Chapter Text
"To your six o'clock, pretty boy. They're staring again."
Jungkook smiled embarrassed and ducked his head, pretending to check something on his sport shoes while waiting for the flush on his face to go away. Trying to be subtle, he tipped his head a little to the side, catching the sight of a group of young girls huddled together on the bleachers through the corner of his eye, looking in their general direction. Immediately, there was a wave of giggling and they drew closer together, and Jungkook whipped his head around, blood rushing up his neck.
Jimin grinned at him and nudged Jungkook's foot with the tip of his shoe. "Come on, go and talk to them."
An incredulous puff of air slipped from Jungkook's lips and he nervously looked over his shoulder. "Talk to them? I can't do that."
"Sure you can," Jimin laughed. "Just walk up to them and strike up a conversation."
Jungkook frowned and looked at his teammate, doubtful. "And talk about what, hyung? I can't just go there and say..." he paused, his brain coming up empty. "Like, what would I even say?"
Jimin chuckled and looked behind Jungkook at the girls that came to see them train, though Jungkook didn't dare to look again. "Say, hey, girls, I'm Jeon Jungkook, star player of the university's soccer team, you might've heard of me. Let me give you an autograph, sweetheart, it'll be worth millions one day," he mocked in a ridiculously low voice, squaring his arms far around his torso. "Done. You're married by the end of the year."
Jungkook dramatically rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out. "Hyung, be serious. This is important."
"Just go and talk to them, Jungkook-ah. It'll come naturally," Jimin laughed, playfully shoving him. "They're already clearly interested, so you don't have to be afraid of a rejection. Come on, you'll never get a girlfriend like this. You need to actually talk to girls."
It was so typical of Jimin, he just didn't understand. Jimin was older and so much cooler, and he already had a girlfriend of almost one year. Meanwhile, Jungkook grew up a bit on the chubbier, awkward side, and only once he finished his military service did girls start paying attention to him, after he lost some weight and got lean, but by that time he didn't get any less awkward and he didn't know what to do with all this sudden attention.
"I think... I'll go after practice. I don't want the guys to look at me when I'm making a fool of myself," Jungkook mumbled, lazily running in place for a couple of seconds to warm up his ankles.
"You will not make a fool of yourself," Jimin stressed with a roll of his eyes, halfheartedly stretching his arms over his head. "Just go now before Coach comes back. You greet them, introduce yourself to not seem cocky, and you exchange a couple flirty glances, okay?" he instructed like a teacher, emphasizing every point with a clap of his hands. "Mention something about going out for coffee and ask for her number before you leave. Keep it short and simple if you're nervous. It's not that hard."
"Okay, alright," Jungkook nodded, taking a deep breath for courage and shaking the nerves out of his body. His heart instantly started beating faster when he stiffly turned around, shoulders tense and raised up to his ears. It was such a shame his body couldn't understand the difference between asking a cute girl out and getting attacked by lions. He barely took a step forward when his footing stuttered and he turned around with panicked eyes, making Jimin raise an eyebrow at him. "Wait, who am I supposed to ask out again?"
Jimin threw him an amused grin. "Well, well, well. Jungkook, I didn't chuck you off as the player type. You don't even know which girl you want to flirt with?"
"Hyung, come on," Jungkook whined, his face flushing red for being caught. He was so desperate to have a girlfriend, any girlfriend, he really didn't care about such details.
Jimin shook his head with a chuckle and took a second to look over the girls again, his eyes scanning for the perfect match. "Jia," he decided, seemingly on a whim, then he pretended to tie his shoelaces to not stare at them. "I get the feeling that the rest are here just to hype her up, and she didn't take her eyes off you for one second. She's the one in the red top," he added with a sly grin when Jungkook opened his mouth to ask.
"I knew that," Jungkook scoffed, though he really didn't. His legs turned into jelly when he looked at the bleachers again, his cheeks feeling on fire. Before he could even take a step in their direction, Jungkook threw Jimin one final unsure look, lips parted to ask something.
Jimin very obnoxiously rolled his eyes, arms folded over his chest. "Jia," he said slowly, enunciating every letter like it was a complicated word.
"That's not what I was gonna ask," Jungkook snapped in embarrassment, though he didn't ask anything else. "Alright, I'm doing this. Wish me luck."
"Good luck."
It was silent for a second and Jungkook didn't move an inch, like he grew roots next to Jimin, where it was safe.
"Just go!" Jimin laughed, pushing Jungkook from behind to literally get him to move.
"I'm going, I'm going," Jungkook grumbled, his feet barely taking him anywhere as he started shuffling away.
"Remember, worst she can say is no," Jimin called from behind.
"Sounds pretty bad to me," he mumbled under his breath, a bead of nervous sweat breaking on his forehead when the girls started whispering between each other when they realized Jungkook was coming their way. Jungkook forced a smile that felt awkward and unnatural even without seeing it, and his legs barely took him there without tripping. "Hi."
The girls giggled, making his pulse race, and then a girl in the middle of the group waved a hand around to get everyone to stop, pushing her long black hair back and straightening her slender shoulders. She was wearing a tight red top and she was very pretty, and Jungkook couldn't remember her name for the life of him. "Hi, Jungkook," she said, her voice sounding smooth and calm.
Jungkook blinked, thrown off balance, and he didn't know if he was supposed to introduce himself anymore or not. "Hi... I'm Jungkook," he decided, fighting everything in himself not to cringe when they giggled again. Talking with girls had always felt so hard and anxiety inducing for him, and he was already starting to regret ever coming over.
"I know," the girl in the red top chuckled, looking at him from head to toes before adding, "I'm Jia."
"Oh," Jungkook said dumbly, stuttering for a couple of seconds trying to explain that he did, in fact, know her name beforehand, but he gave up pretty quickly after he didn't manage to get even one whole word out properly. A shadow of confusion flashed over Jia's face and Jungkook lowered his eyes, anxiously chewing on his bottom lip while staring at the ground, thinking that he fucked it all up.
Through the corner of his eye, Jungkook caught one of the girls elbowing Jia and another whispering something, then Jia leaned forward and smiled at him prettily. "We've come here to watch you play. I've heard that you're really fast on the field," she said to spare him.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm the fastest. I always finish first... when we're racing..." Jungkook trailed off, unsure if he was making an innuendo, and he awkwardly lowered his eyes again.
It sounded so much easier when Jimin was telling him what to do, but this was so painful. Part of him wished he had a mini Jimin on his shoulder, telling him how to flirt with girls, because this life was not for him.
Jungkook's brain was struggling to remember what Jimin told him to say, and eventually he looked up with a defeated smile. When their eyes met, Jia gave him an awkward smile, clearly getting uncomfortable as well. "Uhm, Jia, would you like to get coffee sometime?"
Jia's whole face lit up and her smile turned genuine, and her hand immediately started scrambling for something in her bag. "Yes, I'd love to! Let me give you my number."
"Okay," Jungkook said with a sheepish grin, and involuntarily he sighed out in relief. His eyes briefly met with one of Jia's friends, who gave him an encouraging nod, looking at him a bit amused.
"I'm actually so glad you asked me out," Jia said as she was getting up from her seat and walking down to Jungkook to give him her phone. "I've had a bit of a crush on you for quite some time now," she confessed with a nervous chuckle.
"What, really? Yeah, me—me too." Jungkook's fingers were literally trembling as he took Jia's phone to type his number in, feeling like he was going to faint because this was actually happening. He looked over his shoulder, finding Jimin looking at him curiously, and when Jungkook gave him an excited smile Jimin grinned widely and gave him two big thumbs up.
"Yeah," Jia laughed, her eyes sparkling as she twirled a strand of hair between one finger. "You're exactly my type, I don't like it when guys are too muscular."
Jungkook's fingers froze over the screen of her phone, his brain short circuiting for a moment. Like in slow motion, he saw the girl he made eye contact with earlier wincing at the back of Jia's head, like even she knew how out of pocket that was, and when she noticed Jungkook was looking at her she smiled widely, asking him with her eyes to just skip over that. Somehow, this felt worse than a simple no.
"Um, Jungkook?" Jia asked, looking at him cluelessly.
Everybody was staring at him and his number was only halfway typed in, and when he looked to the side, Jimin was still grinning at him encouragingly. Suddenly, Jungkook wanted to book it to Jimin and hide, he wanted Jimin to ask him tips on how to reach his protein goal and the correct way to lift weights so that he feels big and muscular again.
"So, uhm, I'm free this Saturday..." Jia offered awkwardly to fill in the silence, making Jungkook snap out of it.
"Actually, can you—can you wait a second?" Jungkook said slowly, skittishly giving Jia her phone back without looking at her and already turning around to leave.
Jia was taken aback, but she took her phone with his incomplete number in, looking at him with wide eyes. "Uh... Sure..."
Jungkook walked back with a fast stiff walk, wincing when Jimin threw him a confused look.
"What happened?" Jimin asked when he got close enough.
Without answering, Jungkook stepped into Jimin's personal space, only now daring to look back. Jia and her friends were whispering together and glancing at him in confusion. Jungkook quickly turned his back to them and made eye contact with Jimin for only a second before dropping to the ground and wordlessly starting to do push-ups.
"What are you doing?" Jimin laughed, wrapping a hand around Jungkook's shoulder to get him to stop. Jungkook stubbornly shook his head and shrugged his shoulder free, satisfied that he was still stronger than Jimin, at least. "Okay, you gotta tell me what happened. Did you get her number?"
"No," Jungkook mumbled with a shake of his head, still doing push-ups.
"Well, why the hell not?"
Jungkook huffed and pushed himself up on his knees, looking at his friend with tight lips and a frown. A part of him was feeling like this was all Jimin's fault. Jimin looked right back at him, equally confused and amused. "She said I'm too skinny," he said salty, getting back to his push-ups.
Jimin looked taken aback, glancing between Jungkook and the bleachers. "She did not say that," he laughed incredulously.
"Well, she said something like that," Jungkook huffed, starting to get out of breath.
"Alright, stop with the push-ups," Jimin snapped, grabbing Jungkook by both shoulders and dragging him up.
"Shit," Jungkook cursed when Jimin managed to get him up on his feet, looking at the bleachers with panic in his eyes. It was only because his arms were getting tired from the push-ups, but he doubted the girls would realize that or care. "Hyung, stop it," he whined petulantly.
"What exactly did she say?" Jimin asked seriously, looking at Jungkook with crossed arms.
Jungkook scoffed and mimicked Jimin's stance. "She said I have no muscles."
"Alright, that's cute. Now, what did she actually say?"
Jungkook sighed deeply and slumped his shoulders, like this was physically hurting him, and he actually needed a second to think about it. "She said... she said I'm not too muscular, but that it's okay, because that's what she's into."
Jimin twisted his mouth to the side as he thought about it, then he chuckled and shook his head, looking at Jungkook amused. "Alright, that was a backhanded compliment, but—"
"That's not a compliment!" Jungkook snapped in an overly whiney voice, grabbing Jimin's arm and bringing it closer to his, comparing biceps. "That's not something nice to say, a compliment is meant to be nice. You just don't say that to a guy."
"Listen, if your biceps are bigger than mine, then that's no big achievement," Jimin chuckled, just letting Jungkook grab him and turn him around as he measured themselves.
"It's still something," Jungkook hummed, satisfied to see he was bigger than Jimin everywhere, until his eyes traveled downwards and horror flashed over his face. "Fuck."
Jimin frowned at him confused and looked down as well. "What?"
"Your thighs." Hooking one hand behind Jimin's thigh and hiking his leg up, Jungkook pressed it to the outside of his own thigh. Jimin made a sound of surprise and stumbled forward, both hands clumsily grabbing Jungkook's biceps to stabilize himself and not fall over. "Fuck, your thighs are bigger than mine," he whined, despair quickly taking over him.
"Jungkook, stop," Jimin laughed, trying to get his leg back, but Jungkook's grip was tight and keeping him in place. "My thighs are not bigger than yours, calm down."
"They are, though. Look." Jungkook pushed his leg further in between Jimin's, keeping their thighs flushed to make his point. Jungkook's thigh was lean and tight, veins popping out underneath his golden skin from how hard he was flexing his muscles, while Jimin's thigh was soft and relaxed. Even without flexing, Jimin's thigh was still bigger, and squeezing it Jungkook knew it was all just lean muscles. "Fuck, I have skinny legs. I've skipped leg day at the gym."
"You do not have skinny legs," Jimin said with a bored roll of his eyes, trying to take a step back. "Jungkook, come on, we're almost rubbing dicks together," he said flatly when he couldn't get away.
Jungkook's eyes flew wide open and he stumbled backwards, only now realizing how close together their crotches were. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to—Sorry—"
"Don't sweat about it," Jimin brushed it off, looking at him with an easy smile. "Look, you're buff enough, don't lose sleep over this. She probably didn't mean anything bad by it, just wanted to flirt with you and didn't realize how it came off."
Jungkook looked at the older doubtfully. "Still, she said I don't have any muscles," he groaned dramatically, throwing his head back.
Jimin laughed and patted his arm for encouragement. "Come on, you'll live through this. Did you two set up a date or not?"
"Not," Jungkook murmured bitterly, finding the bleachers empty when he looked over again. "Do you think I should find her after practice and talk to her again?"
Jimin looked him up and down with an amused face, barely controlling himself from laughing. "Do you even wanna talk to her?"
Jungkook didn't even need to think about it. "No."
Jimin laughed and shook his head. "Alright, then don't, you're not obligated to." Relief flooded Jungkook and he almost doubled over at the good news, making Jimin laugh. "How are you gonna get yourself a girlfriend if this is how you talk to girls?"
"It's so hard, hyung," Jungkook whined, flinging his arms around. "My brain goes completely empty and my heart beats like crazy, and I can't get any words out. I feel like it shouldn't be this hard."
There was a sudden spike of life in their soccer team's warm up and when Jungkook glanced over the field he spotted their coach coming back from his break, sending them reprimanding glares. Jimin let out a pained whimper and waved Jungkook to follow him, and together they started in a slow jog, slowly merging in with everyone taking a lap around the field. "It's more difficult at the beginning until you get used to flirting with girls, then you won't even think about it," Jimin said.
Jungkook pouted, not really happy to hear that. "And how long until I stop feeling like I'll puke from nerves?"
Jimin gave him a sideways glance, his smile full of pity. "You'll be fine, you just need to practice some more. Can't just run away from the girl every time you get nervous, though. What will you do when you'll be in your first relationship and a problem comes up? You'll just run away again?"
One of Jungkook's eyebrows quirked up and he looked at Jimin like the answer was obvious.
Shaking his head with a chuckle, Jimin patted Jungkook's shoulder. "Can't do that, you have to fight for what you love."
"But I didn't even know the girl," he pouted.
"Fair, but think about this like practicing for when you do have a relationship—you'll have to persevere and work through the problem together with your girlfriend."
Just thinking about it felt exhausting and Jungkook's shoulders drew downwards, sighing deeply. "Hyung, how do you do it? This is so hard, but you made it look so easy."
"Every relationship has its problems, Jungkook-ah," Jimin said softly, in a voice that made it sound like there was a lot he could go into. Jungkook looked over at him curiously, finding Jimin staring at the ground with a distant look in his eyes as he ran. It made Jungkook want to reach out and check that everything was alright, but in a second that look was gone and Jimin went back to normal, giving Jungkook his signature smile. "Anyway, you're a good kid, Jungkook. You'll find someone that will make it feel easy. But you'll need to be careful, walking around with your heart on your sleeve like that."
Jungkook frowned at his feet hitting the ground, not really knowing what that was supposed to mean.
"You know what that means?" Jimin chuckled, his running slowing down.
"Of course," Jungkook scoffed, trying his best to stay in the same rhythm as Jimin and not leave him alone at the back of the line. When Jungkook looked to the side, he found Jimin looking at him, full of doubt. Jungkook sighed, defeated. "No."
Jimin smiled at him fondly. "It means that you're very open, you let everyone see your feelings and emotions without hiding yourself."
Jungkook nodded, frowning as he thought about it. "And that's bad."
"It's not bad," Jimin said softly, a bit out of breath. "Sometimes, I feel like people should be more like you, actually. But you definitely need to be careful so that people don't take advantage of your kindness."
"Alright," Jungkook nodded, absorbing everything like a sponge. At the beginning of the school year, Jungkook signed up for the university's soccer team, and that's when he met Jimin. The two of them hit it off right away, with Jimin always doting on Jungkook for being the youngest on the team, and Jungkook felt so good and useful to help Jimin improve his performance, which was exactly why Jungkook listened to whatever Jimin was telling him like it was his new religion. "I'll just ask you for advice, to make sure that doesn't happen."
Jimin chuckled and looked at him fondly. "Sure, you can ask me anything."
A loud whistle rang in the air and the whole team shared a low groan. When Jungkook looked over, he found their coach frowning at him and Jimin specifically.
"Let's keep it moving, ladies!" the man yelled from where he was sitting in the middle of the field, arms crossed as he watched them run. "Jeon, to the front of the line. Park, I wanna see you move your butt."
"Asshole," Jimin cursed under his breath, quiet enough so that the coach couldn't hear it, because he was getting tired of doing extra runs for his potty mouth. He dramatically rolled his eyes to make Jungkook chuckle, then he tipped his chin to the front of the line. "Go. I don't want you getting into trouble because of me."
"Okay, hyung."
Obediently, Jungkook started jogging faster, barely even trying as he passed teammate after teammate. Halfway through the crowd of men he looked back, finding Jimin at the far end, his face pink and chest moving fast as he struggled to keep up with everyone. His face was showing that he'd rather be anywhere else, scowling like it was the worst thing that could've happened to him to be forced to run. Involuntarily, Jungkook's eyes slipped to Jimin's legs and a frown formed over his forehead. He just couldn't understand how Jimin's thighs could be bigger than his, and it was bothering him.
In a couple of seconds he reached the front of the line, coming shoulder to shoulder with Kim Namjoon, who had been steadily leading the group. Namjoon looked to the side to see who the newcomer was, grinning when he recognized Jungkook.
"Jungkook, are you feeling up for a little race?" Namjoon asked.
A grin spread over Jungkook's lips and competitive adrenaline started rushing through him. "Try not to trip, hyung."
"You brat," Namjoon laughed, trying to grab Jungkook by the back of his shirt, but Jungkook was already running away, fast.
A carefree laugh flew from Jungkook's chest and he bit down on his bottom lip as he concentrated on running as fast as he could, the wind whipping at his face. From his side, Namjoon was coming in fast, making him grunt for a sort of mental boost. Somehow, they both telepathically knew the finish line was the end of the bleachers row. The rest of the guys were quickly left behind, and soon the sprint was getting too much for a simple warm up jog. Jungkook saw Namjoon's hand before he felt it playfully pushing him away, and he laughed breathlessly as he started shoving Namjoon as well.
"You're cheating!"
"You started it!"
They ran so fast that they actually reached the back of the line and Jimin was now running in front of them. He was jogging at a leisurely pace, and for some reason Jungkook's eyes got stuck on Jimin's legs again, how long, yet muscular they looked. Smooth skin, lithe lines of muscles, white socks cutting right at the middle of his calves to make them look even bigger, his black shorts riding up his thighs, how the material seemed to stretch over his hips.
Hearing their footsteps approaching, Jimin looked over his shoulder with a confused frown, panic washing over him when he realized how close to him they got. "What the fuck," he squealed, picking up speed.
"Jimin hyung, get out of the way!" Panic filled Jungkook when he realized he was about to trample Jimin if he didn't stop, but his legs had a mind of their own, and he also absolutely didn't want Namjoon to win.
"I can't!" Jimin cried, desperately trying to run away from them, but in his panic he didn't think to go to the side.
"Fuck," Jungkook grunted, and just a second later he crashed into Jimin, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.
"Haha, loser!" Namjoon laughed before sprinting away, throwing his arms up in the air while passing the invisible finish line, like he just finished a marathon.
There was a pained groan from underneath him and when Jungkook looked down he found Jimin twisting his face in discomfort. "Are you okay, hyung?" he asked, glad to see he had enough reflexes to slip his hand underneath Jimin's head before the fall.
"Yeah," Jimin sighed, patting Jungkook's shoulder to make him get off of him.
Jungkook got up and reached his arm out to hoist Jimin up. "Are you sure? Nothing hurts?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
It didn't sound too convincing and Jungkook's eyes caught the way Jimin rubbed his hip. "I should take you to the nurse."
"Are you guys okay?" Namjoon asked, jogging back to them. The rest of the team ran towards them from the opposite direction as they finished the run, carefully avoiding them.
"We're fine," Jimin said before trying to push Jungkook away. "And you were worried you're not big enough. Take it from me, you've got enough fucking muscles on you to feel like you weigh a ton."
Jungkook was torn between feeling proud and guilty hearing that. "Sorry, I was going so fast that I couldn't stop. You sure you're okay?"
"Boys!" the coach called, walking up to them with a disapproving scowl. "Namjoon, go and chaperone the team as they pass the ball."
"Yes, Coach," Namjoon said, quickly walking away. As the team's captain, Namjoon was the only one who had the privilege of being addressed by his name by their coach.
"Jeon, you go, too."
"But Jimin hurt himself," Jungkook protested, immediately getting an I'm fine hiss from his side. "I'll take him to the nurse."
The coach gave Jimin a disinterested look. "Just suck it up, Park. And finish the track."
"Yes, Coach," Jimin said, sending Jungkook a meaningful glance before turning around and resuming his jogging.
There was a slight limp to Jimin's right side, or at least Jungkook thought so as he watched him leave, but he couldn't tell for sure because the coach snapped his fingers before Jungkook's face to get his attention.
"Off you go now. No more funny business."
"Yes, Coach."
Jungkook turned around with a sigh to find Namjoon grinning at him from a distance, playing with the ball around a cone, swiftly moving without knocking it over.
"I won," he said proudly.
Jungkook scoffed and signalled for the other man to pass him the ball. "Yeah, only by sheer luck."
Namjoon sent the ball his way, shaking his head like he was disappointed. "Such a sore loser. And you even had a head start."
"What head start!" Jungkook laughed, kicking the ball back just a bit harder than he needed to. "You're lucky I stumbled into Jimin, I would've smoked you otherwise."
A bit of the humor left Namjoon's face and he started lazily juggling the ball as he looked over at Jimin, who was still not done running. "Jimin okay?"
"Yeah," Jungkook sighed, following Jimin with his eyes as well. "I don't know, I still think the nurse should check him, but the coach said he needs to suck it up."
"Yeah, that's Coach's solution to everything."
Jungkook nodded, giving Namjoon a slow once over as he did a trick. "Hyung, how many grams of protein do you get in a day?"
Namjoon looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a second, then he pushed the sleeve of his shirt up and flexed his right arm to show off. "About 150. Even on my cheat days."
"Even on your cheat day," Jungkook hummed thoughtfully. Cheat days for him have always been about consuming as much sugar and carbs as he missed the whole week. Maybe that was where he went wrong.
"Here," Namjoon said, passing Jungkook the ball. "You're coming over to Hoseok's after this, right?"
"Yup," Jungkook said, popping the p. "But I can't stay long, I have a shift tomorrow morning."
Namjoon shrugged. "It's gonna be something chill, anyway. I just wanna have a beer before Coach decides to kill us when the season starts again."
Right on cue, the coach used his whistle to get everyone's attention, and Namjoon subtly groaned as they approached him, dragging their feet. The guys formed a circle around the man, and in front of Jungkook was Jimin, who stuck his tongue out in exertion like he was about to pass out behind the coach's back, to make Jungkook laugh.
"Alright, ladies," the coach said, propping a blue folder on his hip as he gave them a scrutinizing look. "You know the drill by now. I don't want to be the bad guy, but there has to be someone to push you to do better. The season will start soon, and while there is still plenty of time to train, I don't want you to be fooled and not take this seriously. I don't want to see anyone skipping practice or slacking, understood?"
"Yes, Coach," they all said at the same time.
"Good. This is important, especially for those of you who want to make a career out of this. Now, we will have one game in about two months and have to travel to Daegu—"
"Strongest city ever!"
There was a shared laughter around the group and even the coach sent Taehyung an amused look. "You better hope that's not true, or else we're gonna get our asses kicked."
"Not with two Daegu dragons on our team," Taehyung announced confidently with a wide grin, hooking an arm around Yoongi's neck, who rolled his eyes in boredom and didn't make any attempt to push him away.
"That's the spirit. I want to see everyone making progress until then. Including the bench players."
It must've sucked to be called out like that, and Jimin and Yoongi exchanged a look, sharing each other's misery. The two of them were the only ones that were sitting on the bench whenever they had a game as the substitutes, so the comment was pretty targeted. Jungkook sent Jimin a compassionate smile that went unnoticed by the older man, and Jungkook promised himself that he'll help Jimin improve even more for this season.
"Alright," the coach said with a loud clap, his trademark to send them off, "I wanna see everyone giving their best today. Let's start."
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It was almost like Coach wasn't realizing they were just a bunch of college kids, playing for the university's team, and not Korea's official soccer team. He kept them an extra thirty minutes and went extra hard on them, and by the time they were let go everybody was heaving and their legs were shaking from the effort. Jungkook thought Coach might've just fixed his skinny legs problem, because his thighs were burning.
"Ahhh, look!" Hoseok cried, grabbing Jungkook's wrist while they were going to the changing room and lifting his leg up as high as he could. His thigh was twitching and spasming in a way that made Jungkook's skin crawl. "What the fuck is that?"
"It's torture, that's what that is," Taehyung croaked, crawling more than walking. "Whoever egged Coach's car, step up. I just wanna talk."
"I also wanna have a word with the idiot that made Coach mad," Namjoon gasped from far down the hallway, hand over his chest.
"This life is not for me, man," Hoseok cried, throwing an arm around Taehyung's shoulders to get carried away. "I'm doing a literature degree, I started playing just because I was sitting on my ass all day and going to the gym alone sucked ass."
Jungkook limped between the guys until he reached Jimin, bumping their shoulders together to get his attention. "How are you holding up, hyung?"
Despite his face being filled with misery, Jimin mustered up a weak smile when he looked at Jungkook. "I'm all good, Jungkook-ah, just tired. How are your skinny legs?"
"They're not that skinny," Jungkook said, frowning down at his pulsing thighs.
"I'm just teasing you," Jimin chuckled, ruffling his hair in a brotherly way.
One by one, they entered the team's changing room, groaning and sighing in relief as they sat down and started taking their sweaty clothes off. Jungkook took a seat on a random bench and kicked his shoes off, his eyes immediately catching the movement when Jimin took his jersey off right beside him.
"Hyung," he hissed, his hand reaching out to brush over Jimin's hip with worried eyes. "Shit, this looks really bad."
With the shirt only halfway raised and still covering his face, Jimin made a sound, maybe from pain, then he threw his dirty jersey to the ground and looked down at his hip. "Well, shit," he sighed like he was disappointed, inspecting the fresh bruise that was spreading on his hip and lower back, down to his thigh under his shorts. "Alright, stop looking at it with those eyes, it looks worse than it feels."
Somehow, Jungkook was doubting it, and he couldn't help the guilt that was forming in his chest. It looked raw and painful, reddish all over as the blood bloomed under the skin. "Hyung, come on, let's go to the nurse. I feel guilty."
"I'm fine, god." With one swift move, Jimin pulled his shorts and underwear down all at once, uncovering the bruising that spread to his mid thigh. It made Jungkook wince, especially seeing how Jimin looked to be in pain when he bended over to take his shoes and socks off.
"That looks gnarly," Namjoon commented, staring at Jimin's hip as he passed them in his way to the showers, naked, then he looked into Jimin's eyes. "Is it from that fall you took?"
"Jesus, can you even walk?" Hoseok asked, his face twisted like it was hurting him.
Jimin very dramatically rolled his eyes as he brushed them all off and turned around to get in the shower. "Look, I'm fine," he said, breaking into a ridiculous little dance to prove it.
Jungkook wanted to say something else, maybe apologize again in hopes that will magically make Jimin's bruise disappear, but Jimin already entered the shower and the other guys moved on. He was feeling like shit for it, he always hated whenever he'd accidentally hurt someone, especially now when this was about Jimin, who helped him so much. He quickly got rid of his clothes and skipped to the communal showers, taking the one right next to Jimin, who was washing his hair.
The older man gave him a sideways glance when he felt his presence, then he scoffed seeing Jungkook's big puppy eyes. "Get over it."
"Okay," Jungkook sighed in defeat, stepping under the stream of water while it was still hot. "You are going to Hoseok's too, right?"
"Not today." Jimin took a deep breath before letting the water hit him right in the face, the bubbles of his shampoo rinsing down his back and bruised hip. "I'm meeting with Haerin. I'm actually running late."
Ah. Haerin was Jimin's girlfriend, and Jungkook vaguely remembered Jimin mentioning something about it some time ago. Jungkook wasn't really close to her, he didn't have a reason to, since she was only Jimin's girlfriend after all, but anytime they'd meet she was always nice and polite to him, even though she also made him nervous, like any other girl did.
Then that meant Jungkook convincing Jimin to stop by the nurse today would be totally out of the question. Jungkook started scrubbing his scalp, washing the sweat and dust away. "That sucks. We wanted to have a little get together before we started practice and won't have time to meet anymore."
"That's what the guys say every time, don't worry. They'll still want to hang out every weekend," Jimin laughed, quickly washing off his body. "Stop looking at me, it's getting weird," he snorted, halfheartedly pushing Jungkook's shoulder away with one hand.
"Sorry, I was just looking at—Yeah." Jungkook swiftly turned his head away, closing his eyes as he focused solely on washing off. He couldn't help it, his eyes were automatically drawn to the bruise on Jimin's hip.
He thought he heard Jimin walk away, and when he peeked over he found Jimin's spot vacant. The guys were taking their time, idly talking about what was new in their lives and the latest series that was a must watch, but Jimin seemed to be in a hurry to get out. Jungkook quickly rinsed his hair and told himself he'll take a more thorough shower once he got home, then he wrapped a towel around his shoulders after ruffling his hair and walked out to not miss Jimin.
Jimin already had new underwear on and was putting jeans on when Jungkook approached him, and he gave him a small smile. "What's up?"
"I have a few cold compresses on me," Jungkook said, walking up to his locker and hurriedly searching inside his backpack, to not make Jimin be even later. "You just stick them on your clothes and they'll help with the bruising. I also have some Tylenol."
Sticking his tongue inside his cheek, Jimin watched him carefully before getting up with a sigh and taking the compresses Jungkook was handing him. "Thanks," he said with a crooked smile, slowly hitting them on his opposite palm as he looked at Jungkook fondly.
Jungkook shrugged. "No worries. It's my fault, anyway. I don't have any water left, but you can get some from the water dispenser for the pill."
"Sure thing," Jimin murmured absentmindedly, frowning as he concentrated on sticking the cold compress on the inside of his jeans. He easily moved his hands away and let Jungkook adjust it to sit perfectly over his bruise, then he threw a clean t-shirt and hoodie on. "Still think it's a bit of an overkill."
"Agree to disagree," Jungkook said with a soft scoff, deciding that two compresses under the t-shirt were better than just one. Once satisfied, he took a step back, an assured smile on his lips, then he caught the way Jimin's eyes slowly traveled up and down his naked body. "Oh, I—"
"Put some clothes on," Jimin laughed, his eyes squinting shut.
"Right," Jungkook chuckled with a sheepish grin, passing Jimin his Tylenol before grabbing clean clothes from his locker.
"Alright, well, I'm going now—"
"Wait. You need to keep the compresses on for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, then you take them off," Jungkook rushed to say before Jimin left, pulling his underwear around his hips. "Twice or three times a day, so take a couple more for later. And don't forget to get water for the painkiller."
"Alright, Jungkook-ah," Jimin laughed, walking backwards to the exit. "Look at you, taking care of your hyung. So cute."
Heat rushed up to Jungkook's face and he grinned sheepishly. "Oh, and sleep on your other side until the bruise goes away."
"Will do," Jimin said, waiting with his hand wrapped around the door handle until Jungkook put his sweatpants and t-shirt on, then he waved Jungkook with a smile and opened the door. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Jungkook said, looking at Jimin over his shoulder, and when the door opened he caught Haerin waiting in the hallway outside their changing room. She looked pissed, scrolling on her phone, and when she noticed the door opened she glared at Jimin with a frown.
"You made me wait thirty minutes," Jungkook heard before the door closed. And suddenly, Jungkook was so glad he wasn't in a relationship and having to justify being late because his coach had a bad day and decided to take it out on the team.
He waited to hear the water dispenser from down the hallway make its usual noises when Jimin filled a cup, but he couldn't tell for sure if Jimin passed it already or not, and then the guys got back from the showers and it was virtually impossible to tell because of how loud they were being.
With a sigh, Jungkook sat down and put his sneakers on, tying his laces as he listened to Namjoon talk about how many reps he does for each exercise.
ᡣ𐭩ᥫ᭡ᡣ𐭩
Saturdays were for the boys, or at least that was what they always told their girlfriends to be let off the hook. Not Jungkook though, he didn't have that problem. It bothered him in a way, but not enough to get over his stage fright and talk to a girl enough to make her his girlfriend. Sometimes, he thought the only reason he wanted a girlfriend was so that he wouldn't feel left out anymore.
It wasn't the case today, anyway, because the guys went a bit too hard on their casual hang out last night and they were all too hung over to get out of bed. From what Hoseok told him, they stayed over and drank long after he left, until morning came around, then they fell asleep on his dorm room's floor.
Now, the only ones that were in a functional state were him and Jimin. Jungkook finished his shift at the coffeeshop near campus where he worked at, then he texted Jimin and set up to meet at the gym they frequent. Most often than not, the whole team meets up and plays a couple of soccer games in the park if the practice wasn't too demanding that week or go hiking if the weather is nice, and if not they go clubbing. At least Jungkook didn't have to get through the pain of unsuccessfully attempting to flirt with a girl in the club this time around.
Instead, he was enjoying a calm and peaceful afternoon with Jimin, doing a slow workout, then going for drinks afterwards.
Jimin walked up to Jungkook from behind him, patting his shoulder before taking a seat next to him on the bench. He followed Jungkook's line of vision and then chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Don't talk to her," he said.
Jungkook slowly peeled his eyes away from the girl he was accidentally staring at, sheepishly scratching his head when he realized what he was doing. She was wearing light pink active-wear and Jungkook thought she was doing either pilates or yoga, and she was pretty. He blinked up at his friend, a bit confused. "No?"
"No," Jimin confirmed before taking a sip of his water, shaking his head. "You don't talk to girls when you're at the gym. They're just here to workout, not get hit on. Plus, you see this?" he continued, tapping his ear, and when Jungkook looked over he realized the girl was wearing headphones. "Universal sign to leave someone the fuck alone."
"Ahh," Jungkook said when he understood, nodding slowly. "I'm so lucky I have you to tell me these things."
"Don't mention it," he chuckled, getting up and signaling for Jungkook to get on his back so Jimin could assist him doing bench presses.
"So, should I just never talk to a girl at the gym?" he asked, getting into position.
Jimin tipped his head from one side to the other as he thought about it. "Not necessarily. But just to be safe, don't be the one to start a conversation, it's better if you wait for the girl to talk to you first."
Jungkook frowned as he did the first press, Jimin's eyes fixated on him and ready to catch the bar if he needed to. "I had never had a girl talk to me first," he laughed, a bit bitter about it.
Jimin smiled down at him in compassion. "Yeah, that's how it is, unfortunately." His eyes briefly looked over at that girl, his hands levitating above the bar for safety. "Are you more into feminine girls, or sporty ones?"
A small frown formed between Jungkook's eyebrows, partly because of the question, partly because he was reaching his limit. "What?"
"Well, she's all dressed up in pink, so I guess I'm curious what you like about her."
Jungkook huffed deeply, his eyes slipping to Jimin's face above him, but his expression was giving nothing away. "I don't know, I guess I like that she's... um, a girl."
"Wow," Jimin laughed, an amused grin splitting his face. "Such high standards. Come on, one more," he said seriously, patting Jungkook's bicep.
Sweat broke on Jungkook's forehead and he grunted from deep inside his chest, his arms starting to shake as he pushed the weights up as high as possible. Jimin waited for him, but when it was clear Jungkook reached his plateau he grabbed Jungkook from under his elbows and pushed up until he safely hooked the bar in the bench rack.
"That was good," Jimin said, patting Jungkook's chest before walking to the side.
With a deep sigh, Jungkook raised himself in a sitting position, panting slightly as he checked to see if that girl saw him. She was blissfully working out and unaware of his caveman sounds.
"I was thinking about setting you up with a girl," Jimin said in passing, lazily wiping his palms with a towel as he watched for Jungkook's reaction.
Jungkook's eyes widened and he whipped his head around, and if he was a puppy he was sure his ears would've perked up. "Set me up? With a girl? How? How?"
Jimin chuckled and cocked one hip out as he leaned over the bench rack. "Yeah. I figured since you have a hard time asking a girl out, maybe it will be easier for you if you skip all that stuff and just go straight to the date with a girl. Kind of like a blind date—"
"Yes! Yes. Yeah, I want that, let's do it. But who? Do you know her? Do I know her already?" he asked back to back, excitedly wiggling on the bench, and his heartbeat was starting to pick up like that mysterious girl was going to jump out from under the weights so they could have their date in the middle of the gym.
Jimin grinned at him widely. "You don't know her yet, but I've talked to her a couple of times before already. And she's really nice, I think you two would go together great. She's one of Haerin's friends."
That put a stop to Jungkook's excitement, who leaned back as he looked up at his friend. Jimin's girlfriend was already out of university since she was Jimin's age, and so were all of her friends, from what he knew.
Jimin quirked up one eyebrow. "You don't want to?"
"No, it's not that," Jungkook mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "But, hyung, how old is she?"
The smile that grew on Jimin's lips let Jungkook know he was expecting that question. "Okay, listen, she's young."
"How young are we talking about?" Jungkook asked, suspiciously narrowing his eyes in a playful way now.
Playing aloof, Jimin shrugged and looked away. "Twenty four."
"No," Jungkook said right away. That was even older than Jimin and Haerin. He could barely handle talking to girls his age and younger, let alone older girls.
"Oh, come on," Jimin laughed, lightly pushing on Jungkook's shoulder. "Okay, first of all, she just turned twenty four. Like, last week. Second of all, it's not that big of an age difference."
"She's so much older than me, hyung," he whined, grabbing Jimin's wrist and shaking his arm. "I'll get lost and won't be able to talk at all."
"She's not that much older than me, and it's so easy to talk to me," Jimin pointed out.
Jungkook rolled his eyes like that comparison was ridiculous. "It's not the same thing, hyung. You're not a girl."
"Alright, so it's a pass for the date then?"
Jungkook scrunched his nose, not really having the luxury to turn down dates.
The grin on Jimin's face grew bigger and bigger seeing how indecisive Jungkook was, then he leaned forward and ruffled Jungkook's hair with a laugh. "I'll tell Haerin it's a yes and you can meet next weekend. I'll choose a quiet and intimate location, so it'll be easier to talk."
Jungkook blushed and drew his shoulders up, a big excited smile tugging on his lips. "Thanks, hyung."
"You're welcome," Jimin said with a fond smile, raising his head and looking at something or someone behind Jungkook with raised, questioning eyebrows.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but did you guys finish with this bench?" someone asked, and when Jungkook turned around he found two guys that were regulars to this gym, and only now did Jungkook realize they were hogging the only other free spot.
"Yeah," Jimin said, grabbing his water bottle and towel. "Yeah. Sorry, we were just leaving."
"Thank you."
Jungkook got off the bench and quickly sanitized it before grabbing his stuff and following Jimin.
"Should we just leave?" Jimin asked, looking at him over his shoulder as he walked over to the gym's male changing room.
"What, so early?"
"Yeah," Jimin shrugged. "We said we'll keep it light today, and we've been here for quite some time. Unless you wanna start working on your legs?" he added with a grin.
Jungkook frowned and huffed down at his fully covered legs. "My thighs are still killing me from yesterday. Do you really think I have skinny legs?"
"You don't," Jimin laughed, pushing through the door and entering the changing room. "Your thighs are alright, don't overthink it."
"Yours are still bigger," he mumbled as he opened his locker and scrambled for his body wash and towel, salty.
"I just gained some weight lately and it all went to my legs for some reason."
"You should size up on your shorts, by the way," Jungkook said when he remembered, closing his locker. Jimin threw him a confused look. "I saw that they're really tight around your hips," he explained with a shrug.
Jimin stared at him for a moment longer as they walked to the showers, then he burst out laughing when he realized Jungkook was serious. "Why were you staring at my ass?"
"Not your ass, your hips—er, that area—you get it," he said with an annoyed snort, stopping at the door of a shower Jimin walked into. "Anyway, just go a size up. I think that's why it's so hard for you to run."
"I think it's so hard for me to run because I have the cardio of an eighty year old, but thanks, I'll size up," Jimin laughed, leaning with his back against the shower wall. It was silent for a moment, then Jimin laughed loudly and hit Jungkook with his towel. "Go to your own shower!"
"Shit, you're right," Jungkook cursed, stumbling to get out when he suddenly remembered they had individual showers at this gym, not communal ones. "Habit!" he called out with a laugh as he walked into the next shower over, starting to get undressed.
"You're getting too comfortable," Jimin said, turning the water on. "Remember how shy you were when we first met? You wouldn't even get naked in front of us."
Jungkook rolled his eyes and started his shower as well. They were all alone, only a divider separating them, so it wasn't bothering him that they had to talk louder to be heard over the noise of the water. "I wasn't shy, I just thought I escaped communal showers after the military."
"Huh?" Jimin yelled, washing his hair by the sounds of it.
"I said," Jungkook raised his voice, "I hated the communal showers in the military!"
Jimin sounded beyond confused. "Huh?!"
"I said!" Jungkook turned his shower off, and Jimin followed him just a second later, "that I hate communal showers from when I was in the military."
It was silent for a second as Jimin registered what he said, then he nodded his head so fast that water droplets loudly hit the shower wall. "Ah, yeah. Same, me too."
"Okay," Jungkook chuckled with a shake of his head, turning his shower back on.
"Huh?!"
"You little—" Jungkook stopped himself with a snort and pointed his showerhead up and towards Jimin's shower room, switching to cold water to shoot over the wall dividing them.
There was a loud yelp and then Jimin started laughing, and a second later a cold stream of water shot into Jungkook's own shower room.
"Truce! Truce!" Jungkook called, laughing as he tried to get away, but Jimin was moving his showerhead in a way that it was hitting him from one corner of his shower room to the other. "Fuck! Alright, stop!"
"Okay," Jimin laughed, sounding out of breath as he turned the water off. "I'm warning you, you try that shit again and you can say goodbye to your date."
"You started it," Jungkook whined, walking under the hottest setting to warm up.
"No, you did!" Jimin laughed, then it was the sound of him grabbing the showerhead again before changing him mind and putting it back in its hook, deciding to not disturb the fragile peace. "Namjoon was right, you are a brat."
"Let's just shower," Jungkook said with a roll of his eyes, like he was the mature one.
Instead of an answer, Jimin just turned his shower back on.
In a couple of minutes Jungkook walked out, towel around his hips, and got into the changing room, finding just one other person in a far corner. He took a seat on the bench closest to their lockers, starting to get dressed as he wondered what was taking Jimin so long, especially when the noise of the shower stopped and he still didn't come out.
Jungkook was putting his shoes on by the time Jimin walked out, fully dressed, but barefoot. He was wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a plain white t-shirt, a bit dressier than usual, but they did say they're going for drinks after this. Jungkook narrowed his eyes, scanning Jimin from head to toes before meeting his eyes.
Jimin looked at him confused. "What?"
"Why did you dress in the shower?"
Jimin looked at him like he was being weird, then he shrugged. "No reason."
Jungkook stared at him, not buying it. "How's your bruise?"
It immediately made Jimin roll his eyes and slouch his shoulders as he stomped to his locker. "Stop thinking about it. I didn't even bruise."
"Didn't you?" Jungkook asked, trying to catch the hem of Jimin's t-shirt and lift it to check for himself, but Jimin swiftly caught his wrist before he could even catch a sliver of skin.
"Don't," Jimin said, fully serious.
"Hyung, if you're bruised—"
"Jungkook, I said stop," Jimin repeated, squeezing Jungkook's wrist and giving him his best stern hyung look.
Jungkook looked into his eyes for a long moment, then he slowly lowered his head and gave up on checking. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"It's okay," Jimin said, not as softly as he usually talked to him, then he tucked his shirt into his pants.
Jungkook eyed Jimin's hip, but the cotton was too thick to show any color underneath, even though it was more than obvious Jimin had a bruise there because of him.
Jimin looked at Jungkook for a second longer, then he sat down next to him with a sigh and started putting his shoes on. "Come on," he said after he was done, a lot softer, then he grabbed Jungkook's shoulder and shook him a bit. "You know I don't like scolding you."
"I know," Jungkook mumbled, getting up as well.
Jimin sighed as they walked out. "Let's talk about something else."
Jungkook nodded, his eyes catching the girl dressed in pink roll up her mat as they left the gym, and his brain suddenly remembered. "Hyung... what should I know before the date?"
"Ah, right," Jimin said, sighing out in relief. "Well, her name is Dahyun, she's twenty four and that is not a problem, don't call her old cause that's rude, and she studied dance and now she's a ballerina."
"A ballerina?" Jungkook repeated, his nose scrunching up without him even knowing why.
"Yeah." Jimin chuckled seeing his reaction. "Come on, ballet is cool."
"Should I learn about ballet before the date?" he asked, because he was completely clueless about everything ballet related.
Jimin pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down as he laughed lightly. "You don't have to, but it would be nice, especially if you want to ask her about this, which you should."
"Okay," Jungkook said with a sigh, feeling like he was getting homework right now. "Should I get her flowers?"
Jimin chuckled. "Do you want to get her flowers?"
"I don't know!" he whined, getting frustrated. "Am I supposed to? Did you get Haerin flowers on your first date?"
"No, but our first date was hooking up in the club's bathroom."
Right. The pinnacle of picking up girls. That's what made Jimin so cool.
"Alright, I'll ask Haerin what are Dahyun's favorite flowers and you'll surprise her with them," Jimin decided for him. "It's better to make a good first impression, especially if you're nervous and want it to go well."
"Will I have to buy her, like, a big bouquet?" Jungkook asked with a twist of his mouth, already worrying about how much money he was going to spend on this date. He knew from Jimin that the guy had to pay for dinner.
Again, Jimin snorted, and he needed a second to laugh silently before he gathered himself. "No, you'll get her something small. It's the thought that matters, anyway."
"Alright. Do I need to open the door for her?"
"Yes," Jimin said, suddenly becoming very serious. "That one, you do. You open the car door for her, open the door at the restaurant when you come in and when you leave, and you pull the chair for her to sit on at the table."
"Okay, okay," Jungkook said, nodding frantically, and his fingers were twitching to pull his phone out and type it all down in Notes.
"Oh, and you take her jacket off for her and you place it on her chair before sitting down."
"What if she doesn't wear a jacket?"
"Then you obviously skip this one."
Jungkook nodded seriously. That made sense, he could do that one.
"Oh," Jimin said, flicking his own forehead. "I just remembered. I read this a while ago. Apparently, when you enter a restaurant, you open the door and walk in first, and when you leave, you open the door and she walks out first."
Jungkook stopped mid step on the sidewalk, his poor brain not able to comprehend that. "Huh?"
Jimin rolled his eyes like he also thought it was stupid. "Yeah, it's so that the people inside know the woman is not unaccompanied, that's why the man walks in first."
"But then why does the woman walk out into the street first?"
"Whatever, I think I mixed them up." Jimin quickly waved his hand in front of him to wipe away what he said. "Just forget this one. Let's keep it simple—you open the door for her."
"And who walks in first?"
"Her."
Jungkook sighed deeply, scratching at his head. This was getting harder and harder.
Jimin watched him worry himself, then he patted Jungkook's shoulder with a light laugh. "You'll be fine. Remember, dates are supposed to be fun."
Fun was the last thing this was going to be. Jungkook was worrying himself into getting white hairs in his twenties about this.
"Should we walk around until we find a bar to stop at?" Jimin asked, since they just walked without purpose since they left the gym, and they were approaching a pretty bar focused area. It wasn't completely dark yet, but the sun was slowly setting down and the sky had pretty shades of pink and purple on the horizon.
"Yeah—What should I talk about?" Jungkook asked, starting to get short breathed just thinking about small talk with a girl he never met before. "With... Haerin's friend."
"Dahyun!" Jimin laughed, covering his face with a hand. "And you talk about anything you want," he said simply. "Talk about your hobbies, her hobbies, your job, her job. Just don't make it sound like an interrogation."
Jungkook frowned. "Wait, how does that work? Ask her questions without making it sound like I'm asking questions?"
"I don't know—"
"Can we practice?"
Jimin let his head hang down and chuckled, then he shrugged and looked at Jungkook fondly. "Sure, let's practice."
It was something they did sometimes, pretending to do small talk before Jungkook had to talk to a girl so that he wouldn't be so nervous when he actually did it. It never worked.
Sometimes, Jimin pretended to have a really girly voice while asking Jungkook questions, just to keep it fun and unserious, and he tried that again until Jungkook whined and moaned for him to stop. They talked for a bit and set the formalities down, then Jimin gave Jungkook some conversation pointers and told him some other things about Dahyun, so that Jungkook didn't go into this completely blind.
At some point in the fake conversation, Jimin had had enough walking and silently entered the closest bar to him, leaving Jungkook three seconds of confusion until he realized he was walking alone and then where Jimin went. So he turned around, stomping inside with a frown and a pout. Jimin chose a nice bar, with some 70's rock music in the background and a cozy atmosphere.
Jimin was waiting for him at a small round table with two high chairs, grinning at him. "How about beer to start off?"
"Beer sounds good," Jungkook said, dropping his gym bag next to Jimin's on the floor.
"Great. You stay here and save this table and I go to the bar."
"Thank you, hyung," Jungkook said with a small bow, because he knew anytime he'd drink with Jimin, Jimin was paying for his dongsaeng.
"No problem." Gripping the edges of the table, Jimin leaned forward, peeking at the screen of Jungkook's phone before leaving. "Try not to accidentally like a 2016 picture, okay?"
"Really careful," Jungkook said, holding his phone with his fingertips like it was burning as he stalked Dahyun's Instagram account.
"Be back in a minute," Jimin said, turning around and heading to the bar.
With a sigh, Jungkook leaned over the table and rested his chin over his fist, miserable eyes gliding over his phone. Dahyun had a lot of pictures of her out with her friends, a lot of pictures from her ballet classes or recitals, and a lot of pictures from parties. She seemed very extroverted and outgoing, which wouldn't normally be a problem for Jungkook, but all her friends and coworkers were girls, and just thinking about meeting and talking with all of them was making him slouch down in dejection.
This was stupid, he was worrying about this too much. He didn't even meet the girl and he was already thinking about meeting her parents and friends.
Jungkook turned his head around, raising a bit on his seat to see where Jimin was when he didn't come back. Quite some time passed by now and while the bar was slowly filling up with people, the bar counter wasn't that full. One quick glance also let Jungkook know Jimin was not between the people waiting to order.
Thinking this was weird, Jungkook got up and lifted their bags on top of their table so that people knew it was taken, then he walked over to see where Jimin went, sending him a text as well.
He only needed to walk a couple of steps until he spotted Jimin, however, and what Jungkook saw made him frown. There was an altercation that got louder and louder the more Jungkook approached Jimin, who had his back turned to him and was animatedly moving his arms around. People around Jimin were curiously peeking over, trying to pretend they weren't listening to him, and when Jungkook stepped close enough to hear Jimin over the music he was shocked. Jimin was angry. Shouting in a way Jungkook never even imagined Jimin capable of, unable to sit still.
"Hyung?"
Jimin stopped himself, turning around to look at him. His face was flushed red and he was frowning deeply, looking on edge, and when his anger covered eyes recognized Jungkook he let out an exhausted sigh.
Looking over behind Jimin, Jungkook was surprised to spot Haerin, looking drunk and just as agitated, sitting with a man Jungkook's never seen before in a booth.
"Go back to our table, Jungkook," Jimin said with a tired voice.
"No!" came Haerin's shrill voice, so loud it made Jungkook flinch. "You wanted to make a scene, let's make a scene then!"
"Listen, man, I really did not know," the stranger said, attempting to push Haerin's hands off him as he tried to get up.
Haerin burst out crying as soon as he stepped out of the booth, whining loudly as she covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking. It was so loud and sudden that it felt fake.
Both men looked down at her with pity, or maybe disgust, then Jimin sighed and looked over at the other man. "How long has this been going on?" he asked.
The guy shrugged. "About a month. But we were just hooking up, pretty sure there are more guys."
"No, there aren't!" Haerin yelled suddenly, throwing the guy a look that could kill, all tears forgotten.
Someone gently pushed Jungkook from behind and when he stepped to the side he saw one of the staff walking in on this mess. "Hey, guys. Sorry for whatever is happening here, but can you please take it outside?" a girl in uniform asked, sounding extremely apologetic.
By this point they became the main attraction for the whole bar, with everyone just full on staring at them. A couple of less sensible people were even watching them while sipping on their drinks, like this was a show for them.
"I think I'll just leave," the guy said, looking at Haerin sobbing in the booth uninterested. "Again, sorry. She said she's single and not looking for something serious. If I knew she was in a relationship, I wouldn't have gotten involved."
Jimin looked at him with a hard stare for a long moment, then he sighed deeply and nodded.
"Do you think you can handle this? She drank quite a bit."
"Yeah, I got this," Jimin said, looking at Haerin's pathetic form with hands on his hips.
"Alright. Well, I'm going," he announced, leaning over the table and snatching his jacket from the booth. "We're over. Obviously," he mentioned when Haerin lifted her head to look at him with teary eyes.
The news somehow took Haerin by surprise, who let out a pained wail before dropping her head on the table, starting to cry loudly.
Jungkook stepped closer and placed a hand over Jimin's back. "Hyung?"
Jimin turned around, looking drained. "She cheated on me," he said like it wasn't clear enough.
Jungkook figured as much, and he felt so angry at this girl for this. Jimin was such a great guy, she was such an idiot for fumbling this bad, and she was also an asshole for not just simply breaking up with Jimin if she wasn't happy.
"I'm sorry," he said, not really knowing what to say in this situation.
"It's not your fault, Jungkook-ah," Jimin sighed, tipping his chin towards Haerin's booth for Jungkook to sit down. "I can't leave her alone. I'll text one of her friends to come and pick her up."
That was more than she deserved, but Jimin was on another level of maturity and it wasn't really Jungkook's place to comment anyway, so he just silently sat down so Jimin wouldn't have to sit next to her.
Haerin groaned, moving her head over the table to stare at Jimin with a nasty scowl. "This is all your fault," she slurred out. Jungkook could smell the strong scent of alcohol coming from her, and the table was also full of empty glasses and bottles that a waitress was quickly clearing out before Haerin could decide to break them. "You never paid attention to me."
Jimin didn't say anything back, too busy typing something on his phone, probably looking for someone to come and take care of Haerin, though he shook his head lightly.
Jungkook scowled at her, pissed off and offended on Jimin's behalf. "Jimin hyung is working a lot," he couldn't help but say. And it was true, Jimin was in his last year of university, he had soccer practice three times a week and a part-time job, and he was still ditching meetings with his friends so he could be with her. Saturday afternoons were the only time he consistently spent with the guys, and even still, Jimin was the one to skip more often than anyone else.
"Jungkook-ah, don't talk to her," Jimin said softly, letting his phone down with a sigh and glancing at Haerin with empty eyes.
Haerin frowned at him, a set of tears slowly falling down her cheeks and onto the wooden surface. "You spend more time with your friends than with me."
"That's not true," Jungkook scoffed.
"It is!"
"Not."
"Jungkook, please."
Jungkook scoffed, leaning down in the booth with arms crossed over his chest, frowning at Haerin. "It's your loss," he told her.
"He's the worst boyfriend!" Haerin cried, pointing at Jimin like a child. "He never paid attention to me and he's so cold and closed off!"
"You're stupid," Jungkook huffed, wanting to laugh because that was the opposite of Jimin.
"He is!" Haerin stressed with a long cry. "Look, he doesn't even care that we're breaking up, he's so cold!"
"He's mature and level headed about it." Jungkook couldn't help the mean grin that was tugging on his lips. "And he's not losing anything, anyway."
"Jungkook, enough," Jimin said sternly, rubbing his temples when Haerin started sobbing dramatically.
Haerin was really lucky Jimin was so diplomatic about it, because Jungkook wanted to rip her a new one. But for Jimin's sake he bit his tongue, relying on just scowling in Haerin's direction. It wasn't that satisfying, especially since Haerin was so drunk that she fell asleep after a few minutes of silence.
Looking extremely apologetic and like she'd rather not ask, the waitress that cleared their table approached them again. "Hey, are you by any chance waiting for someone to pick her up?" she asked politely, nodding when Jimin confirmed that was indeed what they were doing. "Alright, so, they didn't pay for their drinks, and I don't want to put their bill on you, so if you could please wake her up to pay before she leaves?"
"Right." Jimin rubbed his forehead, looking between the waitress and Haerin, who was passed out and sleeping deeply, pondering.
Jungkook's jaw almost went slack. "You're not seriously thinking about paying her bill, are you?"
"You could just give me her card, we're just not allowed to go through her bag," the waitress suggested.
Jimin only sighed, one hand going down to take his own wallet out of his pocket.
"Hyung, you're not—" Jungkook stopped himself, staring at Jimin with parted lips before frowning in Haerin's direction. "Yah, Haerin," he said loudly, shoving her awake. "Wake up and pay your bill."
Haerin let out a sleepy sound, blinking up in confusion. The waitress struggled not to laugh and quickly explained that she needed to pay, to which Haerin only nodded before starting the search into her bag without another objection, a bit out of it. Jungkook watched her hand over the cash with a proud smile, ignoring Jimin staring at him disapprovingly. After paying, Haerin leaned back with a dejected look, making it awkward as they stared at each other in silence.
Only a few minutes later Jimin's screen lit up, flashing Haerin's friend 4 as the saved contact calling him, and Jimin didn't even need to pick up because the caller stopped at their table. Instantly, Haerin started spilling crocodile tears again, and the girl scooted inside the booth to get her out.
"Girl, come on, stop crying, it's okay," the girl which Jungkook instantly recognized as Dahyun said softly, pushing Haerin's hair off her sweaty face before hooking an arm around her.
"Haerin, stop embarrassing yourself," Jungkook corrected, because he'd be dead before Haerin makes herself the victim here.
Dahyun looked at him surprised, then she awkwardly nodded towards Jimin. "Thank you for calling me and making sure she stayed safe."
"Sure." Jimin's voice sounded strained.
"Did you know she was cheating on him?" Jungkook asked, getting heated seeing Haerin get up like she was wounded when this was all her fault.
Dahyun pressed her lips together tightly and shrugged. It wasn't a I had no idea shrug, but a What can you do? shrug.
"You're supposed to say something in this situation," Jungkook spat out, looking at her coldly.
Dahyun puffed, taken aback by his hostility. "She's my friend," she said like that was a legitimate excuse.
Jungkook couldn't believe Jimin thought him and this girl would make a good couple. "God, you suck, too," he said with disgust, making Jimin snort from his side.
Dahyun stared at him with her mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"
"Whatever. And our date is over, by the way. You don't seem like a nice girl."
Confused beyond belief, Dahyun looked at Jimin for an explanation.
"Just take Haerin home, Dahyun," Jimin said instead, coughing to not start laughing.
"Alright," she said, glancing at Jungkook weirdly as they started to walk away. "I'll make sure she gives you whatever you have left at her place," she added as an afterthought, then she turned around and limped away with Haerin in tow, who was whimpering lightly.
"The audacity," Jungkook tutted like an offended teacher, turning around to find their waitress looking at their table, amused. "Can you believe it?"
"Hey, I'm just as flabbergasted," she chuckled.
"Unbelievable," Jungkook sighed, shaking his head. "She cheats on him and then pretends she is the victim. What an asshole."
"You tell me," she said with a compassionate smile towards Jimin, then she glanced to the crowded bar. "Can I get you guys something to drink?" she asked nicely, though there were signs everywhere that you need to go to the bar and order unless you're in the restaurant area, which they weren't.
"Uhm." Jungkook looked at the table, so overwhelmed by everything that he even forgot that they came here for drinks in the first place. "Yeah, a round of beers to start. Then we'll see how much we want to drown our feelings tonight."
The waitress chuckled, walking backwards while smiling at him. "Coming right up. At least you rid me of my loudest table, so this one is on me."
"Ah," Jungkook laughed in surprise. "Well, at least we got a better table, so there's a brighter side to everything," he said, patting the cushioned part of the booth.
She smiled at him, then pointed backwards. "Two beers."
Jungkook thanked her, watching her form disappear behind the busy bar. When he looked back, he was surprised to find Jimin watching him with a soft smile, cheek resting on his fist. How Haerin could call this man cold, it was beyond Jungkook.
"What?" he asked, curious.
Jimin shrugged, looking at him a second longer. "Look at you, talking to girls," he said quietly.
When the realization hit Jungkook he flinched, whipping his head around as he registered what just happened. Holy shit, he talked to girls. Plural.
"It-it doesn't count," he said with a nervous chuckle, suddenly getting shy.
Jimin smiled at him. "No?"
"No. I just fought with Haerin and Dahyun, it doesn't count."
Wordlessly, Jimin looked over at the bar. "You talked with the waitress," he pointed out.
"Ah," Jungkook exclaimed, eyes widening, and he tried to look back, but she already returned to their table and placed a cold bottle of beer in front of him.
She smiled down at Jungkook, a little more friendly than a regular customer service smile. "Call me if you need anything else for tonight," she said after opening their bottles.
Jungkook was gobsmacked, staring at her depart, speechless.
Jimin chuckled and nudged Jungkook's foot with the tip of his shoe. "Go and talk to her, come on."
Jungkook looked at her get behind the counter, sending him a flirty smile while pouring a drink, then he turned back to Jimin with a crooked smile. "Nah, I think I'll just stay with you."
"Don't use me as an excuse."
"I'm not," he promised, his smile turning a bit sad. "I'm sorry this happened to you."
Jimin nodded, giving him a bittersweet look. "I'm not the first, nor the last man to get cheated on. I'll be fine."
Jungkook sighed, looking around the place. "What were the chances to just walk in on them."
"This was her favorite place," Jimin murmured, staring at the pictures hung on the walls with distant eyes. He looked at Jungkook with a sad smile. "Never thought she was taking her sidepiece here."
Shit, that must feel horrible. "Do you want to leave?" he asked.
Jimin didn't look like he wanted to do anything except lean back and stare at the ceiling, and he didn't answer, just started fiddling with the neck of his bottle. After a moment, he shrugged, then shook his head.
"Well, here's to your single era," Jungkook sighed, holding out his beer for a toast. "She didn't deserve you."
Jimin stared at the bottles thoughtfully, then he slowly shook his head and placed his drink down. "I should be an example for you and not get drunk now. I'll be responsible."
"You're only human, hyung," Jungkook said softly, wondering if Jimin didn't make a scene just because he didn't want Jungkook to see that. He was fighting so hard against just running out of here and slashing Haerin's tires. "It's okay if you want to get drunk. I'll make sure you get home safe."
Jimin chuckled softly, then clinked their bottles together before taking a small sip. "Just one drink," he promised.
Jungkook nodded, looking at him with a sad smile, not quite knowing what to do in this situation. "Do you want to—I mean, shit, I don't know, do you want a hug or something?"
Jimin chuckled and smiled at him fondly, his eyes sad. "Nah, it's alright." He played with the bottle between his fingers, then he brought it to his lips. "Think I'll just... bottle it up."