The building’s air was filled with early 2000s pop and chalk and if you were a newbie to the gym you would have turned around at the stench of sweat that permeates past the front desk and through the door. This gym was your second home and you needed to move after your long shift, though. You also wanted to talk to someone, but the neon orange band you wore as an invite didn’t seem to bring anyone else looking in the bouldering section over to you. It was a new thing the gym was implementing to try and increase the sense of community in the climbing gym but most people didn’t feel the need to talk when climbing. 

Getting up from where you sat on the chalky mats, you put more chalk on your hands and attempted the V4 once again. It was a deceivingly hard climb on the 45 degree wall. Especially for a static climber to do and you once again wished that you were better at throwing yourself from hold to hold. 

For now, you just focused on trying out the new beta you had thought up which involved getting both your feet where your right hand was and not barn dooring when you stood up. It would be hard and nearly impossible for someone less flexible than you, but you loved trying and V4s were always hard to do.

Of course you failed at not barn dooring.  Quickly and uncontrollably, you moved towards a large hold on the other side of the wall, hitting the back your head harshly. You gasped, the air leaving your lungs as your left hand released its iron grip on the small hold keeping you on the wall, leading you to fall onto the mat. 

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” A voice cut through your pain and disorientation, surprising you from where you landed on the mat. 

“Excuse me?” You asked, looking up at the tall and muscular man who was looking down at you. He was in a baggy shirt and shorts, a pair of tight running pants underneath the shorts, and he looked like he would be an extremely dynamic climber (especially with the excess amount of chalk on his hands that you saw in almost every other dynamic climber). The man looked to be about your age, his wide eyes and small lips pressed into a thin line. What he was asking, you didn’t know, but you knew that he was not acting like a normal climber. 

“That move where you swung out and faced away from the wall. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” He said, trying to recreate the barn door you did. 

“No… that’s called a barn door. You don’t want to do that.” You said, getting up and patting down your pants, leaving faded chalk marks in your stead. 

“Well why’d you do it then?” 

“When I was at that point in the climb, I only had two points of contact on the wall. So when I moved up, that movement lead to me swinging out and away from the wall. It’s called barn dooring. You don’t want to do that.” You said, giving him a once over. His undamaged hands and rented climbing shoes verified what you had suspected: This man was a new climber, “Do you want to try? It’s a hard climb.” 

“Uhhhh… you were doing an actual climb?” He asked, his eyes widening and you giggled lightly in retur. He was very cute. 

“Yeah. If you look at these holds,” You pointed at the starting point, a small square of purple laminated paper that said V4, “They have this slip of paper. It tells you the grade you’re attempting. It’s a V4 which means that it is 4 levels from a beginner’s climb. The two holds below the start holds are your starting foot holds. You just follow the purple holds up and you have your climb.” 

He simply introduced himself before trying and failing to even make it past the start. Which lead to you laughing lightly as he pouted, “That’s really good for a beginner, Jungkook-sshi. I know many people who wouldn’t be able to hold on. How about we do something easier?” You hoped that you adding yourself to his climbing time wouldn’t be something that he’d mind. 

You were lonely and stressed, and he was cute and wanted to climb. 

“I would really like that if you’d want to climb with a noob.” He said quietly, his eyes downcast as he spoke. Was he shy? But why? You didn’t do something strange, did you?

“What do you suggest I start with?” He asked, this time talking with the same confidence and excitement as before as if the shyness you had originally seen was just a figment of your imagination.

You smiled, happy to see his excitement, “How about with a VB, they’re great warm-ups.” 

Turns out, Jungkook was a fairly good climber, his brute strength and sharp mind making him soar through VBs, V0s, and V1s quickly. It was fun to try his dumb betas and show him different tricks, especailly because he loved to try static climbs. Even if he couldn’t really get his foot above his hip nor do the equivalent of a dyno without leaving the wall. He was strong and determined to try and you were happy to share your three years of knowledge.

It wasn’t until the gym was getting ready to close for the night that you were forced to try and figure out if you’ll ever see Jungkook again. He was in rentals and had never climbed in a technical sense before. You were most likely not seeing him again, even if he decides to climb again, unless you tried to keep in contact. You just don’t run into the same people at the gym that often.

“Would you like to grab dinner with me, Jungkook-sshi? There’s a good salad place near here that I love to eat at after a particularly hard day.” You offered awkwardly after coming out of the restroom. Jungkook looked like he had something he wanted to say as well but when you spoke, he shut up, a pink hue rising on his cheeks. 

It was cute. 

Very cute. 

“I think I’d like that a lot, Y/n-sshi.” Jungkook said, his eyes downcast and hand rubbing his neck. You were a little shocked by how shy he was acting as it was so different than almost every other interaction you had with Jungkook up to that point. He was almost a different person with how shy he was acting. 

Turns out, he doesn’t really go out much or interact with strangers which was why he was so shy when it came to social interactions. It didn’t fully make sense to you since he was extremely fit and had mentioned that he had some sort of job in dance. Although his awkwardness was really explained when you learned his age.

You actually spat out your drink when you heard his age, “Bwo! You’re only twenty one? Wow! I thought