Yoonkook X Reader

Yoonkook x Reader

Touch-Starved [Main Story]

Yoongi has a crush on you, but is convinced you're not interested in him. You have a crush on Yoongi, but are sure that he'd never like you if he knew your secret. Jungkook has a crush on you but won't admit it to anyone, and you have a crush on Jungkook, but you think you know that he'd never see you as a possible partner, because he knows your secret. It's all just such a mess. How could you ever sort this out?

Tags/Warnings: Wolf!Bangtan, Wolf!Jungkook, Wolf!Yoongi, Dog!Reader, Puppy!Reader, DDLG aspects and themes, no judgement allowed here, non-sexual regression!!!, none of those themes are sexualized in this work, hurt and comfort, major fluff but also lots of angst and insecurity, friends to lovers

Length: idk long didn't count

-> Masterlist

There is no taglist for this fic.

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Yoongi is not good at things like affection, or relationships at that.

He easily turns red as bright as a spanked ass whenever he has to try and compliment someone he's even just remotely romantically interested in, or he will otherwise simply not find the courage to do it at all. Backhanded compliments are a regular thing with him, his character not allowing him to show someone he cares without implying that he doesn't- a trait that he hates about himself.

He'd learned it from his father, making him even more upset since he never really got along well with that man in the first place. Yet the more he thinks about it, the more it seems like his family history will just repeat itself, and he will find himself in a marriage simply created because of convenience, not love.

He cringes at that, throwing the rest of his sandwich away. His appetite has been long gone anyways.

The reason of his foul mood is in the dorm currently, sitting comfortably on the couch playfully wrestling with Jungkook over a pack of chips he can't identify from his spot.

He hates Jungkook sometimes.

He's always pictured as a shy boy, yet he's actually the exact opposite - easily likable, charming, and most of all- he's your age. The maknae and you are merely half a year apart in age, and he can see why you get along with him. He is a nice person, with his bright smile and large eyes, talented, strong, and likes video games as much as you do.

Yoongi himself does play some games to a small extend, however, he rather buries himself in his work, losing sense of time whenever music is involved.

Overly confident is not how he would describe you- you are simply uncaring of trends of the masses. You don't crave to stand out like Taehyung does, you rather enjoy simply living for yourself and what makes you happy no matter what people would think of your 'goals'. You love stuffed animals and soft colorful things no matter how childish it might make you look. You rarely take selfies of yourself, and never really pose much in images- you just smile, simple as that.

God that smile. If there is an emotion for hate and love at the same time, he is constantly feeling it when it comes to you.

Yoongi wants to be close to you as well, maybe even the closest if he is honest, yet he doesn't know how the hell he is supposed to do that. You both rarely text- he is too unsure if he can, since he is only in a groupchat with you, and only got your ID from Hoseok, who gave it to him in case Yoongi needs to text you something important. You rarely visit him in his studio, but then again, he never told you you'd be welcome anytime. Every small thing he does for you he either brushes it off as nothing speci¹al, or sometimes even tells you that he didn't do it, but one of his members, claiming that he has no Idea what you are talking about. You also show absolutely no interest in him whatsoever.

Which makes his embarrassing crush on you all the more awkward.

He's Min Yoongi for god's sake! He could have anyone if he really tried, if just for his fame and wealth and status as a full blooded Wolf-Hybrid coming from a 'clean' bloodline- yet he is stuck with you, the tiny dog hybrid who sees him as a friend only- if even that at all.

"Yoongi! Finally leaving your wife in there to join us in being social for once?" Seokjin remarks with his signature laugh following, making you chuckle as well.

"Don't be mean Jin." You softly scold the oldest. "Yoongs works hard in there." You look over your shoulder, one of your floppy ears unfolding while you smile that goddamn smile at him- not huge, not a smirk, simply a nice friendly gesture towards him, curled tail wagging a little.

The nickname doesn't make it better.

He hates nicknames, however, he could definitely keep living with your cute versions of his first name any day of the week. He wants to answer you, give you a verbal response, yet all he can bring himself to do is a shrug of his shoulders.

What the fuck.

But you only playfully hold your heart, falling into Jungkooks lap with a dramatic sigh. "Ah, always so cold-!" Which makes the guys laugh, and himself involuntarily smile to himself. He sits down, managing to actually place his ass next to you on the couch without instantly retreating for once. You bravely put your legs over his lap, and his mind is beginning to form the same amount of error messages like his PC system the last time he spilled his iced americano over his MIDI-board.

Yet he only grunts on the outside, and takes his phone out to search for something.

You chuckle, mumbling a sorry under your breath and move to slide your legs off of him again, but his unused hand stops them, shifting them back. His fingers are touching the small patch of bare skin on your calf between your leggings and fluffy sock that had slid down a little- and he has to use all of his self-control not to burst into flames.

He's never really had any very close contact with you, and always imagined what your skin may feel like- as creepy as that sounds. The smile he can see you forming from the side of his view makes him relax, as well- the first sign spotted that he might have some sort of effect on you. Taehyung makes a noise, but is silenced by namjoon who pulls him into a conversation to avoid embarrassing the producer, well aware of his own personal dilemma with you. He is the only one who really knows of his feelings towards you- having told yoongi that you actually feel the same way, yet a bit different. You are, according to namjoon, scared to overstep boundaries with Yoongi, worried that he may snap at you like he did a few months back.

There's that certain feeling whenever you do something stupid and then want to apologize, but you miss the chance and now weeks after it's just awkward, so you don't mention it, while also having to deal with the consequences daily.

Yeah. He still thinks of that moment he'd yelled at you sometimes at the most random of times, cringing internally at it. He'd been stressed with the new Album he wanted to put out, having been stuck on one song, and you had just turned up at the wrong time. You didn't cry or anything like that, you simply apologized for opening his studio without knocking, and left with your tail tucked between your legs. Since then however you'd become a bit more distant with him, more careful, and less touchy than you were with the rest of the pack.

He knows you're a sucker for skinship and cuddling, especially as a dog hybrid who's grown up in a carecenter between many other hybrids, yet you also respect if someone wants space. He loves how much attention you pay to your surroundings, eyes always wide open- you remember things for a long time, and you are able to keep track of so many things at once- yet he's also seen your apartment, a glimpse of your more raw personal side that you tend to keep close to yourself. You're a chaotic person, and he doesn't know how you find anything on that desk of yours.

You struggle to keep track of chores and your own health sometimes, yet you try hard, he knows that. And that makes him feel such an extreme need to make sure you're always happy and taken care of, that he's the one to take care of you.

"Oh, YOONGI!" You suddenly gasp at him, and he raises his eyebrows, looking at you as you move around a bit, your hands searching in your sweater pocket for something. "I actually cleaned up my apartment yesterday, and I found this. I think I borrowed it sometime ago, but lost it- sorry for that again by the way, won't happen again I promise!" You say, showing him a black and silver USB stick, your curly tail wagging in excitement.

You're right, that is his. He actually had forgotten about it.

"Took you long enough." He simply says and takes it from you to put it in his own pocket, seconds later cringing at his sentence. He could've definitely phrased that better, or maybe even simply thank you for giving it back even after all this time. Yet the timeframe of saying thank you without making it seem weird or out of place is already overstepped now, so he has to suffer.

Jungkook chimes in instead.

"I helped her get some order back into that place. Poor puppy had been so stressed with work that she couldnt keep up anymore." He says, laughing along with you, and Yoongi lets a chuckle of his own slip. But instead of telling you what a good job you did, or any praise he really wants to tell you, he only pats your leg gently two times, running his thumb over your calf for a second, internally imprinting into his mind how soft your skin is.

You however beam at this, visibly feeding off of his small gesture like a touch starved pet- and he can't help but find it cute.

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A knock on his door makes him look at it, giving a verbal response in a low "Hm?", as he hears your voice from behind it.

You're not really saying anything, just a sound of confusion and discomfort escaping you from behind the door, and he can slowly hear your slippers softly moving away, when he gets up from his chair to open his door to see you stop to look at him. You're standing in front of him with wide eyes and lowered ears, one of them being pulled on by your hand as he can hear the rest of the pack laughing in the main living room of the dorm. He chuckles at that, waving you into his studio, making him and yourself smile. You thank him somewhat quietly, and go to sit down on his small couch he has inside his studio, laying down so your feet still touched the ground as to not overstep any unspoken rules he might have.

Yoongi however walks up to you, and puts your feet up for you, grabbing a spare blanket from besides the couch, something he always kept here since he sleeps in his studio quite often. You thank him quietly for that, the soft buzzing of his studio PC and the nice air conditioning already helping your fuzzy head a lot.

Jumping over your shadow and coming here was a good idea after all, it seems like.

Yoongi sympathizes with you when it comes to headaches- and it's clear from your behavior that you probably have one, which could also explain why you don't really talk, since it probably hurts. Due to the fact that he seems to solely survive off of caffeine and a cup of instant ramen smashed in between his busy schedule, he gets them more often than he would like to admit. Yet he also remembers how you'd told him once how easily your headaches evolved into migraines if you weren't careful, so he is mindful to help you in avoiding that this time. He digs around in his mind for any small excuse to talk to you, yet ultimately decides against it, thinking it would probably be better for you to have as much silence as possible.

He wonders what your secret is.

Namjoon had mentioned something you kept secret 'for a reason', but he wouldn't tell the producer what it could be, not even a hint. You hopefully know that nothing could ever really make Yoongi see you any different than he does right now.

Except maybe murder- but he doubts that that's what you're hiding.

He also knows that Jungkook is aware of it too. Maybe you both are a couple? He does sleep over sometimes after all, seems to be awfully good with calming you down whenever you're anxious or panicking. It's like the young wolf is aware or something Yoongi isn't, able to manage you when you're becoming restless about things.

Another knock is heard. Yoongi attempts to call out- but gets up to walk to the door instead so he won't shout and worsen your headache. It's Jungkook- because of course it is.

"Hey- is- oh, there she is. I was wondering where she went " jungkook says, entering after the rapper walks aside, silently giving him permission to come in. "Hey- everything okay?" Jungkook wonders softly to you, and you quietly shake your head, whining slightly to yourself before you pull down your ears once more over your eyes, clearly signaling your headache to him as well. "I told you to drink more, puppy. Come on, let's get you home." He gently says, helping you sit up.

"She can just nap here, I don't mind." Yoongi offers- but there's something in Jungkook's eyes that seems oddly suspicious as he looks for an answer inside his head it seems like.

"Ah, I'll rather take her home, but thanks hyung." He tells him, averting his gaze as he instead occupies himself with you who's silently reaching out for him, clinging onto him as he picks you up, showing clearly how used to it both of you are. Jungkook holds you almost effortlessly, while you're instinctively laying your head on his shoulder, arms around his neck.

Yeah, you're probably a couple, and you just don't want to say it out loud.

"You know, you could just tell everyone." Yoongi grumbles more or less as he opens the door for the two of you, Jungkooks wide eyes looking at him. "No one's gonna get mad or something if you told them." He shrugs, and Jungkook looks around for a second, on edge. "You're together, right?" He asks, and Jungkook shakes his head- though with a hint of shyness in his face.

"Ah no- hyung.." He sighs. "I'll- she'll explain when she's ready okay?" He says, as you whine into his neck. "I have to bring her home now- thanks for looking after her!" He says already walking away-

leaving Yoongi confused.

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Jungkook honestly wishes you and him were a couple.

But life doesn't work like this, and sadly, you're not into him like that. You see him as a comfort person, a packmate and a friend- but nothing more than that. He remembers when he first 'caught' you in the midst of regressing in your home-

the whole apartment a mess, cluttered and absolutely disorganized.

You're one of only three percent of dog hybrids that fall into a different headspace when stressed or overwhelmed. It's not something you can control, and neither is it a trauma response- it's just nature playing a cruel joke on you, making your mind shut down to a certain degree to protect you. It's like your brain is overprotective- trying to shield you from all potential mental harm.

But all of that comes with a lot of issues and troubles, such as difficulty holding a job, or simple things such as keeping your apartment clean.

Jungkook remembers how terrified you were of him finding you in your messy apartment- having had to calm you down for a good hour or so before he could even attempt at helping you clean up and take care of your needs. He's not sure why you're so adamant on hiding it from the rest of the pack- but he's got an idea.

Dog hybrids with your condition are alienated, isolated, judged terribly. And you're probably terrified of being cast out of the pack for it, leaving you alone and without anybody.

Your personal nightmare.

So he just instead has decided to take care of you, and wait until you feel ready to tell someone else. You deserve happiness and the feeling of safety and comfort, but he can also understand that you're worried of how it'll be taken by the rest of the guys.

And yeah, he also gets to be a little selfish himself when he's got time with you like this. He gets to live out a little dream here and there, where you're actually his to love. Because he does love you, to the moon and back- and he knows his heart will surely break a little one day when you find someone to give your own heart to, instead of him.

So he takes these moments for himself, and enjoys those daydreams for now, until he has to wake up.

"There we go, that's already better isn't it?" Jungkook hums after he'd taken out your hairtie, fingers massaging the spot where it had been pressing against your scalp for the past few hours. You hum in agreement, nodding against his shoulder while you move a bit to get comfortable on his thighs.

You don't even know that you almost exposed your secret to Yoongi of all people- the one wolf of the pack you've got a crush on.

Everyone kind of knows it, everyone also knows about his crush on you as well- though you seem rather talented in finding excuse after excuse as to why that can't be true. Jungkook knows your main fear is what you're right now- and that Yoongi could find you appalling, or childish, or anything else negative that could come to your mind.

And Jungkook can't say he doesn't understand your fear- because he does.

"You're gonna get all stiff if you nap like that." Jungkook chuckles, patting your back a little, making your curled tail wag happily. "Don't be a brat now. Come on, we'll take a nap on the couch, yeah?" He hums. You whine. "No? Not a nap?" He wonders, but you nod now. "Okay, yes to a nap, no to the couch?" He navigates, laughing when you nod now, tail wagging. "Puppy if we nap in bed you'll sleep for hours though." He sighs.

But you simply wiggle out of his lap, before you run to the bedroom-

The wolf hot on your heels, when your doorbell rings.

When Jungkook opens the door, it's Yoongi- the producer holding up a jacket. "She left it at the dorm." He informs Jungkook, who reaches out to take it- though Yoongi holds it back. "I'd like to give it to her myself-"

"You can't." The younger wolf denies, panicking a little when he hears something jingle, and feels the toy hit his back softly, fabric ball tumbling to the ground, bell inside the cotton filling the cause of the noise. Jungkook closes the door a bit more now to keep you out of sight. "Just- uh, she'll grab it tomorrow-"

"Her phone and purse are in the pockets." Yoongi says. "I'm sure she'd like it back right now." He challenges, and Jungkook can feel himself squirm uncomfortably under the strong gaze of his packmate, having to avert his gaze. "What's really going on?" Yoongi asks, as the toy hits Jungkook's back again.

"Look, this is really bad timing right now-" Jungkook whines as he kicks the toy back with his food go occupy you at least for just a second to give himself more time to think of an excuse. "-She's.. not feeling well right now." He tries to justify.

"Jungkook you're not being very convincing right now." Yoongi sighs. "What the fuck is going on? Does she hate me?"

"NO!" Jungkook barks, before he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Ah.. God, fuck, alright." He sighs, defeated, letting the door slowly open more, while he turns around to throw the soft fabric ball towards where you sit on the floor, toy flying over your head, making you flop onto your back as you try to catch it.

You don't even realize it's Yoongi who's now in the doorway whole Jungkook sits in front of you to start a game of tug-of-war with the soft llushy toy with you, successfully pulling your attention away from the producer who just silently enters the apartment, and closes the door behind him before he hangs up your coat.

It takes him one good look to realize what's going on.

The hazy look in your eyes. The way you don't even greet him, rather occupied with the game Jungkook plays with you. Your almost clumsy way of movement.

"So that's the secret?" Yoongi hums as he sits down near his packmate, watching you with an unreadable expression.

Jungkook nods. "She's scared of anyone finding out." He reveals, while he watches you now nibbling on his finger instead of the toy, before you yawn.

"Why?" Yoongi wonders. "It's not like it's her fault or choice." He mumbles.

"Yeah, I know." Jungkook shrugs. "But I get it, you know? You hear horror stories about it all the time. Friends and family being weirded out and stuff." He explains, and Yoongi grows quiet.

It really is understandable.

"So that's why you sleep over so much?" He asks, and the younger wolf nods.

"She used to be triggered easily since she didn't have a person to rely on." He explains. "But when I took on that.. role, I guess, she became more stable. It doesn't happen so randomly anymore, she's got more control over it. Today was just a bad day I guess." He shrugs.

"She must be tough to handle." Yoongi mumbles.

"Not really." Jungkook denies. "She's very sweet. The beginning was hard, yeah, but mostly because I didn't know what to do. These days it's become easier." He nods to himself, though Yoongi doesn't miss the look on his friend's face.

"You love her." He states.

And Jungkook only nods.

"I do." He agrees. "It's hard not to."

Yoongi hums in agreement, and Jungkook wants to be swallowed by the ground. Now that the producer knows, he'll take over the care of you- you'll grow closer, emotionally and physically, and you'll no longer need Jungkook to care for you.

His dream is ending, and he hates it.

"She loves you too." Yoongi offers. Jungkook laughs a little.

"Situationally, yeah." He nods.

"No, in general." Yoongi argues, but he can't seem to push through the thoughts of Jungkooks mind, the wolf having already decided his stance on things. "Jungkook.."

"You'll take good care of her, right?" He asks, looking at his packmate with round eyes that try hard not to let any tears fall. "You'll make sure she doesn't have to.. feel ashamed, or bad, right?"

"I'm not taking her away from you." Yoongi shakes his head, and Jungkook nods.

"I know you're not." He says, trying hard to keep it together even as you crawl into his lap to comfort him, sensing his distress.

"She was never mine to begin with."

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You're absolutely mortified when you're informed of what happened- or rather when you connected the dots yourself, after waking from your nap with both wolves next to you in bed.

One look exchanged with Jungkook signals to him that you've pulled yourself out of your headspace- body shaking now with the overwhelming sense of shame you're feeling as Yoongi sits up now as well to look at you with a sense of worry.

"Hey, it's fine." Jungkook reassures easily. "He doesn't hate you or anything, he's cool with it."

"Oh god this is so weird.." you hide your face in your hands, embarrassed by the events unfolding like this.

"Its not. It makes sense, really." Yoongi shrugs. "So this is why you don't want to move into the pack dorm with us?" He wonders, and you nod.

"Its weird. You can say that, I know myself that it is." You sigh.

"You're not weird." Jungkook shakes his head, taking your hand to reassure you. "Promise."

"I agree. This isn't weird, it's something that happens to some." He shrugs. "I still like you." He says without thinking, as you slowly look at him.

"You.. do?" You wonder, and he nods.

"Very much." He smiles a bit awkwardly, when Jungkook let's go of your hand, clearing his throat.

"I'll.. I'll see myself out then." He mumbles, and at that your head snaps towards him.

No- he can't leave like that. Yoongi might've..somewhat confessed, but you still need him. You still want him here.

Wait.

If Yoongi likes you, and toy like him back, and that leads to you Noth becoming partners, that's great. But if that means you can't have Jungkook, you don't want it. You need jungkook.

You love jungkook, too.

"Hey, Yoongi will stay with you, you're not alone anymore-" He tries to settle your clearly bubbling panic, but its to no avail. Your head is filled with the fact that Jungkook wants to leave, and you don't want that.

You want both. Why can't they both stay?

Your cheeks are wet with tears as your puppy-mind refuses to accept the situation. You've slipped right back again, as you make jungkook hold yoongis hand, before you yourself hold onto them, stubbornly holding onto their connected hands, before you lay down on them, eyes closed and ears pinned back.

"I uh.." Jungkook stampers a big awkwardly, attempt at pulling his hand away responded to with a low growl from you, eyes glaring.

"Seems like we'll have to share." Yoongi teases surprisingly, catching the younger wolf off guard as hemeeys the older one's gaze.

"I mean- uh-" he stammers, unsure. "Is that.. will that even work out?" He worries, while you happily fall asleep hiding both their hands.

"Guess we'll have to find out." Yoongi shrugs, laying down again next to you, Jungkook slowly doing the same a few seconds later.

Looks like his dream didn't end after all-

Maybe it just begun.

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(Un)natural Instincts (Part 2)

angst, fluff, smut

Pairings: OT7 x Reader, Human CEO Reader, Human Assistant Yoongi, Wolf Hybrids Joon, Jin, Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kook.

Basic premise: You and your assistant end up rescuing six wolf hybrids. No part of the process is easy.

Part 1 > Part 2

General Warnings: Hybrid abuse and lab experimentation, hybrids as second-class citizens/owned property, future smut (Minors DNI, 18+ content)

Specific Warnings: torture collars, needles, mention of past dubcon (hybrids under influence of the synthetic hormones cannot properly consent), more inaccurate business talk,

____

It’s 7am the next day when your actual assistant shows up at your door, with your precious Americano in hand.

“I heard about the coffee mishap yesterday, so I thought I’d bring you this a little earlier than usual.”

“You are my savior.”

Yoongi laughs as you invite him in. Your assistant is one of the few people you found you could let your guard down around. He’s probably the closest thing you have to a friend.

“Is everything alright with you? You never call off work, and you didn’t reply to the message I sent.”

“Sorry, there was a lot going on. Everything’s fine now, just had a little scare with my mom’s blood pressure. She’s good though!”

“Oh thank god. Are you sure you don’t need more days off to take care of her?”

“My brother is keeping an eye on her, but I very much appreciate the sentiment.”

“Of course. Don’t hesitate to step out when you need. Or if you need help with her medical bills, I’m always here.”

“Woah woah, calm down there before I start spreading a rumor that you’re actually a nice person Y/N.”

You roll your eyes and laugh, “Don’t you dare.”

But the joking atmosphere only lasts for two seconds before your mood turns solemn.

“I’m actually so far from a nice person you wouldn’t believe it.”

And so it goes, you explaining the entire fiasco of last night. You know you deserve the judgy look he tries to hide when you get to how easily you caved in. But there’s also sympathy in his eyes, because he’s one of the few people in the world who would even try to understand where you’re coming from.

“That’s not all…they also…um…gave me one.”

He looks puzzled.

“They gave you a collar? But you don’t even have a hybrid.”

You take a deep breath before uttering the next sentence.

“They gave me a hybrid.”

“WHAT?!”

“Shhh! Keep your voice low, he’s sleeping in one of the guest rooms right now!”

He switches to a whisper yell instantaneously.

“You took a hybrid home with you? Are you insane?!”

“Maybe I am. I don’t know, I wasn’t exactly acting with a plan. I just couldn’t send him back to get tortured. You should see him Yoongi, he looks like he’s been through hell and back.”

The man’s eyes softened.

“I don’t know how you’re going to get yourself out of this mess, but I guess I’m getting dragged into it with you, aren’t I?”

“You can always quit, you know. I’d give you a cushy desk job somewhere in the company.”

“Eh I’ll wait. I’m still not fed up with you yet, even if I think you’re actually insane for this. So is the hybrid going to just lounge around here while you’re at work? Shouldn’t there be some supervision?”

You nod.

“Yeah, I notified the housekeepers already, told them I’d pay extra if they take care of him for me. His name’s Jungkook by the way. 60% human and 40% gray wolf.”

“40% is a lot.”

He’s right. The very few pet wolf hybrids in the market right now are 25% wolf, as that’s the max percentage before they get too dangerous to handle.

“Yeah, but I’m more of a threat to him than he is to me at this point.”

___

The workday is long, and you’re mentally not even there. Every five minutes, you’re thinking about Jungkook and how he’s doing. Thankfully, the housekeepers keep sending you updates to assure you he’s doing fine.

You scroll through with relief, reading what he’s up to throughout the day. Apparently, he was terrified of the shower, but had no problem drawing himself a bath. Another text let you know he loves the omelet the chef prepared for lunch. And the rest of the texts are just notifying you that he’s resting in his room at various points in the day. So far so good, thankfully.

With your mind at some ease, you can actually focus on work.

You get your hands on everything Pet Paradise can give on the Obedience Collar before officially signing a contract. There’s information that’s classified, mainly the patent for the synthetic hormones, but the books and research procedures are documented in the files in front of you. And unfortunately, they look spotless. The money is all there in a clear trail, no gaps or unusual patterns, and the research procedure follows all protocol needed. You want to just hide under your desk and avoid this entire situation.

You’re scheduled to tour the research facility tomorrow, and the last thing you want to do is see five more hybrids as scared as Jungkook—especially knowing you can’t scoop these ones up and take them home. But you’re holding out hope. There’s still a chance that something’s wrong at the facilities, something not shown on paper. At this point you’d settle for the smallest thing and find a way to blow it up so the whole operation has to be shut down. You’ve got some of the best lawyers in the country, so you might as well use them. You just need something to be wrong.

It's around 6:45pm when you arrive home, and one of the housekeepers greets you with a warm smile, immediately jumping into how well-behaved Jungkook is. It makes you wince to hear him described like that, especially knowing the amount of needles piercing his skin just to achieve the “well-behaved” status.

The staff all leave as you arrive, knowing you like them to be done by the time you're back. The chef has already left hours earlier, as he usually prepares dinner in advance and keeps it in the fridge.

Jungkook’s door is slightly ajar, and you peek in to see the boy melted into the bed. It’s weird; he looks a lot more tired than yesterday, eyes barely keeping themselves open. It’s probably the hormones, you conclude somberly.

“Jungkook, it’s time for dinner. Come on out.”

The boy takes the last bit of energy he has to trudge to the dinner table, and you put a heated up bowl of kimchi-jjigae down. You sit across and join, noticing that the stew is extra flavorful today.

“Mhmm, Chef Gyu really outdid himself with this one. And I bet the omelet was just as delicious. I was told you loved it, is that true?”

You look over expecting an answer, but what you see instead is Jungkook almost falling asleep right into the bowl before catching himself at the last minute.

Maybe the side effect of the hormones make him too sleepy to do anything?

Your thoughts are interrupted by your ringtone. It’s Chef Gyu.

“Hello Chef, I was just singing your praises for this food.”

There’s a nervous chuckle at the other end of the line.

“Thank you Y/N, glad you and your new friend liked it.”

“Is something wrong? You usually don't call this late.”

“Um, yes, actually. The reason I called is because of your hybrid.”

“What do you mean? I was told he stayed in his room for most of the day. Did he cause you any trouble?”

You look over, but Jungkook is too exhausted to register that you’re talking about him.

“No, none at all. He was extremely polite. The problem was the housekeeping staff…they didn’t do any of the work today.”

You feel a pit in your stomach, putting the pieces together.

“Did they…did they make Jungkook clean the house?”

“Yes Miss. They were watching TV for practically the whole time. I should’ve told you earlier, but I told myself it wasn’t my place. I’m deeply sorry.”

“Thank you for telling me now. I appreciate it a lot. I have to go.”

You hang up abruptly, seething the minute the phone is cut.

There’s a million different ways your mind is conjuring up of how to ruin the housekeeping agency, make them cry bankruptcy as you blacklist them from working anywhere ever again. The rage inside you is glowing red, and the only thing getting you to calm down at all is your objective of getting Jungkook back into bed before he actually does fall asleep into his dinner. You support his weight gently, grateful that he’s awake enough to zombie-walk wherever you lead him. It’s only when he’s tucked under the blankets do you let the anger stir up again.

They made him clean the entire house by himself. A house that usually takes eight people to clean, they made him do all alone so they could kick back and relax with your flatscreen TV. It astonishes you how cruel people can be, how they can look into his scared doe eyes and take advantage of him.

The world is not on Jungkook’s side right now, it seems.

___

Yesterday’s incident is fresh in your mind the next morning. Thankfully, Yoongi found a new housekeeping service at the last minute. You’re still worried that the same thing might happen again, but you can’t afford to miss work today; so, you do the best that you can and ask Chef Gyu to keep an eye on the situation while he’s cooking.

Today’s the day you need to tour the lab facilities for the Obedience Collar—a task you’d trade in to do quite literally anything else. Yoongi looks at you with concern, seeing the strain this visit is putting on you.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Isn’t the plan to go in and find something to shut the whole thing down?”

“But if I can’t shut it down? What if there’s nothing wrong there either, and I have to look into the faces of five other abused hybrids and know I’m ruining their lives? What if I just call the whole thing off? Yes Mr.Kang is going to be insufferable and yes it’s going to cause a blow to my reputation, but it can’t be worth it to go through with this. It’s just not right.”

The room is silent for a second before Yoongi speaks up.

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was trying to find a good time to tell you since yesterday, but you’ve been so stressed that I didn’t know how…”

“Spit it out Yoongi.”

“Kang got on the board of directors at Jewel Accounting.”

Your blood runs cold. Jewel Accounting is one of your key partners.

“W-what do you mean? Isn’t that a conflict of interest? How can he be on the board that has to audit his own company?”

“He’s overseeing consulting, not audits. Pet Paradise wouldn’t be his client, but I’m afraid pulling out of this deal on a whim is going to make business a lot harder for us. The only way out is finding a good legal argument against investing.”

You want to shove your head into a bucket of cement.

___

The lab is cold and sterile, with glaring fluorescent lights, medical lab equipment spread everywhere, and white-tiles lining floor to ceiling. The researchers guiding you, however, seem to be in a chipper mood, smiling as if they don’t torture hybrids on a daily basis here. First, your team is taken around to look at the facility in general. Jungkook’s adverse reaction to showers makes sense when you see the one tiny sad looking shower stall they use—a lab assistant boasts about the stall being “efficient” by fitting at least three of them in at once.

Yoongi lightly touches your shoulder at different points throughout the tour, as if to ground you. There’s no beds, just a chamber with cots on the floor, and the food packets of sludgy brown gruel are easily the least appetizing thing you’ve ever seen.

“And now we have the part you are all, no doubt, most excited for: the research subjects!”

You hold your breath, dreading what comes next.

One by one, each wolf hybrid is brought out and lined up in front of you, all with the same fear engraved in them as Jungkook. They might be the hybrids, but you’re the one with urge to claw someone’s eyes out at the moment.

“We’ve trained different ones for different purposes, just to test how well the collar can make them behave in different situations. Jungkook was given away before any specific training, but the rest are skilled in different domains. First up we have Jin, Jimin, and Taehyung.”

Three of the hybrids step forward. One is a broad-shouldered blonde, with two smaller-framed brunettes next to him.

“These three have been trained for housework and taking care of children. Now, we know the image of a wolf-hybrid putting a baby to sleep sounds ridiculous, but this technology really is that advanced.”

Someone in the back makes some joke about a wolf singing rock-a-bye baby and everyone laughs. You and Yoongi fake a laugh to keep up appearances.

“The next one is Hoseok”

He’s lean with slicked-back black hair, and you notice he’s the only one dressed up, with a low v-neck shirt that leaves plenty of his chest exposed. More than he’s comfortable with, it seems, because you notice his hands itching to cover himself up. He doesn’t though, just fidgets with the sides of the shirt instead.

“He’s a romantic companion. Trained to give pleasure to any gender and for any intimate situation. He can fulfill every fantasy your minds can conjure up!”

There’s some snickers erupting again, but neither you or your assistant can attempt to fake laugh this time. Especially not when he makes eye contact, giving you a trained flirty smile that doesn’t reach his eyes one bit.

“And the last one is Namjoon, the pack alpha.”

Namjoon steps up, the tallest of them all. He stands the straightest as well. His hair is black and his eyes are more dragon-like than wolf, looking straight ahead with a stoic expression. The only indication of his scared nature is his trembling fingers and pleading eyes, but that aside, he looks as still as a statue.

“He’s a guard hybrid, perfect to keep intruders away. He’s been trained in a mix of defensive martial arts. Plus, he’s an alpha so you’d have to be insane to try to fight him off. Fun fact, hormone packs for alphas are different—they have a higher dosage. It took some experimentation, but we finally got the levels right.

And with that, you’ve seen the whole pack! Normally, training a wolf hybrid to do any of these would take at least two years, and that’s only for the ones 25% max wolf DNA. God knows training a 40% wolf would be nearly impossible. But with the help of the Obedience Collar, not only can we train higher percentages of wolves, but we can train them in as little as three months! As Mr.Kang probably told you a thousand times already, this will really revolutionize the hybrid market!”

___

You toss your laptop bag onto the sofa right as you come in through the door, kicking your heels off and slouching into your favorite recliner. You can’t be bothered to put things up in a tidy manner at the moment, especially with how shitty you feel.

There wasn’t a single flaw you could find at the lab today. All the equipment had passed inspection checks and were state-of-the art, the researchers had proper credentials and specialized licenses in hybrid research, and every procedure conducted was documented thoroughly—you made it a point to skip over the entire section for Hoseok, wanting to stay far away from the details of what he was made to do.

You let out a frustrated groan. Forgetting you’re no longer alone in your house, hearing footsteps shuffle spooks you for a second, before you see the wolf hybrid timidly come into the living room. Thankfully, he looks well-rested today. Chef Gyu did text you a while back that the new cleaners were doing well, and Jungkook was actually resting in his room for real this time. He does a quick bow before walking over and propping your heels up correctly. His next mission seems to be to put your carelessly tossed laptop bag in its proper place.

“You don’t need to do that for me Jungkook. I can do it myself.”

“Sorry Miss.”

You hate how meek he sounds, and that he’s the one apologizing in this situation. You should be getting on your knees spilling apologies right now, for going to that lab to see his pack be flaunted off like toys. But instead, he’s looking at you as if he’s the guilty one.

“You didn’t do anything to apologize for. Thank you for tidying up, I appreciate it.” You give me a reassuring smile, but he seems more confused than anything else. He doesn’t know if that means to do it more in the future or not do it all…he wishes you could just give simple commands instead of these tests.

You sit down for dinner, but don’t know how much of an appetite you have after today.

“Do you like the fried rice?”

“Yes Miss” he says between big spoonful, and the way he talks with his cheeks full makes you melt a little.

“Call me Y/N, please.”

“Yes Miss Y/N.”

“Just Y/N is fine”

He raises a brow,

“Pets should address their owners politely, Miss Y/N.”

That sentence makes your skin crawl. The way he so casually refers to himself as a pet, and to you as an owner.

“It’s okay Jungkook, I like being called Y/N.”

“…if you say so, Y/N.”

The name alone feels so wrong on his tongue, making him worry that someone in a lab coat is about to come drag him away for extra obedience training.

“Thank you. So, what have you been doing all day?”

“I tried to help out with the housework, but the people today told me that wasn’t my job…which was really confusing because the people yesterday told me that it was my job.”

“It’s not your job.”

“What is my job Mis—I mean, Y/N? I know I don't have specialized training, but I'm a quick learner! If you could give me a list on how to be good here, I’ll do my best and follow it.”

You want to tell him he doesn’t have to worry about things like that anymore, but you’re concerned that a conversation like that will malfunction his brain. How could it not, when the hormones flowing through his body plus the brainwashing tell him that’s all he should be thinking about.

“There is one thing you could do for me”

His wolf ears perk up, eager for a command.

“It’s really hard to keep up with the latest shows with my job, but I feel left out when everyone in the office has seen something I haven’t. If I give you a list, you think you could watch them for me and give me the summaries?”

“Yes absolutely! I’ll take detailed notes and tell you everything!”

There’s genuine excitement in his eyes. Jungkook’s never had the opportunity to watch TV before, and he can’t believe his luck. He doesn’t show his joy too much though, fearing that you’ll think he’s using the assignment as an excuse to slack off. He wants to be good, wants to show you he’s well-trained.

“Perfect. You’ll be helping me out a lot.”

You have to bite your lip to keep a straight face, endeared by how hard he’s trying to hide his excitement. But the moment is short-lived, as Jungkook’s face turns sour in an instant.

“What are you thinking about?”

“My pack. They’d probably love watching TV too.”

You don’t say anything to that.

Dinner ends with an uncomfortable silence looming in the air, that is until Jungkook spills juice on himself.

“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.”

“B-but you just got me these clothes. I was being careless. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s really fine, it’s not hard to get it dry-cleaned. I’ll put the dishes up, so go in and change into something else.”

He gives you one last string of “I’m so sorry”s before heading off to his room.

Once you’ve loaded the dishwasher, you make your way upstairs to the boy’s room, seeing if he needs anything before bed. His bedroom door is open, as is the bathroom door. You follow the sounds of scrubbing before being met with his back to you, hunched over the sink, trying to get the stain out of the white t-shirt. He’s topless and you know it’s wrong to ogle at his incredibly fit physique right now, but something catches your attention right before you’re about to avert your eyes.

Blue splotches pepper his waist, almost bruise-like but not quite.

“Um, Jungkook”

The boy turns,

“What are those blue marks?”

He twists his body in front of the mirror, looking at the marks with the same amount of confusion as you.

“I have no clue.”

Was it an allergic reaction? Have your “eat up” commands been making him eat food he’s allergic to?

“Do you have any allergies?”

“I’m not sure…no one’s ever told me…but I feel fine.”

“Nothing hurts? No nausea, hives, itchy nose?”

He shakes his head.

“I’ll come home early tomorrow and schedule a visit with a hybrid doctor in the evening.”

The color in his face visibly drains.

“I’m a-alright. Really.”

No doctor please. Last thing I need is another person in a white coat messing with my body again.

Your tone softens, “Relax, the most it’ll be is an allergy test. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Jungkook’s back to shaking as much as he did on his first day.

____

A/N: Thank you for reading! Let me know if you're liking it so far!

Taglist: @welcometomyworld13 @kalala22

*If Tumblr doesn't let me tag you for some reason, I'll send you a DM instead!

seven days (prologue) | jjk

title: seven days (prologue) pairing: fuckboy!jungkook x reader(f) genre/rating: pg (18+) ; fluff ; roommates to lovers au summary: you dump yet another guy that wasn’t up to your “ten day standards,” which leaves your cocky ass, very off-limits roommate to tease your single status yet again. but the teasing is always expected. what’s not expected, is the bet that you make without thinking. the bet that even though you give ten days, he wouldn’t even last seven. warnings: cursing, chains bc it’s tradition<33, cocky!jk, flirty!jk, baddie!reader😌, jk constantly in grey sweatpants and nothing else :))), kook is a huge DORK and a PRETTY BOY and a LOSER<3, not rly but maybe, this man is persistent, bam :’)), reader has a lot going on :((  notes: so here we are with a series insp by our latest release from jk !! i am already having so so much fun with these two and cannot wait to show y’all some of the upcoming scenes in later chapters,, like i am buzzinggg with hype LOL hope you enjoy the prologue that i couldn’t stop expanding on!  drop date: july 22nd, 2023, 9:27pm est word count: 5.1k <33 taglist:sign up here(i check every entry so read the rules!)

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There’s a chance you’re about to make a mistake.

Keep reading

two for the show | jjk

pairing | jeon jungkook x f!reader

word count | 2.1k

warning(s) | 18+ smut; dirty talk, established relationship, accidental voyeurism, masturbation (solo m), panty kink, implied choking kink

summary | it’s unfair how pretty he is like this; so wanton and needy, half naked and stretched across the middle of your bed (aka the fic where you catch jk jerking off in your bed with a pair of your panties).

notes| 🙃 this man straight up made me buy a keychain that says jk’s slut. i have no regrets.

✨masterlist✨

“I’m home!”

Pausing in the doorway, you listen as the barren sounds of your apartment echo back at you; the soft gurgle of the pipes, the metallic rumble of the dryer, the fan on your fridge kicking on with a dying sputter. Everything’s as you left it, barring the notable absence of your boyfriend.

There’s no low-tonged voice ringing out to greet you, no man shaped golden retriever bouncing over to drape his arms over your shoulder and smother you in kisses.

It puts you ill at ease, a frown tugging at the corners of your mouth as you toss your keys on the side table and place your shoes next to his. Jungkook said he’d lounge around until you got back from your errands. It couldn’t have been more than an hour, and as it was his first day off in forever, he’d wanted to spend it with you.

… Only instead, he’s nowhere to be found.

The couch is empty, the tv dark. No god awful clanking or boisterous humming, so that rules out him taking a shower. Did he get called away to the studio? Though if that was the case, he’d have texted. Right? Right - he knows how you feel about him disappearing without notice. So that can’t be it - plus his footwear is still on the rack. 

 Stepping into the kitchen

“Kook,” you call, peeking into the kitchen only to find it just as empty as the rest of the apartment, “you still here?”

There’s no answer.

But what sounds like a faint curse comes from somewhere near the bedrooms, so with a shrug you follow the noise only to freeze. Your brows shoot up your forehead, and your gut clenches hotly.  A violent, visceral reaction that makes all the moisture flee your mouth.

Surely he’s not… No, there’s no way.

Except then a grunt breaks the tense quiet; smothered, breathless sounds that echo low and wounded into the hallway. If you hadn’t been standing right outside the doorway, if you hadn’t been looking for Jungkook, the distant humdrum of everyday life would’ve otherwise disguised them.

A warm hush creeps up your neck and pools in your cheeks, leaving your skin altogether uncomfortable; itchy and tight like a nasty burn. Every tentative step feels like walking on a tripwire, the slightest creak of the floorboards a gunshot. 

It’s a miracle you make it to the end of the hall, your door haphazardly cracked with slats of sunlight spilling across the floor. Seconds later, another grunt - this time louder and filthier. 

It’s impossible to resist the urge to peek around the doorjamb, to see how Jungkook’s pulling those kinds of sounds from his throat, to see what tempo he likes to stroke his cock to when he’s alone. Mouth full of cotton, your heart lurches while you try to absorb the surreal image presented with difficulty.

With how he’s planted his feet and bent his legs, it’s difficult to get an unobstructed view of what his hand’s doing between his thighs but what you can see?

Well.

“…H-Haaah…ss-shit, that’s…”

Keep reading

Jungkook

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 | Part 1

Something's not quite right anymore.

Tags/Warnings: Game Designer!Jungkook, Non Idol AU, established relationship, Angst [Tags will be different for every part!]

Length: 1k Words

There is no taglist for this fic.

Collab with @euphoricfilter ! 💜

♥━━━━━━━━━━•.♡.•━━━━━━━━━━━━♥

"I'm gonna heat up some leftovers, do you want some, kook?" You call out- but there's no answer, causing you to sigh as your shoulders slump down.

It's been going like this for a good while now- your boyfriend and young gaming enthusiast too invested in everything but you at this point, a total contrast to how he used to be. People would tease him for constantly bringing you up in every conversation left and right, but these days, both directions of his are filled with other things he seemingly deems more important than you. And it's not like you're asking for much- but he by now even forgets to say goodnight, instead focused on whatever he's doing on his laptop and pc or phone.

You're not sure what happened. It's like you've gone back to being just roommates and nothing more than that.

You still plate up a portion of the leftovers for him, despite no reaction coming from the game designer in the other room- just like you always do. It's like you're just a maid, cleaning after him and feeding him every day, and it's frustrating. It reminds you of what you swore yourself you'd never be- you don't want to be tied down to a guy like that, who's just gonna become lazy and won't appreciate you being there for him. That's not the life you want to live.

And yet, you also love him, and you know he's not usually like this. So what changed?

You walk into his room where his equipment is all set up, knocking on the doorway to try and get his attention. He hums a reply, leans over a bit- but he doesn't ever move his eyes away from the screen, blue-light filtering glasses on the bridge of his nose reflecting what he sees. "...warmed up some food." You mumble, as you set the plate and cutlery down on his table- exchanging it for the dirty dishes from this morning. He's working from home these days, and that hurts- because you've been taking time off for once to spend it with him, just to end up taking on another job it feels like.

Full time maid. Huh.

"Thanks." He mumbles, and you just take the other dishes with a sigh, moving to leave- when he whines, and leans over, one of his hands leaving the keyboard to tap his cheek- and you can't help yourself but lean in to kiss it, thinking it might be a sign that he's coming out of his odd hibernation. But he just smiles for a moment before he grows focused again, shutting you out once more as you leave the room to go back into the kitchen to wash the dishes in the sink.

Moments like these are the worst.

It's like he keeps luring you back in with the tiniest of things to keep you hooked, keep you hoping that things might just be getting better- and then they won't, but you've got your fix so you feel at least somewhat satiated. And another part that's been severely lacking, is intimacy.

If he ever actually graces you with any kind of attention in bed, it's usually when you're both about to go to sleep. It's sloppy, tired, exhaustion clear in him even though some might argue that he's just sitting in front of a screen all day. But you know he's not- he's working hard, and it's his dream job, too, so of course he's putting in extra effort to make it count and make sure his work can't ever be replaced. And if it was just that- determination towards his own career- you wouldn't be this upset. But he's got time.

Clearly. He goes out with his friends here and there, but he never has time for you. Like he chooses to ignore you.

It's also odd that he suddenly has such a huge workload on himself, when before, he's not even been working this hard if he had to crunch towards a deadline. No, these days it appears as if he's working all the time- and it's caused even a moment that left him more than embarrassed, body so worn out and under the pressure of whatever stress he's going through, that he just.. couldn't get it up.

Maybe that's it?

No, it really can't be. You're made sure he knew that you didn't mind it, that you understood and that you'd probably even forget it soon anyways. And that night, he still slept close to you, didn't seem too upset about it anymore as he held you like always, snoring away until the alarm clock woke both of you back up at five AM sharp.

This is stupid. What's really going on?

It's late when he finally emerges from his office, entering the bedroom where you're already under the covers, and from the way he's still dressed, it's clear that he isn't coming to bed any time soon. "Kook, no.." You whine, reaching out for him as he opens the dresser to take a fresh shirt out. "You've been working all day!" You complain, but he just sighs, as he changes shirts, turning around after he's finished throwing the black fabric over his upper body. He crawls onto the bed close to you, pecks your lips- and you hate it.

Because the way you does it feels like an apology for what's to come.

"I know, but I already told the boys I'd be out.." He hums against your lips, and you're really trying hard to keep him, hands on his cheek moving to snake around his neck. "I won't be back too late." He promises, but you just pout at him, making him attempt to kiss it away. And for a moment, you feel like you might have a chance-

But then he chuckles and parts from you, leaning back.

"Now go to bed baby." He smiles, getting up to walk towards the bedroom door. "I'll be quiet when I come back, yeah?" He asks, and you just turn around to hide under the covers, huffing a somewhat answer out.

Unaware that deep down, it really pains him to treat you this way. But it'll be worth it.

He'll make sure of it.

After the Applause (Ch. 4)

Header and linebreaks by @awrkives

Single Dad Jimin x Female OC

SUMMARY: Jimin doesn't know how he would have made it this far after the shattering of his world without the support of his thoughtful, generous, helpful neighbor. Hanbyul has lived next to hottie Jimin and his adorable daughter for years now, long enough to remember the wife he was so devoted to and lost far too young. With each safely ensconced on their side of the brick wall of the Parks' grief, it will take an enterprising little scientist to set the stage for a second chance at love.

CW: grief, prior loss of spouse/parent, comfort, explicit sex, secondhand embarrassment

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Hanbyul sulked on the foot of her bed, feet underneath her pillow and a blanket cocooned around her body as she clicked through suggestions on her dating app. She narrowed her eyes unhappily at each of the three profiles the app recommended for her today. She didn’t like any of them. Well, she might have liked them at another time, she wasn’t really giving them a fair shake, but right now she had really just hoped that looking through them would cause Namjoon’s ears to burn and he’d finally respond to her last message.

Well actually, her last four messages…

She groaned and buried her face in the crook of her arm. Her sister had already poured salt on her wound of humiliation at having sent Namjoon four messages without any response. It was mortifying. She felt like an idiot, only overshadowed by the misery of oh my god he’s ghosting me he’s done with me. Their last date, date number three, had gone really well, she thought! But that was a week ago and there’d been no response since. 

Holding her phone had the added benefit of ensuring she would see the second he messaged if he did. Not that she was hoping he would, obviously! This was the 21st century and a girl did not let a guy just disappear on her and then forgive it when he suddenly messaged her again! Unless there was a good reason. Maybe he had a good reason. Maybe he was in the hospital, or his mom was, and then she would totally forgive him. She was a very understanding person!

But what if he was playing hard to get? She hated that it might be working, even if she didn’t want to admit it. She’d liked him on their dates but would not have expected to feel his silence so loudly until confronted with it. Was this what they meant about absence making the heart grow fonder? Was the injustice of him ignoring her actually making her feel more strongly about their connection, one he could so easily and carelessly sever?

In the meantime as she did-but-didn’t wait for him to message her back, Hanbyul perused the dating apps again in an effort to reassure herself that even if Namjoon was tired of her, there were more frogs in the pond. She preferred that phrasing to there are more fish in the sea since, like her neighbor, she had an aversion to seafood. 

It wasn’t weird to know that about your neighbor, right? She cooked for them sometimes! Not that she went out of her way to cater to his preferences but if she just happened to be making something she thought he’d like, she would share it, and it was convenient that their opinions on seafood aligned. 

She sighed at her own lack of interest in the app’s recommendations and decided to plunge into a free-browse. The concept of finding someone to date based on a few photos and answers to mundane questions seemed impossible, but she supposed that’s how it always started. If you really got to know people first, that would limit her dating pool to…

Well, to a very small rain puddle.

Speaking of very small worlds, her eyebrows raised in surprise when a person familiar in name only showed at the top of her browsing when sorting by distance: Jeon Jungkook. 

Curiosity got the better of her and she opened his profile. Just to put a face to the name! Now she recognized him as a person she had seen entering or leaving the building opposite her a few times. His photos were mostly selfies, either at the gym or with dogs, except for one of him with Taehyung, Jimin, and another man who seemed vaguely familiar.  

She’d just started to read his profile –out of curiosity, nothing else!-- when a new message alert popped onto her screen.

[Jeon Jungkook]: hey

[Jeon Jungkook]: neighbor Ko Hanbyul!

Hanbyul let out a startled gasp and dropped her phone and looked around, expecting he could somehow see her right now. Did the app know when you were on someone’s profile page?! She’d certainly never gotten any alerts that someone was checking her out. Oh god did that mean no one ever checked her out?!

[Ko Hanbyul]: Hello family friend Jeon Jungkook

[Jeon Jungkook]: youve heard of me 😎 

[Jeon Jungkook]: how are you doing this cold night? Winter or spring right now what is it

Hanbyul sat up and leaned against the wall. It felt weird to be talking to Jimin’s friend. Very weird. And he seemed so immediately comfortable with her, which she didn’t understand considering they’d never even met in person. He must be a naturally charming person. She envied that about him. Were all of Jimin’s friends charming just like he was? God, she really could never belong there. Would Jimin think she was trying to force her way in if he knew she was talking to Jungkook?! 

But they were just talking! It wasn’t like they were going on a date. She wasn’t going to go on a date with one of Jimin’s closest friends! It felt rude not to answer him though when he was being friendly, and he was a friend of a friend. Friend of a neighbor.

[Ko Hanbyul]: it’s early spring and I like the cold. You?

[Jeon Jungkook]: yeah I like winter best but I dont think this is spring there are more than four seasons

[Jeon Jungkook]: our schools lie to make it easy to learn but dont you think there are more seasons in a year? 

Hanbyul’s mouth twisted into a grin. Ok, he was an interesting guy. 

[Ko Hanbyul]: what are the other seasons?

[Jeon Jungkook]: hm

[Jeon Jungkook]: rainy season, allergy season, mosquito season, sweatshirt season, the busy season

[Ko Hanbyul]: busy season for what?

[Jeon Jungkook]: everyone has a busy season everyone always says that

[Jeon Jungkook]: right? Its our busy season. 

[Jeon Jungkook]: unless your Jiminie

[Jeon Jungkook]: then busy season is every month before a show right? Kekeke

The mention of Jimin flustered Hanbyul, gave her that twinge like she was betraying Jimin somehow because probably Jungkook was flirting with her. That’s why he’d messaged, right? Was she flirting back? She genuinely didn’t know. He was awfully handsome, maybe it was too much to think he was flirting with her.

But at the same time, Jimin wasn’t interested in her at all, so what was she being faithful to? A crush? And anyway, it was just a conversation!

[Ko Hanbyul]: when is your busy season?

There, impeccable flirting. Smooth as dirt.

[Jeon Jungkook]: nah not me i do screenprinting i work for a clothing company so its always busy

[Ko Hanbyul]: oh! That’s interesting!

[Jeon Jungkook]: its not but ok kekeke thanks 😉

[Jeon Jungkook]: do you have a favorite t shirt? 

It was such an off-the-wall question, though she supposed relevant to his career. Conversation with him flowed easily like that, bouncing from one topic to another. Sometimes he’d go quiet for a bit but then he’d be back with some other new topic just as Hanbyul started to set the phone down. Almost an hour passed in this way before he surprised her further.

[Jeon Jungkook]: yeah, you seem cool

[Ko Hanbyul]: Thank you, you too! Jimin was right to say that about you

The second she sent it, she cringed. Referring to Jimin so familiarly! And after talking to his friend on a dating app for an hour! It was a faux pas in every direction and all she could do was cover her face as Jungkook responded.

[Jeon Jungkook]: he said good things about me huh? Tell me every single one

But Hanbyu was cringing too hard, and worried now that this might be leading to Jungkook asking her out. Did she want to go on a date with Jungkook?! Ah, maybe he was only being polite because she was the neighbor of his friend but their conversation had seemed pretty flirty! He was charming and handsome. He wasn’t Jimin, but Jimin didn’t want her and Namjoon didn’t want her so maybe…. But what if she just was always longing for Jimin? That would be a terrible thing to do to Jungkook!

[Ko Hanbyul]: Sounds like you and Park Jimin need a heart to heart

[Jeon Jungkook]: after this convo i think your right

What did that mean?! Hanbyul tried to think of something to say back, but Hudu was at the front door, jingling the bells that he wanted to go out. 

“Use the potty mat!” she called, but Hudu hated the potty mat and honestly she hated it too. Plus she could use some air. There was nothing for it but to slip her phone in her pocket, bundle her and the pup up, and head out.

They weren’t alone in the hall though. At almost the same time she opened her door, the Park door opened down the hall, and out stepped the very man she was messaging, Sun-young bundled up beside him.

For a moment they just froze and looked at each other with surprise, until Sun-young shouted a greeting and Hudu started to do a dance that had Hanbyul worried he was going to pee in the hallway with excitement at seeing Sun-young.

“I’m taking my dog out,” she explained, no other greeting preceding it as she started quickly down the hall.

Jungkook snickered and motioned, “Yeah, me too. I mean, my niece.”

“What? I’m not a dog! And I don’t need to pee outside,” Sun-young said with a dramatic eyeroll. “Hi, unnie. We’re going to get churros.”

“Oooh.”

She pushed the elevator button and bit back the endeared smile. Churros. That was pretty cute.

“So you’re…” She stopped herself before saying babysitting, knowing Sun-young would hate that.

“Yeah, uh, I’m hanging out with Sunbun tonight.”

“We’re watching Sailor Moon from the very beginning,” Sun-young told her. “Do you like that show? Did you have it when you were a little girl or are you too old?”

“Hey! I’m not that old,” Hanbyul cried and playfully scowled at her. 

“I know, you’re younger than Appa.”

“She’s my age,” Jungkook answered and for a moment Hanbyul forgot it said her birth year on her profile. She hadn’t remembered his year, although she did remember he was born in September. “So, did you watch Sailor Moon growing up?”

“Yes…” Hanbyul answered. They all stepped into the open elevator together and Hudu sniffed around Jungkook’s feet as Sun-young stooped to scratch his head.

Jungkook grinned and demanded, “Why are you answering like it’s a trap?”

“Oh, I didn’t admit it before, but one of my favorite t-shirts when I was younger was a Sailor Moon shirt, actually.” It was the truth, but it made him laugh so hard she thought he must not believe her. She laughed too because he had a very infectious laugh.  

“Do you still have it?”

“It would be too small now!”

“Eh, small shirts can look good,” he shrugged. She didn’t miss the way he cocked his head or pressed his tongue between his lips. Did he mean in general, or on her specifically?! That had to be flirting…

Sun-young suddenly stood up in between them, her eyes narrowed and sliding back and forth from Hanbyul to Jungkook in such a suspicious way that Hanbyul took a step closer to the wall. She felt caught, like she’d truly been doing something wrong and now Sun-young was witnessing it. She braced herself for whatever was going to come out of the girl’s mouth as she put her hands on her hips.

“Hey. Do you know each other? I thought you said you didn’t know who Uncle Tae and Uncle Jungkook are…”

“Yeah, we know each other,” Jungkook answered first, in a way that sounded so much guiltier. The way he said it sounded like it meant way more than we just started talking on a dating app an hour ago. Oh god and they’d been talking the whole hour… but it was just friendly! Platonic! Right?!

Sun-young turned to Jungkook and demanded, “Aren’t you dating that lady at the cafe?!”

The elevator doors opened and Hanbyul leapt out, but Hudu suddenly wanted to take his time and stick by Sun-young’s side. Even pulled on the leash to stay put!

Jungkook’s laugh echoed around the apartment lobby as he insisted, “What do you know about that? I’m not dating her. I mean, I went on a date with her but… ah, you’ll understand when you’re older.”

“You never say that to me,” Sun-young frowned.

“Sorry but this one time I’m going to say it. I don’t have to tell you every woman I talk to or date!”

“But now you’re dating…” Sun-young turned her narrowed eyes towards Hanbyul, whose face could not have felt more on fire. This was as bad as when Sun-young asked her why she didn’t just date Jimin. No, worse, because there was a witness to the mortification!  

“A man and a woman can talk,” Jungkook insisted. “It doesn’t mean they’re dating.”

“And they can date… but it doesn’t mean they’re dating either?” Sun-young tried to puzzle out. 

“No no, there’s a difference between talking and going on a date and dating and… hey, why don’t you talk to your dad about this kind of thing?”

“About if you’re dating unnie?”

“Aish,” Jungkook hissed through his teeth and gave Hanbyul a charming, amused grin. “You run, I’m going to distract her with churros. Can’t ask questions if your mouth is full of churro!”

Hanbyul desperately wanted to know what was going to be explained here but also desperately didn’t want any part of it. They were just talking! It felt like a betrayal of Jimin and yet what was there to betray? Jimin didn’t want her! Besides, Jungkook had just said they were just talking…. But he’d said it to a nine-year-old, maybe he was just being vague… Or maybe he didn’t want to date, there were other things a man and woman could do. Like talking sure, or… Jungkook was a handsome man! No Jimin, but then, who was? Maybe he wasn’t the sort to date, just to sleep around. Hanbyul had never really done the sleeping around thing but she could really use some sex. Sex would be a positive addition to her life. She couldn’t find her vibrator lately; maybe it was under the bed but she was scared to look and hadn’t bought a new one yet…

Sun-young’s little face turned up and Hanbyul just barely heard her say, “I don’t think you should talk to Unnie so much.”

Oh geez, what was Jungkook going to say to that?! But Hudu chose that moment to give in to her tug towards the door; he took off as if he suddenly remembered his bladder, and she sure didn’t want to clean up a puddle in the lobby, so off they ran. And so she would never know what else Jungkook said.

She was too embarrassed to say anything to Jungkook on the messenger app for the rest of the night. Embarrassed and unsure what to say if Jungkook did ask her out on a date or invite her over for sex. Although she did check later that night, just to make sure he hadn’t messaged her either…

Wha, what was she thinking?! Men did not just invite Hanbyul over for sex! Definitely not men like Jungkook, or Jimin, or Taehyung for that matter… Or Namjoon…

“Hudu, we’re going to die alone together, I hope that’s ok with you,” she sighed, and decided to take the long way around the park. 

The seats were pretty high up but the best he’d been able to afford. Still more than he had planned to spend right now, nowhere close to Sunnie’s birthday, but when he’d heard from Hoseok, who’d heard from this dancer who knew that dancer who was one of the principals, that Mango Crush was about to announce an unexpected concert for reasons Jimin didn’t remember or care about, he’d already decided to by the tickets before Sun-young even came running from school screaming about it. He’d been prepared for her cries of disbelief when he’d agreed that yes, they could go. He’d been prepared for her surprise when he rattled off the exact time they would go on sale that night and showed her his alarm so he wouldn’t miss it.

He had not been prepared for her to beg, “Can Hanbyul-unnie go with us? Please?!”

He’d tried to keep his face neutral at the instant hurt. Of course his daughter would rather go see a girl-group with a female friend. Hanbyul was a fan, she knew the lyrics and everything. Part of loving his daughter was letting her grow and replace him and he wasn’t going to cry about it until he was alone in his room later maybe.

“Oh, you’d rather go with Hanbyul?” he’d asked carefully to give himself a moment to think.

“Yes, all three of us!”

He’d been so relieved that Sun-young still wanted him along that he’d bought three tickets without further argument, without even talking to Hanbyul about it first. Then he’d worried about how awkward it would be to ask his neighbor if she’d like to go to a kpop concert with him and his daughter, but Sun-young had run ahead and by the time he’d joined them at Hanbyul’s door, she’d already graciously accepted the invitation. She begged Jimin to let him pay for her own ticket, which he had refused, because for a moment he felt so cool in front of his daughter.

“I know the seats aren’t very good,” Jimin apologized to Hanbyul over Sun-young’s head as she searched for the power button on the flashy Mango stick. Hanbyul had brought one for each of them

Hanbyul actually laughed, “They’re fine! Haven’t you been to a concert recently? The music reaches you anywhere and we can see the stage straight ahead. You did great!”

Jimin flushed at the unexpected praise, then chalked her kind words up to excitement. He had half expected Hanbyul only came along to be a good sport for Sun-young, which in and of itself would have meant so much to him. But she leaned in close to show Sun-young where the switch was, and turned her own on, and the two of them shouted and cheered as they waved them in the air along with everyone else. But he didn’t think either that she’d only come for personal enjoyment of the concert, either, because every step of the way so far, her attention had been focused so joyfully and sincerely on Sun-young. It was like she really wanted to be here with them. It made JImin feel really good about all this.  

“It’s my first concert ever!” Sun-young squealed.

“What?! Then I’m even more glad I brought the Mango Sticks!” Hanbyul cheered. “I’ll buy you a t-shirt too, ok? I still have the t-shirt from my first concert! I was about your age too. My friend’s mom took us.”

“Who was it?” Jimin immediately demanded. He knew so little about Hanbyul’s childhood, or her private life, or really anything at all. What kind of girl had she been? He found himself wanting to know.

“Baby V.O.X.”

“Ah, I know them!”

“Personally?!”

“No no, I know of them, I remember them,” he admitted. “I thought you would name some super secret cool band I’ve never heard of, but they were popular.”

Hanbyul gave him an indecipherable look and laughed, “Do I seem like I’m into anything secret and cool? I like popular things just like anyone else.”

“Well I don’t know many famous people,” he shared his own confession.

“I think of you as knowing everyone.”

“No no, why would I know famous people?” He thought it was ridiculous. Yes, he knew some famous dancers, but Hanbyul wouldn’t know who any of those people were. “Well, I’ve done choreography for some idol groups but not the big ones, they tend to have their own choreographers.”

“That’s really cool though! We should go to a concert for one of those groups,” she suggested, eyes sparkling.

“I don’t know them well enough to get tickets!”

“It’s ok, I’ll buy the tickets next time.”

“Yay, more concerts!” Sun-young cheered, then grabbed Jimin’s arm as the lights flickered. “IT’S STARTING!”

Jimin took her hand and she didn’t even pull it away, just raised his hand and her Mango Stick in the other to join the shouts as Mango Crush took the stage.

“Can you name them yet?” Hanbyul asked, leaning close and repeating it when Jimin couldn’t hear. She had to get close to his ear, her warm breath tickling the side of his neck.

“Yes,” he scoffed and rattled them off because obviously he had done some quick studying so he wouldn’t sound like a total idiot to Sun-young. Hanbyul stared at his lips, as if really closely testing his accuracy.

“Now which is which?” she shouted, gesturing towards the stage where little ants in sparkly costumes danced around. The massive screens behind the stage showed them closer and it was Eujin… or maybe Hana… Adda? No, that one was Violet…

Ok, they weren’t that far away, the venue wasn’t that big for such a quickly pulled together concert. He could easily see all nine of them. But still. Their hair colors were all different than the pictures he’d seen so he was toast.

“Shit, she changed her hair,” he said, overly loud, and Hanbyul laughed. It was the music that made Jimin smile so big. Live music was infectious! Even if you were a little tired of the songs because you’d been listening to them nonstop for the past week to try and learn the lyrics before the concert with your daughter.

Hanbyul’s attention shifted to Sun-young as Jimin’s daughter dropped his hand to take hers, and they sang the words together, loud and adorably off-key but swallowed in the mass of voices around the venue. He couldn't remember the lyrics at all in the moment.

It was the third song before they performed one Jimin knew well enough to shout along to. Sun-young’s eyes got so big and she laughed with her whole body and grabbed his hand again and waved her Mango Stick thing and Jimin knew every minute of listening to their music and every won spent on the tickets had been worth it. 

He shared a smile with Hanbyul over Sun-young’s head, and then Hanbyul covered her face shyly. He worried she thought he was laughing at how much she enjoyed the concert but no, it made him very happy that she did! He didn’t see how to explain that in a shout over the noise though so he just turned back to the music and only watched her out of the corner of his eye as she and Sun-young sang their hearts out.

We’ve only got one life  So let’s live it loud  Take up the space we were meant for Hands up, sing it proud: This world is ours!

*********

The show ended later than Jimin had expected, but Sun-young complained about being hungry on the way home so they stopped at Yoongi’s noodle place because it was open, close to home, and cheap. He insisted on paying for Hanbyul’s noodles too, after she had insisted on buying so much merch for Sun-young. All the rules were out the window tonight, so he might as well let Sun-young sit up until midnight to eat noodles in her Mango Crush shirt with her Mango Crush headband.

The shop was mostly empty this time fo night, so once their food was ready, Yoongi came to visit. Sun-young was so excited telling him about the show that her noodles got cold; no matter how many times Jimin encouraged her to eat, she could barely get a bite in before she needed to tell Yoongi something, or ask Hanbyul if she remembered this, or insist Jimin tell him her favorite outfit or whatever. 

Only after she finally stopped to catch her breath did Yoongi say, “Nice to meet you, by the way. I think you’re Ko Hanbyul?”

With a gasp, Jimin realized he’d missed the introduction and apologized, “Yes, yes, Ko Hanbyul, and this is my friend Min Yoongi. I forgot you haven’t met my friends.”

“I’m meeting them more lately, it seems,” she said, which felt cryptic somehow. Did she just mean because she’d spent that afternoon over with Taehyung and now met Yoongi? That didn’t seem remarkable… “It’s nice to meet you,” she continued on. “And great to meet the owner of this place, I get noodles here all the time.”

“Thank you for keeping us in business.”

Yoongi seemed to be pointedly ignoring Jimin’s look because why had Yoongi said her name first?! Why hadn’t he just asked who she was? He realized now it would make it seem like he had talked about her, which he had but not in a nefarious way!

“Yoongi and I go way back,” Jimin explained to keep Hanbyul from feeling uncomfortable. “I helped him meet his wife! She’s an incredibly talented ballet dancer–”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“I hosted the party where you met.”

“So when you come here on a date, I’ll take the credit?”

Jimin flinched. It wasn’t all right to make that kind of a joke in front of Sun-young –or Hanbyul for that matter!

Trying to salvage it, he insisted, “Why would I bring someone here on a date? You think I can’t take someone somewhere nicer?”

“Well now you’re just insulting me,” Yoongi laughed. “What’s wrong with here for a date?”

“I think it’s nice here,” Hanbyul readily agreed. And now Jimin felt like an asshole.

“I just meant for a first date, you take someone to a really nice place! This is where I bring someone when– no, why are we talking about this?” he broke off, realizing this was a completely inappropriate conversation to have in front of his daughter. He broke out into a cold sweat and insisted, “I’m not dating anyone, Sunnie, don’t worry.”

“We already knew unnie before we brought her here,” Sun-young informed Yoongi. 

“Oh, is this a date?” Yoongi asked, with a particular sparkle lighting up in his eyes that made Jimin want to strangle him in cold blood.

“No,” “No,” Jimin and Hanbyul said at the same time Sun-young said, “Yes.”

“What do you think a date is?” Jimin asked, realizing there must be a misunderstanding here. 

“I know what a date is,” she smiled and instead of saying anything further, asked, “Appa, what was your first concert?”

Yoongi snickered at the way Jimin flustered and reeled, trying to catch up, not sure what to correct or explain. He glanced at Hanbyul in the hopes she would say something elegant but she just shoved a mouthful of noodles in, and then caught his eye and it was obvious she didn’t want to answer. He wasn’t sure which of them started laughing first but when she choked on her noodles he reached out to pound on her back.

“I’ll leave you to it. Mochi is on me when you’re done,” Yoongi offered and disappeared like a disruptive shadow.

Sunnie was waiting for an answer though, like she couldn’t even hear her dad and neighbor laughing, and repeated, “Who was your first concert, Appa? How old were you?”

“Uh… ok, you’re all right now? Hm, I think it was Super Junior. I was older… fifteen? Sixteen? I saw dance troops before that but I think that was my first concert.”

“Oh! Is that why the blonde hair?” Hanbyul asked. Then grimaced and explained, “I mean… they had blonde hair, didn’t they?”

“Are you asking if I dye my hair to look like a member of a k-pop group I saw twenty years ago?”

“Um…” Hanbyul’s eyes look very wide.

“No!” he laughed. “This is my natural color!”

“He’s lying! He dyes it every six weeks but he won’t let me dye my hair,” Sun-young tattled, as if Hanbyul might not know he was in fact not a natural blonde. 

“Your hair is perfect, I don’t want you to bake it.”

“What color do you want it to be?” Hanbyul asked her.

“Hm… white.”

“White!” Jimin repeated.

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Not all white. Some black and some white.”

“Like a zebra?” Jimin screwed his face up.

“It’s cool, Appa.”

“I’m out of style on what’s cool,” he confessed to Hanbyul. As soon as he said it, he knew it would annoy Sun-young. “I just decide what I want to do for my style and do it.”

“That’s cool too,” Hanbyul assured him. 

Sun-young beamed, “When I get older I’ll dye my hair, ok?”

“Ok, maybe,” he conceded. “I just don’t want you to burn it and then it all falls out.”

“Your hair isn’t falling out.”

“Eh…” he grimaced.

“I think it’s ok if we’re bald together,” Sun-young decided. “If we at least had fun getting there.” Jimin’s heart thumped and he didn’t know what to say. Was he a sap that hearing his daughter say that melted him into silence in an instant?

“That’s quite profound,” Hanbyul said with a warm smile that made him feel like she understood too. She didn’t think he was a sap for being affected by that.

“What does profound mean?”

“Very wise. But if you want white stripes, maybe you can do tie-ins first and it won’t damage your hair?”

Sun-young grinned, “I think you are very profound too, unnie. Right, Appa?”

“Sure, sure. Except when she’s accusing me of trying to look like an idol from twenty years ago…”

“Is that bad?” Hanbyul asked and looked sincerely concerned.

He tried to look upset but couldn’t maintain it for long and admitted, “No, actually I think it’s flattering… but I don’t think I can admit my style is twenty years out of date!”

“No, you have a really good style! Contemporary!”

“It’s ok,” Sun-young conceded. Jimin couldn’t thank her, he laughed so hard at her slight compliment. She must have meant it to be funny though because she giggled too, and Hanbyul laughed and–

And it was just very easy. It was just a very easy, good night, one of the best ones Jimin could remember having in a fucking long time. He didn’t know what to do with that, how much joy he felt just sitting in a noodle shop late at night with his daughter and his neighbor. Was it just post-concert fumes? But he thought it was more than that, and he didn’t know how to hold onto that feeling, but he wanted to.

The feel-good glow of the concert lasted less than a week. Tuesday Sun-young complained of a headache to get out of solo practice with Hoseok but then didn’t have too much of a headache to sneak the house phone into her room to call Ginam. Wednesday Sun-young had a poor attitude at her ballet class; Jimin could see it in the way Young-geul carefully chose her words in describing Sunnie’s progress in the ensemble choreography for the recital. Jimin expected she’d perk up for hip hop rehearsal on Thursday, seeing as she’d begged so hard for that class in the first place.

Instead he had to go into the school again to fetch her when she didn’t come out. At least she wasn’t off in a hidden science room melting lab tables or anything; he found her walking at an actual glacier’s pace through the school hallway. As slowly and meticulously placing one foot in front of the other as if this were a choreographed routine –except it wasn’t. She had a class to get to!

“What are you doing!?” he cried. “Let’s go!”

“I am going.”

“Like a snail,” he scolded and reached for her arm. She pulled away and gave him a scathing glare. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s your hiphop class!”

“I know.”

“So let’s go, we don’t want to be late.”

“I do…” she mumbled.

“Park Sun-young. To disrespect your teacher and the other dancers in the class– you wouldn’t do that. What’s gotten into you this week? Didn’t we have a fun weekend?”

“Yes,” she pouted. “But it doesn’t mean I want to go to dance class. I’d rather…”

“Rather what?” he asked when she just trailed off. Not that it mattered. He got behind her and nudged her along and she at least took slightly bigger, quicker steps. Not that her answer mattered. Yeah, sometimes he felt like doing something besides dancing too, but discipline was an important lesson! “You become a better dancer by putting in the effort even on days you don’t feel like it,” he said, pretty sure a teacher had said that to him when he was younger as well. Although not at her age. He wished he had been dancing at her age, but he hadn’t gathered the money, freetime, and bravery needed to give dance a try until middle school, and then a day in which he didn’t want to dance was rare. He knew what a blessing it was to be excused from the family rice cake shop to go dance. 

“I’d rather be sleeping I guess,” she grumbled. “I’m tired. I don’t feel good. I can walk home by myself and you can go to your class.”

“Absolutely not.”

“But Appa…”

He pressed his hand to her perfectly normal looking and feeling face, then the back of her neck, then reached for her wrist to feel her pulse. Not that he could really read a pulse, but it succeeded in calling her bluff.

“Appa, stoooop.”

“You’re fine. Now let’s go.”

“I can walk home with Boyeon–”

“Everyone’s already gone! The school is empty and we’re going to be late!”

“No, Boyeon is still in the science lab, I can go–”

Science. Science.

“Walk. Now.” Jimin’s voice had an edge to it, one which Sun-young rarely heard and took seriously when she did. Her head drooped but she moved her feet finally and the two of them hauled ass through the city to get to the dance studio. 

As they got closer to the studio though, Sun-young began to bounce and shuffle, clearly nervous.

“What is it now, Sunnie?” he sighed, at least trying to sound gentler. “Do you need to go potty?”

“Appa! I’m nine, I don’t say potty. And no!”

“Then what’s the problem?” he asked. He held the door for her to slide past him into the building, but there she stopped even though her class was up on the next floor.

“I… I forgot my dance stuff.”

“You’re holding your dance bag,” he said, eyes narrowed suspiciously. His tongue poked the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snapping out anything else; he was baffled why she would lie about something so obviously untrue.

She nodded and didn’t meet his eyes, “I know but um… it’s my ballet stuff. I forgot my hiphop clothes.”

“Well you can just dance in…” But she wore her school uniform and slightly heeled loafers, not at all appropriate for a hiphop dance class. Besides, he didn’t believe her, her dance bag was right there on her shoulder and he’d never heard of her separating out her gear before. “What are you talking about? Your dance bag– oof, why is it so heavy?” he demanded as he slipped it off her shoulder. 

“It’s nothing– Appa, don’t! Appa!”

He ignored her protest and grabby hands as he let the bag thunk to the ground and crouched to unzip. 

Her smaller ballet bag was in there, sure enough, shoes and all, but instead of her dance shoes and gym clothes for hiphop class, five books took up the space instead. He only saw titles for two (Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil Degrasse Tyson and a book about tornadoes eloquently titled TORNADOS!) before admitting,

“I’m confused. Why do you have so many books in your dance bag instead of–”

“They were due at the library today and I forgot to turn them in.”

“Well what’s in your backpack then?” he asked. Before guessing, “More books? You forgot to return all these books– then get another bag! Why didn’t you bring your dance stuff? You know you have hiphop today!”

“I know! But I thought– I hoped maybe– I don’t know!” she cried and looked as if she might be on the verge of really crying.

Jimin breathed out through his nose, brain scrambling to figure out what to do. Late library books (and there seemed to be a lot) were going to have fines he didn’t want to pay. Sure it was only a small fine per book, but it was the principle of the matter. Sun-young shouldn’t be late returning books! And she shouldn’t be late to dance class, or showing up without her things! He knew for a fact they didn’t have a spare pair of shoes in her size and he didn’t want her dancing in the studio without shoes; the last thing she needed right now was a broken toenail or bruised ankle. He didn’t understand how she’d made such a mess of something so easy and routine.

“Ok,” he decided. “You go get started with warmups. I’m going to run home and get your dance shoes and bring them here, then I’ll take these books back to the school library for you. I can do all that before my class– Sunnie, why didn’t you just say about the books while we were still in your school?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t want you to know I have them…”

“They’re books, not cocaine.”

“They’re science books, it might as well be the same thing to you!” she defended hotly.

Jimin fought hard not to roll his eyes. She was being ridiculous! Just because he didn’t want her throwing away her dance career at the fresh age of nine didn’t mean she was banned from consuming science! In fact, reading science books was perfect, because she could do that around her dance classes!

“Just go warm up,” he sighed. “Tell them I’ll be back with your stuff as quick as I can.” It would be faster if he took a cab but it was such a waste of money for such a ridiculous mistake.

Sun-young scurried away and Jimin scurried the opposite direction, her backpack and useless dance bag both strapped to him so he could jog. 

He was winded and sweaty by the time he got back to their apartment, and in no mood for the way Sun-young had tossed her shoes and typical dance clothes in the corner, wadded up. This wasn’t how he’d raised her at all! He shoved them into the bag with an angry huff –and only now realized that since he had to go all the way back to the studio to give them to her, he should have just left the books there instead of lugging them all the way home. Fuck! Her scrambled brain was making his brain scrambled too!

He gave himself a minute only to grab a drink from the kitchen and catch his breath. Then, in leaving the apartment, had the idea that maybe he could ask Hanbyul to drop off the books. Fuck, except it was only 4pm and she didn’t get home until after 5. 

And yet in passing her door, he could have sworn he heard voices right beside it. In a moment of weakness, he paused and leaned in close. It wasn’t possible to hear what was being said, but he definitely picked up a low voice, laced through with her softer, lighter one. 

Why was Hanbyul home early, and with a man? Not that it was any of Jimin’s business or anything but… what if she’d gotten sick or something? Or maybe something in her apartment had broken and it was a contractor? That made him nervous; not all contractors could be trusted and it might be obvious that she lived there alone. And if something had broken, she could have mentioned it to him for help; she’d admitted before she hated calling about broken things, but he didn’t mind it at all.

“Focus, Park Jimin,” he muttered to himself as Sunnie’s book bag– no, dance bag!-- dug into his shoulder. It didn’t matter who was in her apartment with her, he couldn’t just run to Hanbyul to help with things that weren’t her problem. He was the dad here, he needed to clean up his daughter’s mess and get to the bottom of all of this. He turned from her door and stretched his calves in the elevator to prepare for the jog back to the studio. At this rate he was going to be danced out before his class even began.

*******

At least Sun-young wasn’t giving him the silent treatment this time, but the forced small talk was awkward. They ate their late dinner in silence and then she went off to do homework while he dealt with bills at the dining room table. Expensive, expensive, everything here was so expensive on only one income. Not for the first time he thought about how much easier some things would be if he took Sun-young to live closer to his parents, or even with his parents. They’d kept him on the right track for his childhood! Clearly he was fucking something up with Sunnie and she wasn’t even a teenager yet!

He waited until she was asleep later that night to call –double checking to make sure she was really asleep and wouldn’t overhear him calling his mom to tell her about things lately. Perhaps against his better judgment, he told her about the forged permission slip, and the forgotten dance clothing, and the books, and the attitude about dance class. But he needed to talk to someone about it, and none of his close friends had raised children or could really understand, even if they meant well. 

She listened to it all with far more of a sense of humor than he cared for. Apparently she found it amusing that Sun-young was giving him a run like this.

“She’s a bright girl,” his Eomma mused, voice full of pride instead of worry or warning. “Stubborn, like her appa.”

“But I was stubborn about the things that were good for me,” he argued. “Once I could dance, I never took it for granted.”

Eomma chuckled, “Yes, yes, stubborn about the thing you cared about. Was it the right thing? It turns out, it was for you, I think. It’s hard to know.”

“But in this case, I do know. Sunnie is talented at dance. She’s worked hard to be good at dance, she loves it there, it’s her home. I mean, she was practically born and raised in that studio!”

“Yes, how brave to take a step away from it, hm?”

Jimin scowled and warned, “It sounds like you are saying I should just let her quit dance. Throw away all her hard work. Do you know how many times people tell me that they wish their parents had made them stick with something because later they have nothing?”

“I’m not telling you to do anything. Do I think she should dance? Yes, of course, she’s a beautiful dancer. Ah, Jimin my son, you are as stubborn as your daughter, do you know?”

“I’m protective, Eomma. I’m trying to do the best for her.”

“Do you know, I wanted you to be a lawyer! Or a doctor. You were smart, so very smart, Class President. Nobody else in our family was class president, did you know that?”

“I did know that,” he mumbled. He also remembered her expressing those wishes for him. His father had expressed them longer than she had though; once he started to dance, she’d given it up, and he’d learned to live with that tickle of fear that he’d disappointed his parents in such a fundamental way that he would never do anything right by them again. For all he knew, that was still true. He lived far away, did not make a lot of money, had a beautiful daughter they didn’t get to see enough, and he’d lost his wife. 

“But you knew dance was the right thing for you, oh you said that to us so many times, with your heart and soul and your sparkling eyes, even though you worked so hard in the shop too. You were so certain and I saw with my own certainty that if we did not bend, our relationship would break.”

“Eomma…”

“Do you know how many women I know whose sons, daughters, they don’t talk anymore? They hate their Eommas and Appas. You said it’s because they let them quit. I say it’s because sometimes they didn’t let them quit, or try something else. How do we tell what the right thing is to do as parents? We’re all trying our best.”

“Yes,” Jimin could at least agree with that.

“You are always so certain about the things you believe in,” Eomma continued. “Your conviction is so strong! You wanted to dance, you wanted to live in Seoul, you wanted to run a studio with your friends. But a daughter is not like those things. You can’t choose much of anything for her, even if sometimes it hurts so deeply, knowing you can’t make everything right for your child. Especially when it hurts them.” Jimin swallowed and leaned away from the emotion in her voice. He knew when she was talking about his loss, and as much as he appreciated that she was sad for him about it, he couldn’t give into grief right now.

Instead he focused on his surprise that she wasn’t backing him up, and pressed, “Aren’t you going to say to me that children should respect their parents? Parents shouldn’t just give in to every whim of their child –that’s always what you and Appa say! You say I spoil her too much with–”

“Bending is not the same as bowing! Bending is difficult for you, Jimin. I understand. Maybe it’s even harder now, since…” She didn’t have to say it. Since Subin died. “As a parent you realize how little you actually control and it makes you want to do more. But parents who do not bend, they will lose their children or make them miserable. Which is worse?”

“So you’re saying I should just let her quit.”

“I don’t say this or that. I’m just saying things, don’t listen to me. Can’t she do both? I don’t know, wouldn’t it be nice to have a doctor or an engineer in the family?”

Jimin managed to suppress his sigh. He loved his eomma dearly and her advice was both helpful and not at the same time, but he appreciated it. There was wisdom behind it, even if he didn’t want her pressing Sun-young to be a doctor anymore than–

Ugh. But what if he was doing the same thing with dance?

But Sun-young had always loved danced! From infancy! She’d always said she wanted to be a dancer, and if she quit now, it might be impossible for her to catch up later in any meaningful way!

Jimin was exhausted from the day, and didn’t find the peace he had hoped for in talking with Eomma. There was nothing more he could do about it today though.

This would all be easier if Subin was here. Subin would be able to understand what Sun-young was going through. Maybe it wasn’t even the science thing! Maybe she had other little girl things going on she didn’t want to talk to her dumb old dad about and there was nothing he could do and even if he let her quit every dance class and just live in a science lab, she’d still hate him. Even going to see Mango Crush hadn’t bought him more than a few days of good will.

He got a beer from the fridge but didn’t feel like drinking it alone. But it was sort of late, and he didn’t feel like getting embroiled in any of the dating drama Taehyung or Jungkook would throw his way, and Yoongi was working, and Hoseok was absolutely asleep, and his acquaintances after that weren’t ones he was going to call to come over for a beer at 10 o’clock. Besides, he didn’t really feel like seeing any of them right now, he wanted to just be alone. But not alone with himself.

Briefly he thought about Hanbyul. Maybe more than briefly. Her presence would be welcome. Nothing about her was ever intrusive or abrasive. She always struck just the right balance between listening to him vent and distracting him from pointless thoughts. Fuck, did he vent too much to her? Definitely. He shouldn’t bother her right now.

He went to her door anyway. He knocked and waited. Hudu started barking right away, oops, and then she took an unusually long time to come to the door so that he worried she’d already gone to bed. When she opened it, she had a robe pulled around her body and squinted like she had been asleep, but her makeup was still on.

“Jimin? Is something wrong?”

“Um…” He trailed off when Hudu only looked up at him, then went running off somewhere further into the apartment. And in the distance, a masculine voice said something lowly.

“Nope. Sorry, I was just going to invite you over for a beer but–” It seems you have company?! “--looks like you already went to bed. I’m so sorry for waking you–”

“No, it’s fine. It’s ok. There’s nothing wrong?”

“Nope, absolutely nothing wrong. Just… nothing at all,” he grinned, pouring every ounce of charm he could into distracting her from his own incredibly awkward feelings. Holy shit, Hanbyul had a man in her apartment and they were– obviously they were– was it the same man who had been there six hours ago?!

“Goodnight,” he said and practically ran down the hall. Damn, he was tired of running today.

*******

“Everything all right?” Namjoon asked as Hanbyul returned to the bedroom. She tossed Hudu a dental chew on the way to apologize for banishing him from the bedroom earlier, but there were some things her favorite little pup was not invited for. Not to the fancy dinner Namjoon had taken her to at a place with live music, not to the swank bar afterwards, and definitely not to her own bed, where Namjoon had so suavely removed every item of her clothing for the kind of sex Hanbyul thought was fake.

Wow.

Yeah, it turned out he’d had a good excuse. His mother was in the hospital, doing fine now, but he’d been a little distracted. He was very close with his parents and had gone right to her side.

Charming.

He sat on the edge of her bed now, chest and arms so deliciously bare in the low lights she’d left on, though he’d regrettably pulled his boxers and slacks back on. Hanbyul decided her legs couldn’t hold her much longer and she sat beside him, still a little knobby-kneed from earlier.

“Yes,” she said belatedly. “Everything’s fine, yeah. Just a neighbor asking about– it’s not important.” Talking about Jimin to Namjoon threatened to shake loose the careful coolness she’d managed to maintain throughout this unbelievable evening. She’d done such a good job of staying focused on this man and she didn’t want to ruin it now, just because seeing JImin at her door had first terrified her that something was wrong with Sun-young, and then terrified her that he would be able to tell she’d just had sex. Which felt like something he shouldn’t know. Even though it shouldn’t matter because it’s not like they were a couple or anything! But it felt unfaithful, after that fun time with the concert last weekend… but it wasn’t unfaithful! That was just a fun social event with her neighbor and his daughter. She was not dating Jimin, even if she wished she was. Oh god, but that was unfaithful to Namjoon!

Namjoon let out a deep, satisfied-sounding sigh and leaned in to kiss her before admitting, “I should get going. Early morning tomorrow.”

“Me too.”

“Thanks for inviting me in. I had a great time today.”

“Me too.”

She walked him to the door where he kissed her again and she had that feeling of disbelief that this man had wanted four dates with her now, and that she’d found him so quickly. He had to have a flaw, certainly, but she hadn’t found it yet, except maybe his taste in women… OK, that was too mean to herself. But she focused on the kiss, and enjoyed the kiss, then scooped Hudu up so he wouldn’t run out. He wasn’t totally enamored with Namjoon yet, but they didn’t not get along and Namjoon clearly wanted Hudu’s affection, so that wasn’t a dealbreaker.

He opened the door and stepped out then turned to her and laughed, “You know, it’s such a small world. My buddy lives right down the hall from you.”

Hanbyul froze except for the clench of her very sore abdominal muscles.

“Um… what’s your buddy’s name?”

“Park Jimin. Have you met him?”

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