Taehyung sits on top of the fold out table, flyers in hand. The harsh summer sun beats down on him and the crowded area doesn’t make the situation any better. Taehyung, along with his friends, Jin and Jimin, are members of the queer club at their college, and it’s club day, where all of the clubs set up tables and hand out flyers to other students interested in joining their clubs. Unfortunately, many people don’t want to join their club, let alone approach them. A stranger with dark hair, gauges, and a lithe frame approaches their table tentatively. Taehyung hops off of the table and approaches the person cautiously, warm smile plastered on his face. He knows how hard it is for people to come out, or even accept people like Taehyung and his friends, so he tries to be as kind as possible to everyone who shows remote interest in their club.

“Hiya! Were you interested in a flyer?” Taehyung sticks his hand out, holding a bright yellow flyer with information on their club. The dark haired stranger reaches his hand out warily when a loud commotion suddenly appears in front of their table.

“Jungkook! There you are man!” A cheerful looking chestnut-haired person says. Another stranger, with bright red hair is on the opposite side of the dark haired person, clapping a hand on their shoulder.

    “What pronouns do you prefer? Taehyung looks back to the dark-haired person who scrunches his nose in confusion.

    “I-I’m sorry?” The three strangers’ attentions now advert to Taehyung, who looks at them expectantly.

    “You’re pronouns…? Or are you cis?”

    The strangers look at Taehyung, still bewildered at the vocabulary he’s they’ve never been exposed to before.

    “Well I’m cis, so I use masculine pronouns… y’know- he, him?”

    The dark-haired one breathes out, understanding and looking a bit overwhelmed. The chestnut-haired stranger laughs loudly and Taehyung is now the one who’s puzzled.

    “We’re obviously guys, man!” He laughs more, and the red-haired boy joins him.

    “Obviously? It’s not polite to assume someone’s gender based on what they look like,” Taehyung states matter-of-factly, folding his arms. The three boys’ jaws go slack in disbelief.

    “Ookay… whatever you say dude, c’mon Jungkook, let’s go, no reason to be here anyways,” the red-haired one says, and him and the chestnut-haired boy start to walk away.

    “Jungkook, right? Were you interested in our club? It’s okay if you haven’t come out- you don’t even have to be queer! Allies are always welcome too!” Taehyung exclaims.

    “I-I uhh… I have to g-go,” the dark-haired stranger stumbles over his words, walking away hastily, but he quickly shoves the bright flyer in his back pocket, striding towards his friends. Jimin appears behind Taehyung, resting a hand on the younger’s shoulder.

    “What was that all about?” Jimin asks quizzically, and Taehyung only shrugs, confused himself.

The next week, the queer club has their first meeting, however, it’s only Taehyung, Jimin, and Jin- yet again. Despite the new year, there were more members last year who had all graduated, leaving Jin as the president as he started his senior year. Jimin is a junior, and Taehyung a sophomore. About fifteen minutes into their “meeting”- which mainly consisted of the three chatting in a circle in the middle of a vacant dance room within their university- the three hear the squeak of a door opening, and look to see a person entering. Taehyung recognizes the person as the dark-haired stranger he saw last week. He stands up quickly, to greet them.

“You made it!” Taehyung says excitedly, and the latter must not have noticed the three, since he yelps when he hears Taehyung’s booming voice.

“Oh- uh… I didn’t come for-” Jungkook looks up at Taehyung, and back down to the floor. “I came to dance here,” Jungkook motions to the room, and Taehyung’s mouth forms into a small ‘oh’.

“Well, this room is reserved for our club meetings on Saturday mornings… Why don’t you join is since you’re here anyways!” Taehyung is already pulling Jungkook towards his other two friends, and forcing him to sit in their circle.

“Jungkook right? So you like to dance huh? Is that your majour?” Taehyung is almost bouncing in excitement, and Jungkook suddenly feels wary from the barrage of questions.

“Uh, no. Actually not many people know I like to dance, says it’s not ‘manly’,” Jungkook explains bitterly, and a look of disdain flashes across the other three’s faces.

“Not manly? How ludicrous,” Jin exclaims. Jungkook looks at the stranger in confusion.

“Oh right! We haven’t all introduced ourselves!” Taehyung chimes, motioning to Jin to introduce himself.

“I’m Kim Seokjin, but I go by Jin, I’m genderfluid, but you can use masculine pronouns with me,” the elder smiles, and Jungkook feels utterly confused.

“G-gender… what?”

“Genderfluid,” Jin states, “Basically it means that I freely switch between male and female. I was assigned as male at birth, so that’s why I don’t mind masculine pronouns,” he grins at Jungkook, who swallows hard, trying to process the new information. Before he can fully register the information though, Jimin is starting her introduction.

“I’m Park Jimin, I’m transgender,” Jimin smiles sweetly and Jungkook has to do a double take because wow, that smile.

“Trans-?”

“Transgender- male to female,” Jimin is still smiling and Jungkook figures she’s used to explaining this quite a bit to people. “So that means that even though, just like Jin, I was assigned a male at birth, I identify as a girl, so I use feminine pronouns,” Jungkook nods slowly, and thinks that he never would have thought Jimin used to be a male given her appearance, but then again, he remembers back to Taehyung’s words the week prior. ‘It’s not polite to assume someon’e gender based on what they look like’- Jungkook looks at said boy, who is smiling proudly.

“Well, I’m Kim Taehyung, I’m cisgender, but I’m a panromantic greyual,” Taehyung states.

“Wait woah, that was a lot of words,” and Taehyung’s booming laughter fills the room in response to Jungkook’s words.

“Well, panromantic, means I can be romantically attracted to any gender- including genders other than male and female. Greyual means that I only feel ual attraction on rare occasions… similar to aual but that would mean that I never felt ual attraction,” Jungkook’s cheeks flush while Taehyung explains, intently.

“Wait, so you can feel romantically attracted to anyone, but only ually attracted to certain people?” Jungkook’s head is practically spinning, because all of this information is completely foreign to him.

“That’s basically it- romantic and ual orientation don’t have to always match up! Just like gender and don’t always match et cetera,” Taehyung explains, and Jungkook thinks he’s slowly starting to understand all of the new information given to him. “Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself now?” Jungkook nods tentatively and clears his throat.

“Well… I’m Jeon Jungkook, freshman. I’m not quite sure what term it is you use, but I’m a guy, always have been…”

“Cis,” Jin states, and Jungkook nods.

“Yeah, that.”

“Anything else?” Taehyung looks at Jungkook expectantly, and the younger feels anxiety eating at his stomach.

“I’ve never told anyone though…” Jungkook looks down into his lap and the other three gaze at him knowingly.

“It’s always hard coming out Jungkook, it’s even more difficult coming to terms with it yourself, but it’s normal to feels anxious,” Jin rests a hand on Jungkook’s back, and although Jungkook barely knows Jin, it’s still comforting. He starts to twirl his thumbs nervously- he’s never even said these words out loud, and besides, he’s only recently discovered this trait about himself.

“Well, I think I- I think I may be gay,” Jungkook’s cheeks flush deeper, and Taehyung’s smile grows, eyes lighting up.

“See! Didn’t that feel good to say out loud?” Jungkook does have to admit, even just saying it out loud does seem to take some pressure off of his chest.

“I just… I’ve never really been interested in girls, my relationships with them never last because it just never seemed right. And I sort of started liking a guy on my soccer team- another freshman- I thought it was really strange and I was disgusted in myself…” Jungkook hangs his head in shame.

“All of us were the same way Jungkook,” Jin says softly, rubbing his hand up and down Jungkook’s back.

“Really?” Jin nods solemnly. “But you all seem so… Confident?”

“It hasn’t always been this way Jungkook,” Taehyung starts,  “Everyone usually has a difficult time coming to terms with their ual or gender orientation because society tell us it’s ‘bad’ if we aren’t cis and straight. That’s why we made this club, so people like you can meet people like us, and get support and make new friends!” he rests a hand on Jungkook’s knee as he speaks, and Jungkook feels a rush of comfort from the three people before him. Even though they’re practically strangers to him, he feels so at ease around them.

“So, Jungkook, how about you keep coming to our meetings!” Taehung claps his hands together, but Jungkook’s heart falls.

“I can’t do that- I can’t let Hoseok or Yoongi know,” Jungkook speaks quickly, almost running out of breath as his thoughts start to run a mile a minute.

“Hoseok? Yoongi?” It’s Jimin that speaks up this time.

“Yeah… Yoongi is the red-haired guy and Hoseok is the brunet who came up to the table with me last week. Hoseok is my captain on the soccer team, and Yoongi is my cousin. They’re like brothers to me, but- but they can’t know this. They would hate me...” Jungkook feels his chest clench when he thinks about the two older boys rejecting him for who he is.

Well… How about bring them too!” Jungkook’s jaw drops at Taehyung’s proposition.

“Did you hear anything I just said! No way they would ever agree to this!” Jungkook lashes out, and Taehyung realizes how anxious the younger really is about coming out, even to his best friends.

“Don’t tell them where you’re bringing them, just say you want them to meet some new friends of yours. We aren’t saying you have to come out to them, but we can at least introduce ourselves. We’ll go from there!” Jungkook is hesitant, but he knows that Taehyung is right, and he knows he will need to come out to Hoseok and Yoongi eventually. He sighs, rubbing his temples.

“Alright… I guess… I’ll try and get them to come…” Jungkook’s voice trails off, and excitement buzzes between the other three despite his anxiety.

“Great then! Meet us here again next Saturday, we’ll all meet up and go get coffee yeah?” Taehyung’s voice is bright and reassuring, and Jungkook figures this may not be so bad after all. He nods and gets up, the others seeing him out.

~*~

A week passes too quickly, in Jungkook’s opinion. He texts Hoseok and Yoongi in their group chat, telling them to meet him at his dorm. Hoseok and Yoongi live in apartments with different roommates, Hoseok’s being other members of the soccer team, and Yoongi’s being other guys in the music program he’s in. They both show up at Jungkook’s dorm around the same time.

    “What’s up Jungkook?” Hoseok is entering Jungkook’s room shortly after Yoongi had arrived. Jungkook tries his best to shove the anxiety out his head and instead, act as he normally would.

    “I have some friends I want you guys to meet, we’re going to meet up with them and then go get coffee,” Jungkook explains as nonchalantly as possible, grabbing his wallet. Hoseok and Yoongi glance at each other before shrugging and following the younger out of his dorm. The three walk the short distance to the unused dance room and enter the space. Both Yoongi and Hoseok are confused as to why they’re meeting Jungkook’s friends at some random dance studio, but neither speak up. Once they enter, Jungkook sees Taehyung, Jin, and Jimin all sitting in a circle in the same spot they were last Saturday.

    “Jungkook!” Taehyung gets up and strides over to the younger, clapping a hand over his shoulder. Jungkook gives Taehyung a sheepish smile and Taehyung reciprocates by giving his shoulder a light squeeze, attempting to wordlessly reassure the younger. Taehyung nods at him knowingly before turning his attention to the other two boys behind Jungkook.

    “Hi there! I’m Taehyung, you must be Yoongi, and you must be Hoseok?” He points to each boy respectively and they both nod, confused looks on their faces. “Jungkook told us about you, it’s nice to meet you!” Taehyung sticks his hand out for them to shake, and they both take it, shaking hands with him tentatively. Behind Taehyung, Jin and Jimin approach, smiling wide like they always do, and Jungkook wonders if they ever don’t smile. Jin and Jimin introduce themselves to Yoongi and Hoseok, and when Yoongi shakes hands with Jimin, his hand lingers a bit longer than it should, but no one takes notice, as Taehyung is already ushering the group out of the room.

    “I wanted to go somewhere off-campus, the coffee shops here are always too crowded,” Taehyung says, striding quickly so that the others have to catch up to him.

They all ride the bus into the city and pick a small coffee shop near the river. They order iced coffees except Hoseok, who insists coffee is too bitter for him, and instead gets a smoothie. Their chilled beverages, along with the air conditioning in the little shop, gives adequate relief from the brutal summer heat- and they’re already quite comfortable with each other by the time they are sitting down at a large table, contently sipping away at their drinks. Hoseok looks over to the blonde boy, Taehyung, who smiles at him brightly. Hoseok thinks all of these new friends of Jungkook’s are cool, especially this Taehyung guy who always seems to be cheerful. Hoseok himself is known for being a joyful guy, so he appreciates that Taehyung’s personality is similar to his. Hoseok notices Yoongi gazing intently at Jimin, who’s sitting across from them talking to Jin. He kicks Yoongi in the shin, laughing when the older boy yelps in surprise.

    “What the hell dude?” Yoongi glares daggers at Hoseok, who snickers mischievously.

    “You’re drooling,” Hoseok mocks, handing the redhead a napkin, which he swats away.

Everyone watches the boy’s encounter and laughs along with them. Yoongi thinks Jimin has one of the nicest laughs he’s ever heard. “You really can’t control yourself around pretty girls can you, Min Yoongi,” Hoseok laughs, and both Yoongi and Jimin blush, but Jungkook’s body noticeably tenses. Taehyung places a hand discreetly on Jungkook’s thigh, once again giving him a reassuring squeeze, and Jungkook realizes how comforting Taehyung’s presence really is to him, but he also realizes that Hoseok noticed the change in atmosphere.

    “Well, enough chit-chat, we did come here for a reason,” Jin states, earning confused looks from Yoongi and Hoseok. Everyone at the table goes silent, except for Jin who continues with his monologue. “Hoseok, Yoongi, you guys are cool. Really nice guys, in fact, and I’m glad Jungkook let us meet you. But you see, we have to know that you are okay with who we are before we can say we can be friends with you,” Jin’s voice is dry, serious, and Jungkook admires his straightforwardness, albeit the fact that it makes him a bit nervous for Yoongi and Hoseok’s reaction.

    “What do you mean?” Yoongi starts.

    “Well you see, we,” Jin motions to himself along with Taehyung and Jimin, carefully excluding Jungkook, “Are who you met last week during club sign-up day. You may or may not remember-”

    “Aha! That’s why you seemed so familiar!” Hoseok starts, and Jin is thrown off by his sudden interjection.

    “Anyways,” Jin continues, “We were participating in the club fair as the queer club for our university.”

    “Wait… the what club?” Yoongi sounds utterly confused and Hoseok still doesn’t seem to have processed Jin’s words.

    “Well, I’m the president of the club, and the other members are Jimin and Taehyung here,” the said two smile expectantly.

Thus begins a barrage of questions. Yoongi and Hoseok are given the same introductions as Jungkook was last week, and their reaction is almost quite the same. It’s the same in the fact that both boys are overwhelmed with the new information, yet different in the way that they take this information.

    “What the hell?! You’re a dude?” Yoongi practically yells, looking at Jimin, who shrinks back at Yoongi’s harsh voice.

    “You. You need to calm down and stop being so disrespectful. Jimin is a girl, and you will know her as a girl. Just because you grow up not knowing about a topic such as this doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Jin snaps, and Yoongi sits back, scowling.

    But it doesn’t even make sense, especially you,” Yoongi sticks a finger out in Taehyung’s direction, “You’re all freaks,” Yoongi spits, getting up and storming out of the entrance. Through the entire exchange of information and the small tussle between Jin and Yoongi, Jungkook sat silently fretting. When he sees Yoongi storming out of the shop and Hoseok trying to stop him to no avail, his heart drops, and Taehyung can see the look of disappointment on the younger’s face.

After his failed attempt to get Yoongi to come back, Hoseok slinks back into the shop and settles back into his seat, running a hand through his hair and sighing deeply.

    “I’m sorry about that… Honestly I think it may just be a bit too much for him to handle… It’s like what you said Jin, we didn’t grow up just learning about this stuff like it’s the alphabet… You may have to give him some time, but Yoongi isn’t a bad person,” Hoseok tries to explain, but the others still remain solemn.

    “It’s okay Hoseok, don’t apologize for your friend’s actions, besides we’re used to that, usually it’s worse, honestly,” Taehyung shrugs, and Hoseok still thinks all of this new information is definitely weird, but he knows he shouldn’t be rude either. He sighs once more, and Taehyung’s expression drops, because he knows exactly what Hoseok is thinking.

    “I better go,” Hoseok says, rising from his chair, “I’ll see you guys around yeah?” The rest nod and Hoseok leaves, leaving them in silence. It’s a good minute before anyone speaks up again, and the entire time, Taehyung feels an unusual heaviness in his heart because he really wanted to be friends with that Hoseok guy, but if he can’t accept who Taehyung is, then there’s no use. Jungkook gets up stiffly, and without a word, leaves the shop. On the bus ride home, he has a heavy heart and racing thoughts, so when he gets to his dorm, he flops down on his bed and falls asleep almost immediately.

~*~

Monday morning rolls around and Hoseok rushes to his morning class, barely making it before he’s late. When he enters, he’s surprised to see Taehyung sitting in the back corner by the large window, chin resting in his palm casually as he stares out of the window. Hoseok walks toward him cautiously, and when he’s standing adjacent to the empty seat next to Taehyung, he clears his throat, pulling Taehyung from his daydreams.

    “Mind if I sit here?”

    Taehyung hesitates for a moment, but soon nods his head in approval. Hoseok takes a seat next to him and the rest of class, neither speak to each other, an awkward atmosphere lingering around them.

After the professor dismisses the class, Taehyung gathers his stuff quickly and makes for the exit, but Hoseok quickly jogs over to him, matching his strides with Taehyung’s.

    “Is there something you need to discuss with me?” Taehyung’s voice comes out quite formal, and Hoseok isn’t used to this side of Taehyung, deciding he prefers the other side of Taehyung. He scratches the back of his neck, thinking of how to put his words.

    “Well uh… actually yeah, I mean sorta. I dunno,” and Taehyung suddenly stops walking, forcing Hoseok to backtrack a few steps.

    “Well?” Taehyung’s voice isn’t offending, but it’s flat and serious, making Hoseok uncharacteristically nervous.

    “Listen Taehyung, I don’t know what sort of impression of me you may have, but it obviously doesn’t seem all that great,”

    “I never said-”

    “I may not seem like it, but I’m pretty good at picking up on people’s emotions, Taehyung. So, I wanted to apologize for Saturday. For my behaviour, that is. Honestly, I’ve never met anyone remotely like you or your friends so this is all new and weird to me. Not that I’m saying you’re weird or anything! Ugh, this isn’t going how I wanted it to,” Hoseok’s voice trails, and Taehyung is looking up at him expectantly. “Anyways, I want to be your friend Taehyung- I think you’re a cool guy. Jungkook seems to like you all, and the kid’s a pretty good judge of character, so why not? But all I’m asking for is that you cooperate with me. I want to be friends with you all but all of this,” Hoseok motions to nothing in particular, “This is all new to me, so you’re gonna have to help me out. I’m willing to learn if you’re willing to teach me,” Taehyung’s jaw goes slack as he stares at Hoseok, because no one has ever said anything like this to Taehyung before, and it almost literally knocks the wind out of him. He can tell Hoseok is being genuine, but it still takes a moment of contemplation before he agrees to Hoseok’s proposition with a nod. Hoseok doesn’t know why, but he feels relieved whenever Taehyung forgives him- although he thinks he didn’t really do anything wrong to begin with. Hoseok glances down at his watch and realizes he’s going to be late to is next class, and he yells a goodbye to Taehyung as he sprints off to class.

~*~

Taehyung is under the impression that he’ll see Hoseok again next Saturday, at their club meeting, but Jungkook tells Taehyung he needs to talk to him, and invites Taehyung to his soccer practice on Wednesday. Jungkook tells Taehyung to meet him on the soccer field after his practice ends at four, but when Taehyung gets there a few minutes after said time, Jungkook is still in practice. Taehyung takes a seat on the bleachers nearby and observes the team practice. After sitting for what felt like eternity, but in reality was thirty minutes in terrible heat, Taehyung hears a loud whistle blow and Hoseok’s voice calling practice to a close. Taehyung completely forgot Hoseok is the team captain and when he thinks about talking to the older boy again, he feels like running away. Something about Hoseok, despite his cheerful and friendly nature, makes Taehyung uneasy. Jungkook trots over to Taehyung and he remembers why he even came to the soccer fields in the first place.

    “Hey,” Jungkook is breathing heavily when he reaches Taehyung, and sweating even harder from his arduous workout. Jungkook sits next to Taehyung on the bleachers, catching his breath, and from afar, Hoseok watches where Jungkook runs off to, only to see him approaching Taehyung. He knows he shouldn’t watch the- why he’s watching them in the first place, he has no idea- but he does anyways. He watches as Jungkook greets Taehyung which the latter returns with a bright smile, and when Hoseok sees the younger’s patent rectangular grin, it makes his stomach churn. Woah there Jung Hoseok, chill man. Taehyung’s a guy. He’s starting to dread watching as the two younger boys exchange conversation that he’s in the dark about, and when Taehyung rests a hand on Jungkook’s knee, Hoseok pulls his gaze away, grabbing his soccer bag and heading off, leaving the clean-up to the younger players who groan in protest.

Why am I getting angry over this, Jungkook and Taehyung are friends, talking to one another is completely normal, Hoseok thinks to himself. He shakes the thoughts away from his head, and before he’s realized it, he’s at the bus stop. When he reaches his apartment, he’s relieved to open the door to an empty apartment. He strips of his sweat-dampened clothes and takes a long cold shower, resting his forehead against the wet tiles and taking deep breaths as he tries to push away his thoughts. Later, when Hoseok slumps into bed, he still has no idea why he was upset over seeing Jungkook and Taehyung together, and still feels a strange anxiety gnawing at his logic.

~*~

Taehyung is at home later that night, sitting in bed and staring at his sheet music blankly. Earlier at Jungkook’s practice, he had seen Hoseok walk away without even acknowledging Taehyung’s presence, and he felt surprisingly disappointed. Jungkook had wanted to talk to him more about how he could come out without Yoongi and Hoseok rejecting him, and Taehyung wanted to help the Jungkook, but he couldn’t think clearly, telling Jungkook he wasn’t feeling well and retreating as quickly as he could. Now he’s supposed to be doing his music theory homework, but his Debussy lay barren in front of him, and he’s gnawing mindlessly at the eraser on his pencil. He hears Jimin’s voice and is pulled from his stupor.

    “Can you help me with bar thirty-seven? I don’t quite understand the accidentals,” Jimin states. Taehyung and Jimin are both music majours, specifically in vocal performance. Taehyung and Jimin both grew up singing and had been in their high school choir together. Taehyung always loved singing with Jimin, her high-pitched velvety voice matching well with Taehyung’s own deep melodic tones. Taehyung climbs off his bed and sits next to Jimin on the floor. He’s already gone over this particular section, so he doesn’t have to think much when he looks at the said bars.

    “This here,” Taehyung points to the first note, “Is a tied eighth note, so the sharp on this first eighth note makes the second note sharp as well. See, so since these are both sharp it makes the key sound more like D minor,” Taehyung explains to Jimin, who nods slowly. Jimin has never been that great at music theory, but Taehyung thinks her exceptional singing ability makes up for her lack of music comprehension. He continues to go through Jimin’s questions, and is quite thankful, since it takes his mind off of Hoseok. Before long, Taehyung has gone through the entire piece with Jimin, and both are yawning deeply. Jimin retires to her separate bedroom, and it doesn’t take long for Taehyung to fall asleep after he lays down on his own bed.  

~*~

The next morning, Jungkook texts Taehyung to meet him at the dance room where they hold their club meetings. Both boys arrive at the bottom of the stairs at the same time, and are surprised to hear a muffled bass coming from behind the door to the usually vacant room. They both squish together to gaze into the small window on the door, and both audibly gasp when they see, none other than Hoseok, dancing in the room. Jungkook pulls away in disbelief, and starts to laugh, making Taehyung turn to him with a puzzled expression.

    “Guess we both had a secret love for dance,” Jungkook laughs, pulling the door open without hesitation. When Hoseok spots the familiar dark-haired boy entering, he visibly jumps and goes stiff all at once, and when he sees Taehyung following after him, his heart drops even more. The music is still booming, and he quickly jogs over to the dock where his phone is and stops the music, drowning the room in tense silence.

    “I uh… I can-”

    “Hoseok, why are you all flustered, you like to dance, so what, so does Jungkookie here,” Taehyung points out, and Hoseok mentally cringes from the nickname, meanwhile Jungkook flushes a dark crimson.

    “Well no one knows that I do you can’t tell anyone,” Hoseok stares holes into the ground and Taehyung has no idea why he’s so ashamed.

    “Since we’re announcing secrets, I guess it’s my turn then,” Taehyung whirls to look at Jungkook, whose voice is small, but he lifts his head to look at Hoseok.

“Jungkook, you don’t have to if you aren’t ready,” Taehyung starts, putting a hand on the younger’s bicep and giving a reassuring squeeze. Hoseok doesn’t understand what exactly is going on, so when he hears Taehyung, and sees him touching Jungkook- again- he unconsciously grits his teeth, and contemplates leaving.

“Nah it’s okay,” He looks away from Taehyung to avert his attention back to Hoseok, who he doesn’t notice clenching his fists. “Hoseok… I- I’m… gay…” Jungkook’s voice trails, and Hoseok has to strain to hear the last part of his sentence.

“You’re- you’re what?” Hoseok has to force himself to keep his voice steady. Jungkook’s gay? “Why have you never told me?” Hoseok starts to raise his voice slightly, and Jungkook shrinks back.

“I was afraid…”

“Afraid?! Jungkook, I’m your best friend! I’ve known you for how many years now? And all the sudden you start hanging out with some people and decide you’re gay?!”

“What? No! It’s not something I just choose, Hoseok, it’s always been like this! Don’t blame it on my friends!”

“Well then who’s to blame?” Hoseok’s voice is bitter, and Jungkook starts to feel light-headed, because this is exactly what he was afraid of.

Then, Taehyung interjects, unconsciously pushing Jungkook behind him. “Who’s to blame?! Hoseok, being gay isn’t a disease for god’s sake! Jungkook trusts you, that’s why he’s telling you this, and this is how you’re reacting? Jungkook became friends with us because he knows he can be himself with me and Jin and Jimin. You’re the one who’s been pushing him away! You claim that you and Yoongi are his best friends, then why do you think he was so afraid to tell you this?” Taehyung is practically yelling by the time he’s finished speaking, and Hoseok stares at him in disbelief.

“So what, are you two dating now or something?” Hoseok snaps his mouth shut, because that is definitely not what he intended on saying.

“What? No, what the- why would you think that?” Jungkook is the one who speaks up this time, and both him and Taehyung stare at him quizzically.

“You’re always hanging out with Taehyung, always bailing Yoongi and I out because of Taehyung and his friends. It’ always Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung. You’re practically all over each other Jungkook!” Hoseok takes a step forward, and both Taehyung and Jungkook take a step back from him.

“Hoseok, what the hell are you talking about? I’ve only been trying to help Jungkook who needed my help, why are you getting jealous?” Taehyung’s voice is barely a whisper, but Hoseok still hears him clearly. Jealous? Of who? Hoseok thinks. But instead of speaking, he can’t find the right words, so he storms out of the dance room, leaving the other two boys behind. They both stand in the room in silence for a few long moments, before Taehyung runs after Hoseok. He doesn’t know why he’s sprinting towards the retreating brunet, but his mind is racing and when he collides, with the older, his heart is racing as well.

Hoseok hears heavy footsteps fast approaching behind him, and turns around just as Taehyung collides with him. Hoseok nearly falls down, but Taehyung quickly wraps an arm around the older’s torso to prevent his fall. Hoseok stares at Taehyung, terrified, before scrambling to stand up straight. Both boys are blushing furiously, and neither can bring themselves to look at the other.

    “Well that was… extremely cliche,” Taehyung and Hoseok both whip around to the sound of Jungkook’s voice, and he has his arms folded, with a smirk on his face that makes Taehyung and Hoseok both want to punch him. Jungkook walks off, shoving his hands in his pockets, leaving the other two behind, and Taehyung doesn’t realize how close they are until Hoseok turns and walks away, mumbling.

    “Wait, Hoseok,” Taehyung puts a hand over his shoulder, and Hoseok’s mind flashes to all of the times he saw Taehyung using the same gesture with Jungkook. He shakes his head to chase away his strange thoughts and turns to look at Taehyung. They’re not far from each other, and Hoseok takes a step back, feeling suffocated by Taehyung’s intent gaze.

    “What do you want Taehyung,” Hoseok mumbles, and Taehyung drops his hand. He isn’t sure himself why he even ran after Hoseok in the first place.

    “I- I don’t really know actually…” Hoseok looks at Taehyung in shocked confusion. “Hoseok… I don’t know why you thought Jungkook and I were… together- but we aren’t.”

    “Why are you telling me this,” Hoseok says flatly and Taehyung blinks rapidly, taking a few steps back.

    “I uh… I don’t- I have to go to class,” Taehyung stutters, quickly turning and walking away from Hoseok. As Hoseok watches Taehyung stride away from him, his heart drops and he feels like a jerk, for lashing out at Jungkook and Taehyung. He sighs and walks away.

~*~

The past week Yoongi hasn’t left his apartment. His conflicting thoughts have made him grouchy and he’s avoided human contact as much as he can. Today, he has  class, and he knows he’s already missed a lot of school, so he hauls himself out of bed and quickly gets ready before leaving for the bus stop. When he enters the bus he sees a familiar head of long brown hair that falls in loose curls and looks up to see Jimin looking at him with a worried expression. Yoongi averts his gaze and sits at the front of the bus. When he arrives at the university, he gets off of the bus as quickly as he can. He still isn’t quite sure about how to approach Jimin, or if he even wants to for that matter. Jimin is a dude, you don’t like guys- not like that, he thinks to himself. But when he looks up to see Jimin walking alongside Taehyung, he feels like he’s treated Jimin terribly. Jimin says she’s a girl but- but what if she has a... Yoongi’s thought is interrupted by the sound of Jimin’s high-pitched and bright laughter, and he wants to turn into a puddle. Dammit, Min Yoongi, Hoseok was right. He looks over to Jimin, who meets his gaze, and her smile drops immediately, making Yoongi mentally punch himself.

Yoongi rushes to his first class- music theory. Yoongi is majouring in music production, and he doesn’t think he even needs to even take music theory- he already knows the content. Unfortunately for him though, it’s required- and what’s also unfortunate is that Jimin is in the same class as him. He’s already seated when he watches Taehyung and Jimin entering, beaming like they always are. They don’t seem to notice Yoongi, and he’s thankful. During class, Yoongi keeps glancing down to where Taehyung and Jimin are seated a few rows in front of him, and when the professor calls on him to answer a question, he nearly curses in surprise. He answers the question as quickly as he can without wanting to vomit, and his heart feels like it’s going to jump out of his throat because he can feel Jimin and Taehyung looking up at him. He feels his cheeks burning and curses himself for being so obvious. Whenever class is dismissed, Yoongi ducks his head as he fumbles to gather his things, hoping Jimin forgot he exists. She doesn’t. Yoongi hears someone clear their throat in front of him and looks up slowly to see just who he doesn’t want to see- Park Jimin. By now, everyone in the lecture hall has left, and even Taehyung is no where in sight.

    “Can I talk to you?” Jimin says softly, and Yoongi really doesn’t want a confrontation right now while his mind is so cluttered, but he doesn’t want to be a jerk like he was last week, so he nods weakly and grabs his stuff. They both walk in silence and enter an on-campus coffee shop, sitting in a small booth at the back of the cafe. Jimin is nervous, Yoongi can tell, and he blames himself, because it’s his fault, he was so rude to her last week.

“I wanted to say-” both start speaking at the same time, and laugh awkwardly. Jimin motions for Yoongi to speak first.

“I uh… Listen, Jimin. what I did last week… that’s not- I don’t know what got into me,” Yoongi starts.

“No, it’s okay, I get that a lot-”

“No, Jimin, it isn’t okay!” Yoongi is speaking in an urgent tone, and Jimin’s eyes widen. Yoongi sighs and runs a hand through his short red hair before finding the words to say. “Jimin… I’m obviously not very knowledgeable about all of this… gender stuff,” Yoongi waves his hand around and Jimin nods, looking down at the table. “I don’t know what to say really,” Jimin feels disappointment starting to form in her stomach and prepares herself for Yoongi to go on about how Jimin’s identity disgusts him. “Like I said, I don’t really know much, but what I said to you last week was unacceptable… I guess I was just surprised, especially since I barely know you but I- I-,” Jimin looks at Yoongi expecting him to say “I can’t be friends with you” or “Stay away from me”, so when Yoongi tells Jimin “I really like you”, it takes her a few moments to even register what he’s said.

“Wait… you what?” Jimin blinks rapidly in honest confusion. Jimin hasn’t had anyone confess to her since before her gender change over five years ago.

“Jimin,” Yoongi hovers his hand over her’s timidly, and Jimin feels her heart start to beat rapidly. “You’re going to have to help me out here. I’m so ignorant about these things, but one thing I’ve tried denying and can’t is that- I like you. As you are.” Jimin feels like all oxygen has been cut off and she feels tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She looks down at Yoongi’s hand over hers and she moves it so their fingers lace together. She looks back up to Yoongi, who gazes at her expectantly.

“I- I like you too, Yoongi,” she says, tears starting to fall from her eyes, and Yoongi feels his chest tighten, because he has a pretty good guess as to why she’s crying. He can’t even fathom the amount of hurt and rejection Jimin’s had to go through, and although this whole situation is new territory to him, he knows that he likes Jimin, and he doesn’t want her to hurt anymore.

~*~

Taehyung leaves his music theory class only to run into none other than Jung Hoseok. Taehyung tries to ignore the tense exchange they had a few days prior, because he really doesn’t like being on bad terms with anyone, including Hoseok.

    “Oh, uh, Taehyung- I just came to get Yoongi-”

    “Yoongi’s busy right now,” Taehyung asserts, hastily grabbing Hoseok’s hand and leading them away from the lecture hall. Jimin had told Taehyung he wanted to talk to Yoongi, and even though Taehyung thinks he’s an , he knows Jimin likes him, so he let her alone with the redhead. As Taehyung drags Hoseok to the bus stop, Hoseok can’t help but become hyper aware of Taehyung’s grip on his hand. Hoseok doesn’t speak until him and Taehyung are squished into a seat together on the bus, and their hands are removed from each other.

    “Uh, where are we going exactly?”

    “My apartment,” Taehyung states, still looking ahead. Hoseok fushes- Taehyung’s… apartment?

Before long, the bus stops on a familiar street.

    “Wait, you live in this complex?” Hoseok asks, and Taehyung turns to look at him, quirking an eyebrow.

    “Uh, yeah? You’ve been here before?” Hoseok starts to laugh uncontrollably, leaving Taehyung dumbfounded.

    “I live here too!” Hoseok says, still laughing and clutching his stomach. Taehyung’s mouth opens in disbelief, but he quickly closes it and smiles to himself, walking off to his apartment.

The two boys arrive at apartment 507 and Hoseok explains that his is 304. When they enter, Hoseok expects it to be empty, but instead, hears noise coming from within the apartment. Before long he sees another person with long, straight red hair poking their head out from the kitchen. Why does she look so familiar…

    “Oh hey Jin, I thought you had class?” Taehyung asks, and it hits Hoseok- Jin? But he’s- oh... wait, does that mean he’s a she today?

    Jin waves and smiles at Hoseok, not noticing his confusion, before turning to to speakto Taehyung.

    “Eh, felt like staying home today,” Taehyung nods and motions for Hoseok to follow him. When they enter Taehyung’s room, Taehyung closes the door softly, and Hoseok stands stiffly.

    “Wait so… Jin is…?”

    “Correct, Jin is genderfluid, you remember right?” Hoseok nods, “So on days like today, Jin uses feminine pronouns-  she doesn’t get offended if you don’t but she prefers them, and it’s polite.” Hoseok nods in understanding, makes sense, he thinks. To be honest, at first Hoseok thought all of this “stuff” was confusing, but now, it doesn’t seem so strange to him. And now that Jungkook’s come out to him, he figures he may as well accept it.

Taehyung sits down on his bed, leaving Hoseok standing awkwardly by the door.

    “You don’t have to stand there y’know,” Taehyung says, picking up a piece of music he has to go over for his homework.

    “Whatcha got there?” Hoseok approaches Taehyung slowly and sits in front of him on the ground. “Sheet Music?” Taehyung nods in response.

    “Yeah, I’m a music majour, so I have a lot of this stuff laying around,” Taehyung laughs, and the air is still filled with awkward tension. “What about you?”

    “Sorry?” Hoseok swallows hard. He wasn’t really paying attention to what Taehyung was saying, more so his fingers that are mindlessly fiddling with the pages of music in his hands.

    “What are you majouring in?” Taehyung turns to look at Hoseok, who meets his gaze, and he feels his cheeks start to burn.

    “I’m… undecided,” Hoseok scratches the back of his neck. They quickly look away from each other, and at the same time, they hear the door to Taehyung’s room opening and Jin’s voice fills the room.

    “I just got a call from J- woah,” Taehyung looks up to see Jin standing in the threshold of his room.

    “What is it?”

    “It’s so awkward in here I can feel it… geez…” Jin mumbles something else as he exits the room that neither boy picks up on. A few moments of uncomfortable silence follow Jin’s exit.

    “I should… go... “ Hoseok gets up and starts to walk towards the door, Taehyung following behind. “Wait,” Hoseok whirls around to face Taehyung, who is a lot closer than he expected. He swallows hard and forces himself to continue breathing, since he apparently had stopped. “Why did- why did you bring me here anyways?” Hoseok feels like he’s going to pass out because Taehyung is so close. He can see every feature of the younger’s face and smell his strawberry-scented shampoo. The scent starts to make him dizzy, and before he can stop himself, he’s leaning forward and placing his lips on top of Taehyung’s. This isn’t exactly how expected things to go, Taehyung thinks, but it turned out a lot better.

    “Oh, , sorry, that wasn’t okay-” Hoseok pulls away, panicking, but Taehyung grips Hoseok’s collar and kisses him again to silence him. After a few moments, Taehyung pulls away slowly, trying to slow his heartbeat.

    “That was uh…”

    “Hoseok, shut up,” Taehyung says, and the older smiles, running a hand through Taehyung’s hair. God, he’s wanted to do this ever since he saw Taehyung, but he would never say that out loud. Hoseok wraps his arms around Taehyung’s waist and rests his chin on top of the crown of the younger’s head.

    “Taehyung,” Hoseok’s voice is low, and Taehyung can barely hear it over his erratically beating heart. “I like you,” Hoseok states, and Taehyung laughs, causing Hoseok to pull away to look at him, puzzled.

    “So much for being straight,” Taehyung snickers, and Hoseok’s face burns a deep red.

Taehyung sees Hoseok off, and shortly after, Jimin arrives at the apartment, nearly jumping in excitement.

    “Woah there, what’s gotten into you?” Jin asks from the kitchen.

    “Oh nothing~” Jimin sing-songs, but both Taehyung and Jin know something definitely happened, so they both quirk an eyebrow at her, wordlessly demanding an explanation. “Well, since you asked so nicely,” Taehyung rolls his eyes, “Yoongi and I are a thing now,” Jimin smiles so brightly, Taehyung thinks her face will split, but unfortunately, neither Jin nor Taehyung reciprocate her excitement. “What? What’s wrong guys?”

Jin sighs and puts down the glass she was drying, and walks over to Taehyung and Jimin.

    “After what he said to you Jimin? You’re going to date that guy even after he was so mean to you? How do you know this isn’t some dare or prank, Jimin?” Jimin’s smile immediately turns down at Jin’s words.

    “He apologized to me Jin, besides, I haven’t dated anyone in over five years,”

    “That’s why I’m telling you this, Jimin! You’re blindly going into a relationship here, and you will be the one hurt in the end!” Jin raises her voice to try and get Jimin to understand.

    “This is my decision, Jin! Why are you suddenly such a good judge of character, I talked to Yoongi, I heard him, you weren’t there, so lay off!” Jimin storms off to her room, leaving Taehyung and Jin alone in the living area. Jin sighs loudly, rubbing her temples.

    “Well that could have gone better,” Taehyung says, and Jin is not amused.

    “Oh, shut up Taehyung, you’re just like her,” Jin asserts, earning a curious look from Taehyung. “You and Hoseok, Taehyung, geez do I have to spell it out,” and Taehyung stiffens, because crap I guess it’s obvious, Taehyung thinks to himself. Jin rolls her eyes and walks away. Shortly after, Taehyung retreats to his own bedroom, glancing at his phone and seeing that he has a message from an unknown number. He quickly puts in his passcode and reads over the message.

Hey, It’s Hoseok, Jungkook gave me your number ^^;;

Anyways, did you want to grab breakfast with me tomorrow before class?

Taehyung feels his lips curl upwards and he types in a quick confirmation, little does he know that such a simple request caused Hoseok great anxiety as he stared down at his phone, willing Taehyung to text him back. When he sees Taehyung’s short reply of “Sure! :)”, Hoseok releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Kim Taehyung will be the death of me if I keep forgetting to breathe, Hoseok ponders, flopping back on his bed and forcing himself to sleep so he doesn’t sleep through his alarms.

~*~

After a month of dating Taehyung, Hoseok decides to introduce him to the rest of the soccer team. Taehyung is against it, but Hoseok insists, saying he wants the whole world to know, which causes Taehyung to blush deeply and punch Hoseok on the arm. Hoseok keeps on laughing, but Taehyung can’t help but feel nervous. Hoseok tells Taehyung that he has to come to his practice on Wednesday, and despite the younger’s protests, he shows up anyways. He sits on the bleachers just as he did when he came to the soccer field for the first time. However, now he’s here for a completely different reason. He thinks for a minute that maybe he and Hoseok started a relationship too quickly. What is Jin was right and this does end badly? But Taehyung is pulled from his negative thoughts, literally, by Hoseok. The elder has a hand wrapped around his wrist as he drags Taehyung towards the rest of the team. Practice ended a few minutes early, since Hoseok claimed to have “an important announcement”. When Taehyung is facing the team he notices how out of place he feels. The players are all breathing heavily and wiping sweat from their faces or taking long swigs of water, not really paying attention to Taehyung’s presence. Taehyung isn’t short, in fact, he’s even taller than some of the players, but suddenly, he has never felt smaller. Some odd desire for Hoseok’s team to accept him gnaws away at his mind, because he knows these people are important to Hoseok.

    “Guys,” Hoseok calls out, voice booming, and the players immediately turn their attention to him. “I wanted to introduce you all to someone,” Hoseok beams, pulling Taehyung from where he was hiding behind Hoseok. “This is Kim Taehyung,” he says smiling.

    “So…?” one of the players calls out, and Taehyung wants to run away.

    “Taehyung is my boyfriend,” Hoseok states matter-of-factly, and Taehyung hears one of the players choke on his water, and the rest of the players’ eyes go wide.

    “You’re what? The one who was choking asks.

    “My boyfriend,” Hoseok repeats again, and Taehyung wonders if Hoseok feels scared at all, because Taehyung sure as hell is.

    “You guys screw buddies or somethin’?” a different member drawls, and Taehyung’s fear is replaced with annoyance, so he speaks up for the first time, cutting Hoseok off.

    “No. We’re dating. I’m greyual anyways,” Taehyung says, and the players all go silent in confusion once again.

    “Hell, I dunno what that means but if you guys aren’t doin’ each other then can you say you’re dating?” The same player speaks and when he’s done, the boy next to him gives him a high-five, making Taehyung grit his teeth.

    “Hey. This is my boyfriend, and while you may treat your significant other like trash, I don’t so lay off dude, don’t forget I’m your team captain,” Hoseok snaps. The player spits on the ground and Taehyung becomes even more annoyed.

    “Significant other? Whatever man, but I don’t think our competition will be very intimidated if they know our captain is some gay,” the boy drags and Taehyung really wants to punch this guy. Luckily, he doesn’t have to, because Jungkook does it for him. He had been standing a few feet away from the scene, clenching and unclenching his fists, but at the player’s last comment, he walked forward and gave him a face full of fist. Hoseok and Taehyung both blink in surprise and the rest of the players stand silently. Jungkook was always quiet and kept to himself during practice, so they had no idea Jungkook had this side to himself.

    “Practice is dismissed,” Hoseok huffs, taking Taehyung’s hand in his and walking off of the fields. Hoseok takes Taehyung to his apartment and tells him to wait in his room while he changes in the adjacent bathroom. As Hoseok is pulling on his clothes he thinks about the comments from earlier. Sure, isn’t necessary in a relationship, but could Hoseok stay with Taehyung for a long time without it? Something about the intimacy seemed to make it necessary for a strong relationships, he thinks, throwing on a loose hoodie and basketball shorts.

When Hoseok walks back into his room, he takes a long look at Taehyung and realizes no, I don’t have to do that to be with Taehyung. He walks over to the younger and only sees that Taehyung is crying when he leans down in front of him, and Hoseok quickly scrambles to wipe Taehyung’s tears with the pads of his thumbs, meanwhile placing a soft kiss on the younger’s lips.

    “I’m- I’m sorry for all of this… for me,” Taehyung chokes out, and Hoseok wishes he was the one to punch that jerk.

    “Taehyung, if I thought something like that is necessary to like you, then I never would have told you I do… I like you a lot Taehyung, whatever some jerk says isn’t going to change that,” Hoseok declares, his tone is soft, but he’s determined to reassure Taehyung. Taehyung nearly falls on top of Hoseok, wrapping his arms tightly around the elder’s torso and breathing deeply into his chest. He thinks he could stay wrapped up in Hoseok forever, breathing in his scent and mixing his oxygen with the latter.

    “I like you a lot too, Hoseok,” Taehyung mumbles into Hoseok’s chest, and the older boy lifts Taehyung’s chin up with a finger, gracing Taehyung with his blinding smile. Taehyung leans forward and kisses Hoseok.

    “It’s all right Tae, we’ll be okay,” Hoseok whispers, running his fingers through Taehyung’s hair.

~*~

Meanwhile, Yoongi and Jimin’s relationship has blossomed in the past short month as well. Yoongi took a shorter amount of time to introduce Jimin to his roommates and his other friends in the music program, who supposedly already knew Jimin. “Of course we know her, have you heard her sing before?” one boy says, and Jimin blushes as Yoongi admits that he in fact, has never heard Jimin sing before. Every time after that, when Yoongi asks Jimin to sing for him, she refuses. She isn’t ashamed or unconfident, but she feels different thinking about singing in front of Yoongi. Only when Yoongi tells Jimin that she has to help him with one of his songs does he trick her into singing for him.

For Yoongi’s final, he’s supposed to compose an original song, so he asks Jimin to join him in the production studio for a “second opinion”. He already has the track mixed, and all he’s missing is the vocals. When he gives Jimin this information after listening to the instrumental track, he can tell Jimin feels anxious about Yoongi’s implied request. Yet, after a minute of contemplation, complete with Jimin gnawing on her lip and driving Yoongi crazy, she agrees to provide vocals for the track, Yoongi gives her the lyrics and sheet music and tells her to study it, scheduling for them to meet next week at the same time, giving Jimin an opportunity to earn the song and mentally prepare.

A week passes and Jimin knows that that’s more than enough time for her to learn a song, but singing for Yoongi, especially for such a big assignment, makes Jimin uneasy. Jimin arrives at the recording studio before Yoongi, and decides to warm up her voice. She steps inside of the soundproof room and starts to sing her routine warm-ups. Yoongi enters the room, but Jimin remains unaware, due to the lack of noise. It isn’t until Yoongi is speaking at the mic, his voice coming out low and rough, that Jimin realizes he’s entered, and she jumps, letting out a shrill yelp.

    “I have no idea why you won’t sing in front of me, you’re great just warming up,” Yoongi speaks into the mic, and Jimin blushes furiously, gripping onto her sheet music. While Yoongi sets up, Jimin quietly hums the notes to herself and before long, Yoongi is signalling her to start. The first time they run through the song, Jimin keeps her voice low, completely different from how she usually sings. Yoongi notices that Jimin is holding back. He gets up from his chair and walks into the recording room, and Jimin turns to face him. He tilts her chin up with his index finger and looks her straight in the eye, and Jimin tries to look anywhere but at Yoongi.

    “C’mon now, let’s hear that pretty little voice of yours,” Yoongi coos, and Jimin’s cheeks burn even deeper than they had been before. Yoongi kisses Jimin softly before giving her a sly grin, and Jimin punches him in the arm as he walks out of the room, barking with laughter. Although Jimin had been utterly embarrassed, she had to admit she felt more comfortable after, and the rest of the recording session went smoothly, Yoongi more than satisfied for the final product.

~*~

After punching the jerk on his soccer team in the face, Jungkook has been suspended from practice. If it was up to Hoseok, Jungkook wouldn’t have to receive the punishment, but school rules are school rules, so instead of going to practice, Jungkook goes to the dance room. He saw a dance practice online a couple weeks ago to a popular hip-hop song and since then, his limbs have been itching to move along with the beat. He quickly picked up on the choreography, to his own surprise. Now, he practices watching and scrutinizing every one of his moves, going over each step hundreds of times so that he doesn’t know them, but he can’t possibly get them wrong. Jungkook hasn’t put this much effort and attention in something since he started soccer years ago as a child. When he dances, he feels his veins tingle with adrenaline and despite the exhaustion he feels after practicing, he feels exhilarated from the prospect of his hard work. Jungkook has always kept his desire to dance to himself, so when Jin walks into the practice room, Jungkook is caught off guard and ends up slipping and falling on his back. Jin rushes over to help him up, giggling despite Jungkook’s near heart attack.

    “Jungkook, you’re really good y’know? All this time practicing here has done you a lot of good,” Jin says, reaching a hand out to aide the younger up.

    “How did you know I’ve been practicing here?”

    “Well, Taehyung told me what happened at your soccer practice, so I assumed you had to be doing something since you can’t soccer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you not on the move,” Jin laughs, and Jungkook figures he’s right- Jungkook was always engaging in some sort of physical activity, and maybe that’s why he loves dancing so much. Jin hands him his water and hand towel so he can wipe his sweat-drenched face. He’s a lot more tired than he expected.

    “So… that guy that you punched… that didn’t happen to be-”

    “Yeah… it was,” Jungkook replies, looking at the ground and closing his eyes to try and push the memory away. The guy who kept making mean comments that inevitably received a punch in the face, was none other than the boy who Jungkook had a crush on. Had, that is, since now Jungkook knows what he’s really like.

    “Jungkook, I’m so sorry,” Jin pulls Jungkook into a hug despite the sweat coating Jungkook’s body.

    “It’s okay, really… now I know that it never would have happened, and to be honest, there’s no way I would date such an asshat,” Jungkook chuckles and Jin’s lips curl upwards. The relationship between the two had become so comfortable, even in the short time they’ve known each other. Jungkook say Jin as the older sibling he grew up without- Jin always took care of Jungkook- not by babying him, but subtle gestures to reassure the younger. To Jin, Jungkook felt like a little brother whom he wanted all the best for. Jungkook coomes off as stoic and cold to most people, but Jin knows that Jungkook craves people’s approval and affections, and Jin is more than happy to provide him with that. He pats the younger on the back and Jungkook gathers his things, parting with Jin to shower at his dorm.

Jungkook knows most people would be torn or heartbroken after knowing someone they had a crush on hates them for just being them, but Jungkook knows that he shouldn’t even give the time of day sulking. He resolves that if someone can’t accept him as he is, then he shouldn’t waste a single breath on them. For too long has Jungkook submitted to the approval of others, and he knows now that he has grown enough to break away from that trait. Only the people who are important to him should he worry about their opinion, and that’s exactly what he’ll do.

Jungkook isn’t expecting to be asked out on a date the next day, but, Jungkook’s life hasn’t exactly been predictable since he started college. He turns the boy down and Jungkook knows the boy is a nice person, but he also knows that he doesn’t want to date anyone. He listens to himself now, not others.

~*~

At the beginning of the semester, Jungkook had met a peculiar group of three people who identified themselves as something Jungkook couldn’t

even fathom. Now, those people are his best friends. Yoongi and Hoseok, who had originally ran away from the three”strange” people, ended up in a

relationship with two of them. Despite the snide and cruel comments, Yoongi holds his resolve, and isn’t afraid to brag about dating such a pretty girl.

Hoseok is told that he cannot maintain a healthy relationship with Taehyung, but it’s been four years now and Hoseok falls for Taehyung more and

more every day. Jin found a handsome, tall blonde who is a doctor at the hospital where he nurses, and Jungkook still remains single. He feels

happy as an indepedent, and focuses on his dancing career more than the pressure of people telling him he has to date. He doesn’t, and he’s

perfectly content on his own, because in actuality, he isn’t alone. The group met in college, two opposite ends of the spectrum who learned to accept

people for who they are. Now as adults, they still face the same hardships, but they do it together.  

~~~~~

T/N: yay! a queer!au since there is a lack of queer appreciation here in the fic realm otl. OVER 10K WORDS OMG. very roughly edited. also- if you think i have something incorrect as far as gender or uality identification goes, please tell me! i don't want this fic to offend anyone! have a lovely day!!

-Mari ♡