Hey guys! Here’s a little something I’ve been working on for the past few days...inspired by a website I recently discovered ^_^ I was supposed to post it for our blog anniversary but I only got to finish part 1 :( Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!!

Bills. Bills. Bills.

And more bills.

When Namjoon opted to be independent for his college years—even turning down the financial help his parents oh-so-willingly wanted to give him as a startup, he never thought it would be this hard.

He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was the CFO of a huge developer in South Korea and they were very much well off. But that fact never got into his head as he was raised to remain humble at all costs. In fact, Namjoon may be the most down-to-earth guy you will ever met in this lifetime despite being the kid who literally could get anything he wanted if he asked for it.

And besides, he only ever asked for two things on his life: a good education and world peace. The latter still in the works.

His parents, however, had given him the former and Namjoon studied in the best schools in the country during his primary and secondary years. He never wasted that blessing; studying hard and graduating with flying colors that made his parents proud. With his outstanding records, undeniable intellect (reportedly an IQ of 148) and competitive stance in the whole nation, getting into the most prestigious and competitive higher institutions in South Korea was a walk in the park. Getting into Seoul National University was everything Namjoon had ever wanted and he got in from his own hard work.

And will stay that way, Namjoon decided when he entered university life. He wanted to be independent for once; to rely on his own efforts and to provide for himself. He earned a scholarship at the university and all he had to do was take care of his dorm rent, food and other miscellaneous things.

It would be easy, he always thought and he had survived the first few semesters just fine—all the while juggling school with three part-time jobs.  

Namjoon sighed as he pinned the bills on the board above his desk so he wouldn’t forget to settle them before the month ends. He had started to worry when the rent spiked a month ago, eating up a huge chunk from his budget. He already decreased the portion for food and he had been living on instant noodles and those packed meals from convenience stores for the past few weeks just so he could pay the rent and school materials. Junior year proved to be a challenging year with tougher classes and even tougher professors to deal with. Namjoon knew he needed to study his off if he wanted to keep his scholarship.

It was his first rule: he HAD TO keep his grades immaculate at all costs.

He walked towards the kitchen to find something to eat, only to be met by an empty fridge and a cabinet with a couple of cup noodles and some spices. Sighing heavily, Namjoon felt the weight of his current situation pressing down on him then. Deep down, he knew this just won’t do. He had to find a solution to his rent problem. He needed to quit one of his jobs so he could use that time for studying and writing his thesis.

But how could I pay the rent, study and work only two jobs? Three jobs could barely get me through...

Namjoon was dozing off in his Philosophy class when the answer came to him.

“Bro.” Hoseok nudged him a little too hard, causing Namjoon’s head to loll from the palm it was resting on.  

“I’m awake!” Namjoon blurted, causing his professor—and the whole class—to look at him in surprise.

“Yes, Mr. Kim? Would you happen to know whose intellectualist theory Plato defied in his Tripartite theory of the Souls?”

Namjoon blinked once, twice and then rubbed his eyes.

“Socrates, sir. The theory was advocated in his work Protagoras.”

Professor Oh nodded once and muttered a “correct” before facing the board once more and resuming with the lesson.

“Show off.” Hoseok mumbled teasingly to which Namjoon rolled his eyes at. He had been reading Greek philosopher books since he was in the 6th grade. He knew this stuff by heart.

“You look beat... Late shift?” Hoseok whispered and Namjoon just sighed and nodded before returning his attention to his professor.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and Namjoon followed Hoseok out of the room as the latter continued, “Look man, I’m not sure how you manage to work three jobs at the same time. And no offense, you kinda look like the walking dead right now.”

“None taken,” Namjoon mumbled with a yawn. “And it’s revisions week. You know how it is.”

“Yeah but dude, you were literally drooling back in Philo class.” Hoseok pinned him with a look. “You love philo!”

Namjoon sighed again. He met Hoseok freshman year during the orientation and the two of them instantly clicked. Hoseok was loud, extroverted—basically his complete opposite, but somehow Namjoon really liked the guy and they had hung out a lot in the past two years and have become good friends ever since.

“I knows I just... I have a problem with my rent. It spiked up this month. I barely have budget for food and if I actually want to keep living, I’ll have to find a new place to stay.”

Hoseok nodded sympathetically and they walked silently a few doors down before he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned towards Namjoon with the brightest of smiles. Brighter than his usual, that is—which was already enough to light the whole city! Namjoon had to squint slightly at the sight.

“Oh I know! You can come live with me!”

“Hobi,” Namjoon stared him down as if that idea wasn’t even an option to begin with. “You already have a roommate.” He pointed out, knowing he roomed with a senior. A Min Yoongi, if he recalled correctly.

“Uh... correction,” his friend held up a finger. “I have roommates. And we can squeeze in one more.”

Namjoon blinked. “Wait... roommates? But the dorms only allow two per— “

“I don’t live within campus anymore,” he stated and Namjoon was taken aback, unsure how he had missed that tiny detail about his best friend moving out from the campus dormitories. “We live in a complex a few minutes’ walk from here.”

“What?! Are you kidding?! Those are crazy expensive! I’ve looked.”

Hobi smirked. “Yeah, but we manage.”

“How on earth do you manage?” Namjoon squinted at him accusingly. “Are you secretly loaded?”

Hoseok snorted and crossed his arms. “Like you? No, Joon. And if I was, I wouldn’t be hiding it.”

Namjoon quieted at that, pouting slightly. “I’m not hiding it. I’m just... trying to do things on my own.”

“Yeah yeah, you want to be independent and all.” Hoseok waved a hand at him, having heard the story dozens of times. “But come on man, this is a good idea! We have an extra room and we share rent so that should be easier on you. You could totally quit one of your jobs—if not all, to have more time to study.”

Namjoon nodded, considering it. It really did sound like a good idea… That is until he picked up a detail he almost missed.

“Hang on, how does me living with you guys going to help me quit my jobs?”

Hoseok’s smile widened at that, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes which made Namjoon worry. He knew that look. It was the Jung-never-up-to-no-good-Hoseok look.

“Well you see, me and my roommates... we have a very ingesting part-time gig. And if you’ll be living with us, you’ll have to be in on the action too.”

“How interesting are we talking about?”

“So interesting that it pays the bills just fine without having to work other jobs.”

“And how much is your rent again?” He asked and Hoseok leaned over and whispered the price in his ear.

Namjoon’s eyes threatened to pop out of its sockets.

“WHAT?!”

“Shhh! I’ll explain everything if you consider it.” Hoseok said before facing him fully. “So you in?”

Namjoon thought about it. Here was Hoseok offering him a place to stay with lighter budget and most probably a bigger space than his closet dorm. It was almost too good to be real. And in addition to that, he would be rooming with a friend...

But he wasn’t so keen on how they were getting their money. He wondered what type of job they were doing to be able to pay that much.

“You’re not secretly working at a strip club, are you?”

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “I’m offended you think I dance like the people in those places.” He crossed his arms and looked away while mumbling, “I’m waaay better at giving people s...”

“Well what else does one do to be able to pay that much?” Namjoon suddenly stopped as it hit him, and he looked at his friend with wide, terrified eyes. “Oh god. You’re not...selling yourself, are you?”

Hoseok opened his mouth to answer but then closed it which made Namjoon panic and completely close down the idea of ever living with them.

“Okay. I’m out. Uh-uh. No way.” He started to walk away but Hoseok held his arm and stopped him.

“We’re not es if that’s what you were thinking.”

“Jung Hoseok! People might hear!”

“We’re not pros—“ Hoseok threatened to yell but Namjoon held a hand over his mouth to stop him. Some students walking pass gave them curious glances but no one hung around to ask or approach.

“We’re not!” Hoseok muffled against his hand.

“Then what do you do?!” Namjoon asked. And as he had feared, Hoseok’s eyes gleamed.

“Come on in!”

It was after school, half past seven in the evening when Namjoon decided to accept Hoseok’s invitation to see his place and meet his roommates. The guy had the persuasion of a god of love, and anyone who has ever been acquainted with Hoseok knew he was hard to turn down.

However, he was still a little worried about the whole thing, considering Hoseok never denied the fact that he was ‘selling himself’. But he did assure him that it was anything but ual or illegal, which eased his worry a bit.

Only a bit. And so Namjoon let his curiosity get the best of him instead and agreed to check the place out.

Namjoon stepped into the threshold and was surprised at how spacious the apartment was. It was no bachelor’s pad but definitely larger than the dorms—not to mention very homey. There was a living room with a TV, a glass coffee table and a couple of couches; one four-seater and another two-seater near the window. The place was pretty neat, apart for a few papers scattered on the table as well as a couple of empty mugs.

“Aish. I told the guys to clean up after themselves. You know, sometimes I feel like a mom in here. Jin hyung probably feels the same way.”

“Jin?” Namjoon titled his head questioningly. “I thought you roomed with Yoongi?”

Hoseok nodded as he picked up the mugs. “I am. With Jin hyung and three others.”

“Three?!”

“You hungry? I think hyung cooked something up before he left this morning.”

Namjoon followed him into the kitchen and was surprised to find it loaded with food. There were still some shopping bags waiting to be unpacked and Namjoon almost drooled at the sight of fresh meat peeking from one of the bags.

“Ah you’re in luck! Taehyung actually did his job.” Hoseok said as he went through the shopping bags. “You want dinner?”

Namjoon nodded in thanks before sitting down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter as Hoseok prepared their meals.

“So... can you explain to me now what you actually do?