, Jungkook was afraid of women. He firmly believed that if one of those perfect, powerful and superior creatures touched him, he would implode. After all, women rule the world. If Beyoncé said it, it must be true.

He got in the first coffee shop he managed to find. Blooming Day Coffee Shop seemed promising. It was located in a part of campus that didn’t seem too busy and Jungkook thought not many people must know it existed since he himself only stumbled upon it by making a wrong turn based on his map and came into a little side street, it was almost like the shop was hiding itself. The front of the shop was made of white bricks covered by ia creeper, that looked particularly great since all its leaves had turned different shades, varying from bright red to maroon due to autumn. The contrast was impressive. Even if the coffee turned out to not be that good, he would still have to come back here just to draw the shop's entrance.

The warm air welcomed him with a smell resulting of the mixture between coffee and baked goods. There were vintage photographs placed around the largest wall of the shop, which allowed customers to admire the photo-taking techniques. The wall facing that one had exposed red bricks and industrial-looking lighting fixtures. It was like whoever designed this placed couldn't decided between vintage and industrial so they just mixed the two styles. The third wall next to the cash register was just simply painted all black. This place was quickly becoming Jungkook's favorite spot on campus.

“Cute” said the person working behind the counter and that was when Jungkook noticed he had been staring, head cocked to the side and mouth agape, at the black wall for a little too long, thinking of possibilities. He tore his gaze from it and landed on the worker's name tag and back at his smile, which seriously looked just like Pikachu's.

“I don't very much care for being called cute, Jongdae-ssi” Jungkook retorted with a quiet voice, scrunching up his nose but unable to meet the other’s eyes. His shoulders retreated in on themselves in an attempt to shrink and disappear. Jungkook really didn’t like being called cute.

“I can't take you seriously kid, not if you say that looking all soft and while you're pouting” laughed Jongdae. “Anyways, what can I get you?”

The hard questions had already started apparently. Jungkook looked down at the display. He was too hungry to just bolt out of the cafe to never return like he wanted in that moment. The baked goods were tidily placed on the transparent glass cabinet, lining up and waiting for him to make his mind up and choose one to start his day with. There were different types of cake (red velvet?! Yes please...but maybe not today), cookies and loafs filled with sweets and…”What’s that?” he perked up.

“Oh, that’s like a bread filled with lamb meat, but I wouldn’t…”  Jongdae provided after following his line of vision

“I want that!”. If Jungkook could see himself he would have seen a smile so big it made his eyes almost disappear and he still had his arm up pointing at the display. “And I would like a large caramel macchiato to go with that. On a to go cup...in case I don’t finish it on time. Please. Thank you!”

“Which name should I put on the cup?” Jongdae was already getting the pen while holding the cup up.

“Jung Jungkook”. He looked like a pigeon, stuffing his chest and adjusting his shoulders back like it was such an accomplishment to be him. Those who don’t know him well might think he has some sort of personality disorder for how rapidly his external persona can change. The truth though is just that the prospect of food would always come first than his shyness.

Apparently the attitude wasn't very appreciated by the barista who rolled his eyes so far back he could probably see his brain working by now. “You know, I think you'd be great friends with one of my friends, he also has an ego problem...that is if you survive after eating the lamb filled bread”

“What's wrong with it?” Jungkook was uncertain again, looking everywhere like a bunny that had scented a fox and was terribly scared of being eaten...well, he almost had stress diarrhea this morning and it wasn't in his vision board to get stuck in one of the university's stalls on his first day. That would certainly be the first thing to go wrong...and boy oh boy, we do not want everyone he knows to die.

“Nothing really. They were made today. It's just...Nevermind...I don't think he's coming today anyways...he never shows up on first days. Here's your coffee and food. Go sit down and call me if you need anything else”. Jungkook was left even more confused by Jongdae's answer, but the cheshire cat's smile left no room for discussions.

His cup of caramel macchiato warmed his hands as he moved to sit on the far end booth that was in front of a giant window that faced a stretch of greenery, a great place to come and draw. He sat there taking a sip of his caffeine filled drink softly humming to Sign by Onew playing softly over the speakers. This was surely a good omen for his first college year.

“So not only do you steal my place and my lamb bread, you still aren’t even drinking real coffee?! Unbelievable!”. There was a tongue click and a tsc-tsc sound coming from above him, granted not that far above.

When Jungkook lifted his face, still humming along the song, cheeks puffed with lamb meat and bread, he faced narrowed angry cat eyes embed in a really pale face, so white that some of his veins were visible even from a distance.

And it was in that moment he knew he'd ed up. Good thing he was proficient in the art of being an annoying little .

“Well, good morning to you too, Mr. Grumpy”. Jungkook lifted his chin and covered the food with one of his arms as if to prevent it from being stolen. “As far as I know your name wasn't written in any of those”.

“So you're not only a thief but a cocky brat to be speaking to someone older than you in that tone.” Jungkook took the time to examine his opponents features. He was wearing a simple strap of velvet choker on his neck and a plain black t-shirt with a red plaid shirt over it, both looking at the very least two sizes to big for his frame. The grunge is strong with this one. His bright blue beanie had seen better days and it covered most of his hair, but a little bit of white peaked through close to the other's ears. Who knew having white hair and wearing chokers was so in fashion these days. He also noticed the dark circles under the shorter's eyes.

“I have all the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent there is to have, so I’m allowed to be cocky”. Jungkook took the bread in his hands and split in half. There's a certain level of tiredness and hunger that equates to insanity, the shorter male was obviously a second away from that and Jungkook planned on living longer than his recently acquired 20 years on this planet. “But I am also generous, so you can have half the bread. You look like you need it anyways...you so skinny and tiny” and he smiled one of his good boy smiles while sincerely offering the food to the other.

“Yah! Watch your mouth! And you forgot to mention how humble you are”. The sarcasm was evident in that voice, but there was no real bite behind it, he sounded almost amused.

------

“Hey, do you think I can fit ten marshmallows in my mouth?” Taemin's sweet tooth was as well known as his tendency to do stupid things.

“You're a hazard to society” Hwasa was bending down stretching herself and finding enough room to throw judgemental stares on the males of the group.

“And a coward! Do twenty!” Hoseok didn't have enough time to protect his ears from Baekhyun's screams, but at least he wasn't being physically attacked by the older one like Sehun was.

He winced and sighed. Walking into the dance studio was always fun and unpredictable, Hoseok couldn't deny that. The warm up playlist started strong, albeit not on full blast, today with Mommae by Jay Park playing, probably picked by Hwasa. That woman liked to show her twerking skills whenever possible. Thank goodness for that.

“Let’s make a bet! If i can fit 20, Nini will go on a date with me!”. Just how did Taemin always managed to form such weird plans out of thin air.

“Wh-what?!” Jongin turned a bright shade of pink which looked seriously adorable on him, but didn't exactly say he wouldn't do it either.

“If you can fit twenty and do the chubby bunny challenge while doing it, then I'll gracefully allow for you to take my bestest bro on a date” Sehun lifted a brow in defiance while Jongin was still gaping like a golden fish, looking between s as if begging for guidance to either be mad or not.

“You sure act more like his pimp than his best friend”. Seulgi clearly had entered the context to see who could make Jongin flush the hardest and she was having the time of her life while doing it. Sadist.

The dance studio was quite simple with its smooth vinyl floor, a barre fixed to the wall located right in front of the mirrors and adjacent to an entire wall of windows. The dance crew was sitting or bending near the mirrors while they watched Taemin stuff his face with marshmallows, looked like he was gonna score that date after all.

“Hey, Hobi!” Momo was the first to notice Hoseok coming and dumping his sports bag on the floor with a muffled thump “Do you think birds get sad because they don’t have arms?” she was rather aloof and always had really weird questions to make as opposed to greetings.

“Do you get sad you don’t have wings?” It was a rhetorical question and Hoseok had answered without really thinking about it, he was a bit distracted trying to find the paper he’d printed with the names of the candidates that would be auditioning to become part of The Pack (it was probably not the best name out there and it was brought up after too many drinks and werewolf *cough cough* stories...but it was better than Howling Holligans or Feral Demi-gods).

“Every goddamn day” Momo sounded choked up and hurt and Hoseok felt bad, she was this precious innocent gem who was too pure for this world. “Well...birds can't miss what they’ve never had”. The girl seemed appeased by that, shrugged her shoulders like she wasn’t about to cry ten seconds ago and sat down near Hwasa (who started petting her head like she was a good kitten) in the circle they’d always gather before training started.

“CHUBBY!” cough and dying seal noise “BUNNY!” Hoseok rolled his eyes, Taemin could be so extra.

“Where will you be taking my Nini bear?” Sehun had this unimpressed resting face on while saying that “I need to know if it’ll be worth stalking you all night”

“Alright you crackheads! Settle down!” Seulgi had become more commanding ever since she started dating Irene a couple months back. “Hobi, do you have the flashdrive with the songs the newbies will be performing to?”

“Sure thing boss-lady! And I got the order of the auditions sorted out as well” Hoseok saluted and kept his face serious like he was about to launch a missile.

“Yah! Don’t just leave us dying out of curiosity, man! We need to thoroughly judge the people that might be joining us!” Could Baekhyun say something without yelling? No, that would probably kill him.

“Joining us?! You’re not even part of the dance group, Byun! You just come here to drool over Sehun’s ” Hwasa quirked an eyebrow at the oldest of the group.

“It’s a very nice and I take my job of worshiping it very seriously” Baekhyun wasn’t even fazed by the comment “And I’ll have you know that, if it hadn’t been for me…” He paused for dramatic effect while putting his hand over his heart “...Nini, Hobi and Minie would never have come together to start this group. I’m the glue holding y’all divas together”. He was full on pouting now.

“It’s okay, Baekhyunie-hyung. She didn’t mean to be mean to you” Jongin was glaring at Hwasa “You are part of this group just as the rest of us”. He was the only one who still believed Baekhyun’s antics. Bless his pure bear heart.

“Yah! I hold the paper that will start a new era for our group and none of you are paying attention to me!” Hoseok could be an attention , he felt most satisfied when all eyes were on him during stage performances, but this would do. He made his crew members beg a little before he finally relented and opened the paper to start reading the names and songs to which the candidates would perform.

“Okay, so first one up is a girl called Lalisa Manoban, she’ll be dancing to Jason Derulo’s Swalla” Hoseok informed.

“Uh! I love me some dirty girl dancing! Yas, please!” Hwasa would often go after Baekhyun for his thirsty way of living, but she was just as bad.

“Then we’ll have Park Jimin with some sort interpretative dance. He sent me the audio for it, it’s just like a set of soft drums. And the last one’s called Jackson Wang. He’ll be performing to Work by Rihanna”. Hoseok was impressed there were even more than one person trying to get in, this time. The Pack might only have existed for a year, but they had gathered quite a reputation which, in turn, had backfired a bit, making people nervous about even trying to audition.

“I guess now we just have to see what they have to offer”. Taemin could be silly, loud and obnoxious sometimes, but he was also super intense when it came to performing. His hungry eyes weren’t easily impressed.

These newbies better work .

------

Lalisa had come in like she had just finished charging herself on an outlet. She was bouncing like an over excited poodle on steroids and insisted that everyone just called her Lisa. Her performance had been highly ual, completely inappropriate and she certainly did that on purpose, which translates to: she already had her name in one of those two spots.

“If that was how she was gonna play, she could have warned us”. Momo was pouting. She wasn't cut out to feel all the strong emotions Lisa had enticed, she was just a baby gay still.

“I loved that she walked in all disgustingly sweet and then was like 'oh, you ain't never gonna be ready for this hunty!’.” Hwasa had always liked them feisty and unpredictable.

“I don't know her yet, but yo... that's my girl right there, homie. She killed it!” Even Seulgi had been contaminated by the energy “Plus we need more girls in our group” matter of fact tone of voice was back. That excitement was short lived.

The second one auditioning was Park Jimin. Hoseok glanced over him and took the guy's general attributes into account. He was shorter than Hoseok, had bright bubblegum pink hair, his cheeks seemed pinch-able and his lips were really full. He was dressed much like Hoseok (all hail homeless men couture).

“I hope you guys won't mind this” Jimin's sweet voice said and everyone was dumbfounded by what this was. The young man stripped. In two simple movements he had rid himself of his black sweatpants and grey hoodie, leaving behind a really tight and short pair of black shorts and a brown shirt that did not close. He wasn't wearing anything else.

Park Jimin's moves were graceful and contemporary styled. He just jumped into the moves like it was the easiest thing on the planet, using his body as if the laws of physics were suspended in time while he danced. His legs and body spoke of feelings, telling a story with his movements and facial expressions. That was the kind of art one is born with and gets amplified if one works hard enough, which was clear this new kid had done. He ran out of the studio still half as soon as his performance was done, which left the crew even more stupefied.

“What are words? I have none left” Jongin was gaping again like he had been at the beginning of their day.

“Did y'all see that floor work?  Those legs and abs?!” Sehun's eyes looked about to pop out of their sockets.

“Stop drooling over other man, Oh Sehun! Stahp!” Baekhyun was pretending to be mad again. What's new? “But did you see?! He was ! We need him to complete our thot line! Please say yes, Hwasa! Please, Hobi!”

“All his movements were so effortless...so much talent oozes from him...I'm impressed” it was not an easy thing to impress Seulgi and get her to admit it.

“Oh snap! What will we do if the third one turns out to be just as amazing as the first two?” Hoseok was looking at Taemin for his opinion. The older one had been extremely quiet through the performances but he let out a “His flexibility is impressive and he has amazing body control and the way he executed the moves was well done...mostly…”

The last one performing was Jackson Wang. He somehow managed to include a bunch of ninja moves to one of the hoest anthems by Rihanna, which in itself was pretty amazing and indicated that he had some sort of gymnastics and martial arts background.

“Damn those ninja landings! Boy be auditioning like he wanted to become a Chunin from the Hidden Leaf Village”

“For a boy, you're such a nerd, Hobi...your duality is impressive” apparently whomever had gone home with Hwasa last night clearly didn't satisfy her.

“All tee, all shade” Jongin said in a small voice.

“Et tu, Brute?!” Hoseok was a master at fake gasping and pretending to be shook.

“We'll have a lot of thinking before we can actually decide the two who will join us. For now let's just get over our routines while we still have time.” Taemin's tone was final and he had a hand in his chin, always a telltale sign that he was doing some intense thinking.

------

(10:31) Chimmy.Choo:

i

im not worth the air I breathe

nor the clothes i wear

or food and water i ingest

D:

(10:31) Thirstae:

U STOP BEING MEAN TO MY BESTIE RIGHT THIS MOMENT!

(10:32) Chimmy.Choo:

but its the truth

:’(

(10:33) Thirstae:

i said none of that!

what happened with the audition?

i know u did great <3

(10:33) Chimmy.Choo:

i miscalculated one of my steps

and in front of Lee Taemin!!!!

im never getting in

3

imma gonna kill myself

brb

(10:34) Thirstae:

im sure ur blowing it out of proportion

like always

anygays

cuddles and ice cream when you get home?

<3

(10:34) Chimmy.Choo:

yes plz

<3

Author's note:

This is what I had in mind for Jimin's audition. Also just want to say that I have all the main events of this story planned out already, I just need to get the characters there.