Two weeks later

“Ugh, I need a drink.” Jaebum groaning, entering his room and going to sit next to Jackson on the couch.

“Let me guess. Austin has been flirting with Yugyeom throughout the whole practice.” Jackson said, not even lifting his eyes from his phone.

“Yes. I’m seriously getting sick of it. Yugyeom is so cute, I wanna kiss him so bad but he’s also so oblivious, I wanna punch him.” Jaebum complained. “What do I do?”

“You it up until the end of the semester. Or, you confess. That’s the only two options.” Jackson said, throwing his phone beside him and looking at Jaebum.

“No. There’s another option. I punch the out of that flirty a*shole.”

“Nope. That’d be rude.” Jackson tsk-ed and got up, getting two beers from their fridge and handing one to Jaebum. “Here. Drink this then go shower. You stink.”

“Shut up.” Jaebum said, a little smile gracing his lips.

 

“Yugyeom-ah, come here please.” Austin called.

“Yes?” Yugyeom asked, walking up to Austin.

“I wanted to ask you something about Jaebum. Isn’t he a bit too old for being in the same class as yours?”

“Yeah, he is. Why are you asking though?”

“Just curious. Do you know why?”

“I do. But I can’t tell you. It’s personal.” Yugyeom stated, looking Austin straight in the eyes. Then, his phone rang.

“Jungkookie? What’s up? Okay. I’m coming. Give me five minutes.” Yugyeom said and hung up. “Sorry, I gotta go. See you next practice.” He said and immediately flew out the room.

 

“Jungkookie? Are you here?” Yugyeom asked, entering his dorm. When Jungkook didn’t reply, he made his way to his friend’s room. He opened the door and saw Jungkook lying down on his bed, his back to the door.

“Hey, what’s up? Is it that thing again?” Yugyeom softly asked, sitting down on Jungkook’s bed and making him turn to face him.

Jungkook’s eyes and nose were red and his lips chapped. He nodded to answer Yugyeom's question.

“You don’t have to react like that! It’s their loss if they don’t wanna meet Jimin! I mean, it’s been three years now, if they can’t accept your relationship, then them! They don’t deserve you anyway.” Yugyeom exclaimed.

“I know.” Jungkook said, his voice raspy. “But Jimin is very important to me and this time I really hoped they would agree. I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Kook. Your parents are stupid people who still can’t accept that their son is gay. Jimin is the sweetest, everyone knows that and he loves you for you, not for your family. And your brother met him and he loved him. So leave your stupid parents where they are and just keep on living happily with Jimin.” Yugyeom said, hugging Jungkook.

“Thanks, Gyeom.” Jungkook said, pulling Yugyeom down so they could cuddle. “Anyway, how’s practice going?”

“It’s going okay. It’s seriously super cool to work with Austin Pak but I can’t help but feel like something’s up with Jaebum hyung. He’s not really there when we practice with the crew. When it’s only the two of us, he’s his usual happy self but when the crew enters the practice room, he suddenly becomes cold and kinda distant. It makes me uncomfortable.” Yugyeom explained.

“You should tell him. Maybe something is really up and he doesn’t wanna talk to you about it because you seem so happy to work with your favourite dancer.” Jungkook reasoned.

“Maybe. But if he doesn’t wanna tell me? I don’t want to make him uncomfortable or force him to tell me what’s going on. I mean, we’re not a couple, he doesn’t have to tell me everything that’s going with him.”

“Yeah, but you’re friends. And he already told you a lot about himself, I don’t see something more important that he could hide from you.” Jungkook said.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask him tomorrow. We decided to practice a bit before the crew comes.”

“Do that then. I’m sure it’s nothing serious.” Jungkook said, snuggling closer into Yugyeom's chest, making the latter giggle.

 

The next day

Yugyeom was dancing to his own music as he waited for Jaebum to arrive. He had come a bit earlier, trying to calm his nerves down. A lot of things could go wrong with the discussion he wanted to have with Jaebum. Yugyeom really wanted to know if something was up with Jaebum and he wanted to know if he could help. He wanted this experience to be enjoyable for the two of them, Jaebum had chosen Austin to make Yugyeom happy, the younger didn’t want him to regret his choice. So, he had to confront him so that Jaebum would feel less distant during the practice.

Just then, the door opened, revealing Jaebum. Yugyeom stopped his music to greet Jaebum, waving his hand, and the older replied with a big smile.

“Hey. Why are you here early?” Jaebum asked, putting his stuff down and walking up to Yugyeom.

“I wanted to talk to you, hyung.” Yugyeom said, and he noticed Jaebum’s expression falter.

“Oh. Okay.” Jaebum said and Yugyeom sat down, the older following him.

“Well, I noticed that you’re not your usual self during practice. And I mean when we practice with Austin, not hen it’s only the two of us. I was wondering if something was wrong.”

Jaebum stayed silent for a bit before sighing.

“I thought I was being slick.” He said, giggling. “But there is something bothering me.”

“What is it? Maybe I can help?” Yugyeom asked, hopeful.

“Sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s not important and I don’t wanna bother you with stuff like this.”

“Don’t say it’s not important. And you won’t bother me, I’m asking you to know.”

“Sorry, I can’t.” Jaebum said, getting annoyed.

Jaebum remembered all the moments when Austin flirted with Yugyeom with the latter noticing and it was making him angry. He wanted to keep Yugyeom all to himself and the fact that he couldn’t and that someone like Austin could take advantage of the situation was even more upsetting.

“But we made a pact! You told me that we should be honest with each other! And you’re not telling me what’s bothering you!” Yugyeom said, angry.

“I’m being honest! I told you that something’s bothering me, I just don’t wanna tell you what!”

“How is that being honest?! Tell me! I wanna know what’s up with you so I can help you!”

“You’re so annoying! I told you I don’t wanna tell you!” Jaebum shouted, getting full-on angry.

Yugyeom was shocked. It was the first time he saw Jaebum getting angry and shouting at him. His heart also broke when he told him he was annoying. Tears welled up in his eyes and he stood up, grabbing his things and running out of the practice room.

“. Why did I say that?” Jaebum groaned, feeling stupid and apologetic.

As he was getting up to chase behind Yugyeom, the crew began to enter the room, followed by Austin.

“Hey, why did I see Yugyeom going away? He didn’t even see me.” Austin asked.

“We argued.” Jaebum muttered, not wanting to speak to Austin at all.

“Oh, really? And what did you tell him to make him so upset?” Austin asked.

“Why do you assume I did something? Maybe he was at fault too.”

“Yeah but he’s the one crying, not you. So you definitely did something to him.” Austin said, smirking.

“It’s none of your business, anyway.” Jaebum said, trying to walk to the door but Austin grabbed his arm.

“Where are you going? We have a practice.”

“Let go of me. And we can’t practice without Yugyeom.” Jaebum said, freeing his arm.

“I don’t care if he’s not here. We have to practice, there’s not much time left.” Austin said and that was the last straw.

Jaebum punched him so hard Austin fell on the floor, surprising everyone in the room.

“I don’t care what you ing think, loser.” Jaebum said, fuming, before grabbing his things and going out of the practice room.

Before getting out of the building, Jaebum looked everywhere inside to see if Yugyeom was still there. As Jaebum had expected, he was nowhere to be seen so he went out, running around campus, not really knowing where to go.

He decided to go to the dorms first. When he arrived in front of Yugyeom’s room, he waited a bit, hesitating. If Yugyeom was here how would he react? Would he be angry or sad? Would he slam the door on his face or listen to him? As he was thinking about all of this, the door suddenly opened, revealing Jungkook.

“He’s not here.” He said.

“Okay. Do you know where he is?”

“I do.”

“What do I have to do for you to tell me?” Jaebum asked.

Jungkook stayed silent for some time before deeply sighing.

“That’s all you need to do. Ask. I’m going to tell you but you better be good to him. He was bawling his eyes out.”

“I promise I will.”

“When you get out campus, there’s a karaoke. He always goes there when he’s feeling down.”

“Thank you so much Jungkook.” Jaebum said and immediately began running again, towards the exit this time.

When he arrived at the karaoke, he looked inside every room through a pane. He arrived to the last room and looked inside it, seeing Yugyeom's back. He heard a beautiful voice singing I’m A Flying Butterfly by YB. Jaebum waited for the younger to finish before entering the room. Yugyeom turned around, surprised. When he met eyes with Jaebum, he turned back and ignored him. He took the remote from beside the screen and searched for a song.

Before Jaebum knew it, Focus On Me was playing in the speakers and Yugyeom turned towards him. There was something different in his eyes. They were piercing and his gaze was so intense Jaebum shivered. Then, he began singing. Jaebum was so shocked by his voice and how much he seemed to mean the lyrics. Yugyeom wasn’t only singing, he was speaking to Jaebum. The older didn’t know how to respond. When the second verse (1:47) began, he took a mic on the little table in front of him, got up and sang with Yugyeom. They were now conversing, telling the other what they wanted to say for a long time now. They got closer to each other, their eyes speaking even louder than the lyrics. When the bridge came, Yugyeom took a step back, putting some distance between him and Jaebum but the latter caught his free hand and brought him closer, making their foreheads touch. As they started the last chorus, Jaebum brought his hand to Yugyeom's waist, never breaking eye contact. The younger one let him, not knowing what to do as he was enjoying the older’s touch. When the song ended, they stared at each other for some time, not saying anything, just getting lost in each other’s eyes. Then, Jaebum broke the silence.

“I’m sorry. I know I hurt you but it wasn’t my intention.” He said, his voice almost a whisper.

“No, I’m the one who insisted, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.” Yugyeom said.

“The reason I was distant is… I was jealous. Austin was flirting with you and you didn’t seem to get it, it was driving me crazy.” Jaebum admitted, embarrassed.

“What? He wasn’t flirting with me! He was just being nice because he knows I admire him.” Yugyeom said, bewildered.

“He was flirting with you. Complimenting you almost every minute, even if you hadn’t done anything, he was always touching you, pretexting to help you with your posture or whatever. It was infuriating and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“And why were you so jealous? We’re just friends.” Yugyeom said.

“You know why.” Jaebum replied.

“Yes. But I want to hear you say it.” Yugyeom said, smiling. Jaebum chuckled.

“I like you Yugyeom. I like you a lot and in a romantic way.” Jaebum admitted, making Yugyeom smile widely.

“Great. I like you too. A lot.” Yugyeom said, leaning in and making his lips collide with Jaebum’s.

Their lips were just touching at first. But it was still as electrifying as if they were full-on making out. Jaebum pressed his lips a bit harder, his hands naturally going to the younger’s waist. Yugyeom smiled in the kiss, happy that now he could be open about how much he enjoyed Jaebum’s touch. After some moments, they broke the kiss, looking at each other, happy as ever.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Yugyeom asked.

“Of course.” Jaebum replied, taking Yugyeom's hand in his.

They went out of the karaoke and walked towards the campus. When they entered the practice room, only Donghae, a dancer of the crew, was left.

“Oh, you’re finally back.” He said.

“Yes. Where are the others?” Jaebum asked.

“They left. Austin refuses to work with you after what happened.” The dancer stated.

“What? What happened?” Yugyeom asked.

“It’s my fault.” Jaebum said. “He was being disrespectful towards you so… I punched him.” Jaebum admitted.

“You did what?!” Yugyeom exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. But he was asking for it!” Jaebum said, trying to defend himself.

“Sh*t… If he leaves us, how will we find another crew? That’s ed up.” Yugyeom said, grabbing his hair in frustration.

“I think I have an idea.” The dancer said, getting closer to them.