Chapter Text
The world slowly came into focus as Jimin opened one eye...sunlight streamed through the window to pierce that eye and make him regret opening it...
He groaned as he shoved his hands down into the mattress to turn himself over...and the room began to spin...
...bar hopping had sounded like such a great idea at ten pm last night...tequila at midnight even better...and downing “roadies” as his friends toasted good bye to the band that was packing their gear up at four am seemed convivial and cool...
Now finding himself inert on his bed, cheek wet from the drool that apparently had been pooling from his open-mouthed face-down passed-out sleeping position made him rethink his decisions of the night before...
“Hyung!!! Hyung!!!”
A tousled dark head popped into his line of sight, large eager eyes staring down in dismay...
“Aw, Hyung....did you forget?!” The voice scolded as Jimin felt hands tugging him into an upright position...
“...please, please stop...you’re not going to like what happens if you keep doing that...” Jimin felt his stomach revolt as his head began to pound and...had he been eating sand?!...his tongue felt desiccated...
“Hyung...the new roommate, we have to pick him up...remember?...we’ve got to get him from the airport...” The handsome, athletic boy pushed an open bottle of water into Jimin’s hands...the room was still spinning but Jimin managed to groan his thanks before chugging two thirds of the bottle immediately.
He finally managed to open both eyes, looking sleepily around, eyes averting from the tall figure darting around, randomly gathering articles of clothing...
“...okay, what?....wait...” Jimin began to piece together what his life was about...losing a few details along the way, but managing to catch himself up...
“...right...Kim Taehyung...God, is that today?...” he rubbed at his face, relief flooding him as he realized he must have had enough awareness to take his makeup off before passing out last night...Er, this morning...
“Hyung!...put these on...oh, God”...initially trying to shove clothing into Jimin’s lap, his overzealous roommate Jeongguk backpedaled as he came into close proximity of Jimin’s breath...
“You smell like you drank the bar!”
Jimin groaned...”I think I did”...
“Tch, get in the shower - I’ll get your stuff together...we have to meet him on time...” Kookie mumbled to himself under his breath, throwing the window of Jimin’s room wide open to let in some fresher air.
Jimin trudged into their shared bathroom and winced upon blearily seeing his reflection.
Bloated. Pasty...yet green-tinged...with dark circles under his normally vibrant dark eyes...
He turned the water on, cold, to punish and wake himself...he yelped aloud as he rinsed his body, letting the cold fall down his hair and face, thinking about last night.
/“C’mon Jimin, he didn’t deserve you...you can do so much better...”
“Yeah, he doesn’t know what he’s losing”
“I always thought he was a dick”/
Jimin knew he had gone out last night with a mission to drink, not until oblivion, but just until it hurt a little less...
Everyone knew Jimin and Sungwoon as the ideal couple on campus..beautiful, outgoing, hardworking...people knew immediately that they were meant for each other...they knew everyone they felt were worth knowing, they were invited to all of the coolest parties, waited in no lines for the best clubs and bars...everyone knew who they were and that they made the greatest couple...or HAD made...
“Fuck”...Jimin’s eyes welled with tears as he remembered...well,...remembered that it was over...
“HYUUUUUUUNG!” The wail broke into his thoughts.
Jimin let the water sluice the soap from his body, turned the valve to off, and stepped out, grabbing a towel and drying himself vigorously...eyeing himself in the mirror again.
“Give me seven minutes, Kook” Jimin slapped his face with toner and dotted moisturizer - touched his eyes with a bit of shadow to offset the reduced puffiness, and dabbed a lightly tinted gloss to his ever-present pout. He scooped a little sculpting putty and worked it through his hair, lifting at the roots.
He turned to go back to his room, slipped on a pair of tight jeans, a loose silken tee, and clasped a single choker necklace around his throat. He grabbed his earrings from the nightstand and inserted them while slipping into his leather loafers with the discreet lifts, both on heels and in the insoles. Jimin slipped his hand through a tangle of bracelets and ran his fingers through his damp hair again, the pink locks darker with water still saturating the color.
Just as Jimin was stepping out of his room, he ran into the solid wall of Jeongguk’s chest as he was about to come back in to exhort Jimin to hurry.
“Ahhh”...Jeongguk took a step back and surveyed his roommate.
“How the fuck do you do that, Hyung?!...literally seven minutes and you look like that...” he shook his head and dangled Jimin’s jacket in front of him.
“Let’s go.”
****
Jeongguk and Jimin studied the baggage claim area, looking at the passengers that stood about, grappling bags off of the baggage carousel, looking for their new roommate.
They had been looking for a tall, especially good looking man that should be easy to spot...
Kim Taehyung was the latest IT model...his face and figure graced countless magazines, quickening the pulses of women and men, old and young. His features guaranteed sales of any product he used, his graceful limbs transformed anything he wore into immediate couture...he was the darling of designer houses and fashion magazines...and he had most recently finished a season of an historic drama, garnering rave reviews from critics and the public. There were few people who wouldn’t recognize that fine-boned face...and /he/ was going to be their roommate.
“Huh...Kookie...I don’t see him anywhere...” Jimin pushed his pink-lensed sunglasses up onto his head, biting his lip out of exasperation. It had already been a tough morning, eating a hasty breakfast of a honey bun and a hot chai skinny latte that he convinced Kookie to stop for. His patience was nonexistent at this point.
Jeongguk looked back and forth, eyes wide again. “Ugh, he’s got to be here...”
*****
Jimin and Jeongguk couldn’t believe it when Jimin’s aunt had contacted him over the summer. A close friend of hers had a son who wanted to attend the university, but didn’t have the time or inclination to find a living situation, but mentioned she was concerned about who he might meet or live with. Jimin’s aunt remembered he and his roommate were trying to find an apartment together for the upcoming year and mentioned it to her friend, talking about how hard working both boys were, and praising them in general...and in specifics. She impressed her friend so much so that the woman suggested that if the two boys would accept her son as a roommate and offer to act as his guide in general until he could make his own way around the university, she would take care of the financial aspects of the apartment, namely rent and utilities paid for.
Jimin and Jeongguk couldn’t believe their luck.
“He could be the biggest asshole in the world and it would still be worth it” Jimin had pointed out.
Jeongguk had looked slightly more glum; he could be shy at times and feared a giant older asshole would be harder on him than his Hyung.
His fears had lifted a bit when they had moved in to their new apartment...
Each of them had their own rooms, an incredibly spacious living room with a balcony, and a state of the art kitchen with a stocked refrigerator and pantry. The third oversized bedroom had its own bathroom, but while Jimin and Jungkook would have to share, it was palatial compared to what they had had.
Kook had eyed up the large screen smart tv, the computers that had been set up in each bedroom, and had splayed himself over the leather couch, reconsidering his opinion on the whole thing.
Jimin had just grinned. “He’s probably a huge, huge asshole”
“...Park Jimin?...Jeon Jeongguk?...”
A woman had stepped into the apartment; a petite figure in a very stylish simple dress, scarf about her neck, sleek chignon gleaming under the lights; she looked coolly at the two boys who looked as if they had been caught trespassing.
They scrambled to their feet, and remembered to bow and nod, barely.
“Ahem. Yes, well, I’m Mrs. Choi, I’m here on behalf of Kim Taehyung to welcome you and brief you on your roommate for this year...” she stepped forward in her delicate heels, handing them each a file.
They stared at her, openmouthed.
“Kkkim?...Tae-taehyung?” Jeongguk managed to get out.
She smiled. “Yes.”
She whipped her phone from her enormously stylish purse and began to dance her fingers over it; both of their own phones immediately began to set off alerts.
“I’ve taken the liberty to text and email you a few things of note you should review, as well as hard copies for reference. Kim Taehyung will be attending this university as just another student, but I think you both know it won’t quite be like that. Please remember that eyes are on him and that you should conduct yourselves accordingly. You are not personally responsible for him, but you ARE responsible for keeping up certain standards in this apartment and building; you are also under contract to help keep Kim Taehyung’s private life just that...private.” She fixed each of them in turn with a cold stern glare. “In signing the lease contract with his mother, you’ve agreed to neither sell nor disclose undue personal information for publishing, self gain, and/or public knowledge.”
She surveyed the apartment and fixed them with a look again.
“Both of you will meet him at the airport on Thursday and help him to move in...his personal items will be arriving later today.”
“Yes, Noona,” they chorused.
She walked briskly to the door, opened it, but looked back once more.
“He’s not a huge huge asshole...” she smirked.
“Unless you piss him off.”
She closed the door firmly behind her.
Jimin and Jeongguk looked at each other.
“Fuck!”
******
Jimin noticed the baggage area had considerably thinned out. He stood there, hands on his hips, wondering irritably if this was setting the tone for their future with Kim Taehyung.
He scanned the room again, then his eye caught a figure seated on one of the chairs nearby.
There was a young man in a bucket hat, large sunglasses covering what little of the face wasn’t hidden by the hat. He was sprawled in the seat, looking at his phone, working a lollipop in his mouth. You could tell he was slim though he wore incredibly loose cut trousers, thick wool socks stuffed into leather Birkenstocks, and an oversized sweater with the cuffs rolled, a silk blouse peeping from underneath. He was covertly stunning.
“Kim Taehyung?” Jimin asked tentatively.
The lollipop came out of pursed lips, large grey eyes (contacts, of course) were revealed as the Dior sunglasses were slipped down, staring unwaveringly right back at him.
“Yes.”
“I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes for you to notice me.” He said in sotto voice, still staring at Jimin. “Pretty.”
Jimin blinked.
Jeongguk ran over from the other side of the carousel.
“Kkim Tae-Taehyung?” He was overwhelmed by the thought of his roommate’s public persona...that he even had one, never mind an international one at that.
The young man stood up to his full height and strolled over, looking Jeongguk in the eye.
He broke into a boxy grin, eyes creasing as he opened his arms and enveloped Kookie into a scented hug.
“I like it!!! Taetae!!! You can call me Taetae, I’ll call you Kookie, and...” releasing Jeongguk to whirl to Jimin “...you’re my ChimChim!!!”
Jimin found himself caught up in a hug, being slightly lifted from the ground.
Jeongguk had a toothy grin and gave Jimin a double thumbs up.
“We’re going to have fun.”
******
Tae led them out to an awaiting car.
Jimin looked at Taehyung questioningly. “What about your luggage?”
Tae turned to look down, blinking slowly. He felt at his chest, then waggled the crossbody that hung there.
Jimin looked at Kookie, then back at Tae.
“That’s it? Then why were you in Baggage Claim?!” Jimin was a bit exasperated as he followed the other two into the back seat of the black car...and the pounding in his head wasn’t contributing to his patience. Taehyung may be beautiful, sophisticated,...whatever... Jimin and Kookie were going to have to live with this guy.
“I wanted to see the passengers greet their friends and family. It’s beautiful. Like that movie.”
Jeongguk nodded eagerly. “Saw that!”
“Driver, wait, can I call you James?...take us to -“ Tae turned to Jimin, waiting.
Jimin gave the address of their apartment. As Jeongguk haltingly conversed with Taehyung, Jimin felt as if he were having sensory overload. It was too much. Today.
He clenched his fists, resting them on his knees, trying not to think about how unwell he still felt. From the alcohol. From last night. From /him/.
As Tae and Kook discussed the apartment, Jimin worked to not loop the memory of two nights ago.
Jimin and Sungwoon had started dating a little over a year ago. They had met through mutual friends, admired each other’s looks and styles, and after one alcohol-infused hookup over a winter break party, they had found themselves falling naturally into a besotted relationship. Jimin had fallen hard and fast, as he had before.
Sungwoon was pretty and fell right in line with what Jimin liked. A highly social butterfly, Sungwoon was still serious about his classes and his theater major, so understood Jimin’s self imposed rigorous training for his dance. They had fun and their physical chemistry was good. Sungwoon took the lead in the relationship, but Jimin was fine with that. Jimin felt that he had finally fallen in love, and knew love required work and compromise. He was willing to invest in Sungwoon.
He and Sungwoon had been having a light dinner together at a favorite local restaurant; they were always vying to see who could eat the lightest, healthiest meals to keep their waistlines slim. Jimin had a more muscular build and Sungwoon would often make him feel much more ungainly next to his own petite, more slender frame.
Jimin had been excited and looking forward to the evening.
For the past few weeks, Sungwoon had seemed a little distant, canceling a dinner date here and there, and he’d not stayed over as often as was his wont.
Jimin had become a little uneasy. Their conversations had been a little forced; Sungwoon’s text more abrupt. He seemed less patient, and even waspish, at times, snapping at Jimin and criticizing him more often over seemingly trivial things. Jimin attributed it to the upcoming start of classes and Sungwoon’s ambitious scheduling.
They hadn’t even had their usual physical intimacies and sex in over a month.
He had become exasperated and concerned with Sungwoon’s increasing absences; Jimin missed their date nights, sex, and attention in general.
So, Jimin had gone to extra pains with his appearance, being sure he wore the jeans that didn’t hug his thighs as tightly, to make them appear less thick. Sungwoon always made comments that he didn’t care for Jimin’s overly muscled legs; he often pointed out that models were so slender because clothes looked best on such a thin frame.
Jimin had just sipped his broth when Sungwoon turned away from the conversation about the party they were to attend that night. .
“Jimin...” he looked down at his phone, which had been sounding various alerts throughout the evening, as usual, then looked back up.
“You /know/ how much I care about you.”
Jimin froze. There was an instant quiver of foreboding in his gut.
“Honey boy, I’m just not /sure/ if-“
“Don’t.” Jimin put his bowl down. “Don’t say anything.”
Sungwoon looked at him with large limpid eyes, his pouted lips a rival for Jimin’s own. They looked remarkably similar...something he usually enjoyed hearing.
“I /can’t/ do this anymore” Sungwoon closed his eyes.
Jimin’s mouth opened, his eyes darting around Sungwoon’s features, the closed eyes, the slight pursing of the lips, the lack of tension in his neck?
“What? What can’t you do anymore?” Jimin was numb.
Sungwoon opened his eyes, reaching across the table with a delicate hand, almost as small as Jimin’s.
“Oh, honey boy, please don’t make this /harder/-“
“Stop” Jimin shook his head slowly. “What are you doing?”
Sungwoon stood up, tears in his eyes.
“I just /can’t/ do this anymore - we’re just so /wrong/ for each other - I can’t pretend that nothing has /changed/,...that you haven’t changed...” He dabbed at his eyes with artfully arranged fingers.
Jimin stared, incredulous. Fucking theater majors.
“Wait.“ he took a forced breath. “ Are you breaking up with me?”
“I /knew/ you’d make this harder - “ Sungwoon had thrust that little hand out, the one embellished with the rings Jimin had gifted him with on his birthday.
“I can’t do this anymore...” he walked over to Jimin, “...we were silly to try to /make/ this /more/ than it was...we dragged a hookup into a /relationship/...god, we’ve even lost the physical /attraction/ we used to have...”
“I’m sorry - I can’t...I /won’t/ do this to myself, and you, anymore...we’re finished.” Sungwoon had looked at Jimin with a trembling chin, more anxiety than regret in his face. He turned and strode between the tables, and then out the door, leaving confused and murmuring diners in his wake.
Jimin just stared.
What the fuck just happened?
He couldn’t process the moment. They had been dating for over a year...they were going to a party tonight...they were just having a simple dinner...and he had apparently been under the delusion that they were a couple in love.
Jimin could feel the sympathetic, commiserating looks of the witnesses to that bizarre farce. He flagged down the waiter, pulling out his credit card since Sungwoon had sailed away without paying.
As he stood, he looked slowly around...and there...and there...he recognized faces from their lives...gossiping acquaintances, classmates, friends of friends...
Jimin’s face began to burn with a blush and his lips thinned.
This had been a performance...for whom, he had no idea, but it wasn’t for him. For all of his theatrics and high maintenance personality, Sungwoon was the boy he thought he loved, the one with whom Jimin had invested a year of his life,...and he had just left Jimin in a theatrical display...that left him broken hearted,...and humiliated,...yet numb, as well.
Jimin left the restaurant and went home. He undressed, put on a pair of joggers and pulled out a bottle of wine. He sat in his room, looking at the pictures he had of the two of them doing couple things, selcas of favorite outings and outfits, posed cuddling, dancing at clubs...tears flowed as easily as the poured wine. At some point, after the wine bottle was emptied but before his glass was, Jimin had started calling Sungwoon’s phone. He never answered, of course, so Jimin left messages. Many messages. Messages of love. Messages of anger. Messages begging Sungwoon to reconsider and take him back. When he hit redial and the phone went straight to voicemail, Jimin knew Sungwoon had shut his phone off. Had shut him off.
He drained the glass of wine and fell into bed, crying without knowing why he could cry and feel so numb at the same time.
The next morning Jimin woke up, and it took only a few moments to remember last night. He pressed his hands over his face and let out a sob.
“Hyung?”
A tentative Jeongguk called through the door.
“Hyung? Can I come in?”
Jimin made no sound but the door opened softly.
Jimin heard his roommate make his way to the bed and felt him sit close by, putting a hand over his own, still covering his face.
“I’m sorry, hyung, I’m sorry” Jeongguk murmured.
Jimin removed his hands and looked up, eyes almost disappeared in the swollen face of sadness.
“How...what...what do you know?”
Jeongguk spoke softly “I know Sungwoon broke up with you...”
Jimin didn’t like the pitying look on his face.
“/What/, Kookie? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Jeongguk mutely held out his own phone.
Jimin sat up, the headache between his eyes pushed into the background. His eyes raked over the screen - Sungwoon’s Instagram - pics of him at a party...pics of him beaming, with his cheek pressed up against the chest of a tall, good looking man that looked somehow familiar...the last a pic of Sungwoon’s small hand in a stubby but not altogether much larger hand with the caption “Finally” with ten red hearts and a blushing emoji.
“That asshole!”
He threw Kook’s phone back to him and snatched at his own, frantically scrolling through his various social media.
Everywhere, it was everywhere.
While Jimin had sat brokenhearted, drinking away his tears and heartache, Sungwoon had swanned to that party and met up with whomever /that/ was , flirting and cooing with another man, literally barely hours after dumping him.
Jackson Wang - a transfer student that Sungwoon had met at a summer theater program two months ago.
There was a fire building in his belly...then revolting humiliation rolled over him as he remembered all of the messages he had left...all of the pleading, pathetic messages he had left on Sungwoon’s voicemail, because Sungwoon was too busy partying to answer.
He looked up at Jeongguk.
“I’m going out tonight” he planned.
“Ok, hyung, but don’t forget about tomorrow - gotta get the new roomie, all right?”
Jimin barely heard him. He was texting his friends, cajoling them for a big night out before classes started. To let everyone know he was single. To let everyone know Sungwoon had done him a favor. To let himself know he was going to be okay.
And as he vaguely heard his now two roommates discussing the merits of reading the comics before playing the video games, Jimin realized that he was not okay. He had loved, no, did love Sungwoon. And Sungwoon no longer loved him...if he ever did.
“STOP!!!!” Taehyung shouted at the driver as he whipped his head back to look something. The nonplussed driver slowed as he pulled alongside the sidewalk, coming to a stop. Tae fumbled over Jimin to get out of the car as the driver was getting out.
“Taehyung” Jeongguk scrambled over Jimin to get out as well.
Jimin slowly stepped out of the car to see Tae queuing up to get in to a cafe, Jeongguk delightedly behind him. People were starting to recognize Tae, who had slipped off his hat in the car and had his sunglasses perched on his forehead, snapping pics and talking behind their hands. Tae seemed oblivious to the attention, until he suddenly whipped around, sultry eyes with his fingers in a v, making a mask over one eye and shooting a pout to a group of girls with their cell phones out. They cooed and shot pics, giggling their thanks.
Jeongguk grinned and leaned in to talk to Tae.
Jimin stood back, watching as the driver (perhaps bodyguard) stood with arms crossed, impassively watching his charge order coffee.
Jimin let out a sigh slipping his sunglasses back over his eyes...he could see things were going to be a little different with Taehyung around. He saw several students he knew and waved to a few of them, personable smile on his face. He wanted to check his phone, but he didn’t have the stomach for it right now.
“Chimmmy!!, ChimChim!!!!!” Tae excitedly exited the cafe with a tray of four beverages in his hands. As he stepped forward waving the tray, he knocked the tray right into the outstretched arm of a man who had been about to put his own beverage up to his mouth. The tray hit the cup out of the man’s hand, spraying what looked to be black coffee around a surprisingly wide circumference.
Tae’s mouth formed a perfect “oh” as his eyes also went round with surprise. Jeongguk peered around his new roommate to see what happened.
The man who lost his coffee seemed to be staring down in disbelief at the cup on the ground. From Jimin’s vantage, the man was dressed all in black...black jeans, black hoodie, black beanie.
Tae slowly lowered his tray, apologies at the ready...and then didn’t utter a word.
Jimin could see that the man had torn his gaze away from the ground to look up at Taehyung when he had started to speak, but that’s when Tae seemingly stopped working. Tae was looking down at the man’s face, mouth slightly ajar.
Weird.
Jimin walked up to the scene as others began to clear away for the staff that showed up to clean the mess.
As Jimin walked up to the side, he realized he recognized the guy in black...Yoongi...Min Yoongi, he thought, a grad student in the music department.
Being a dance major, he had seen him in the arts buildings and had seen his name on programs for some of the shows the students put on. He usually kept to himself and wasn’t very social, so he had never been on Jimin’s radar. Jimin was actually somewhat surprised he hadn’t run in to him before.
“Sorry, sorry...is it Min Yoongi-ssi? My new roommate didn’t see...” Jimin was finally able to look into the man’s face, which appeared at the same level as his own.
Platinum blond hair framed darker brows over sloe-eyes over cheekbones that tilted upwards, giving him a feline look that was reinforced with a tapered jaw line. White skin that seemed too white to be out without copious sunscreen seemed to glow, offsetting a honeysuckle pink cupids-bow mouth. The beanie squashed his bangs into his eyes, eyes that were looking up at Tae, somewhat bemusedly.
Tae’s mouth was still open and had yet to utter another sound.
Jimin cleared his throat, and Yoongi swiveled catlike eyes to him.
“Sorry about the mess...can we get you another drink?” He tilted his head up and ran a hand through his pink hair.
For a moment, Jimin thought he saw the tip of a tongue dart out from Yoongi’s mouth to swipe at his lower lip and an odd intensity flicker in the other man’s eyes...
“Hi...sorry...” Tae began to, simply, babble.
Yoongi swung his gaze back up as Tae began a long, strident apology that culminated in offers of buying lifetime supplies of takeaway coffee, and possibly a few kittens, as remuneration, he succeeded in provoking a large, gummy smile from his listener when Tae proffered all four of his drinks to replace the one he spilled.
Tae was left speechless.
And when Min Yoongi swung that smile toward Jimin, Jimin had an odd moment, a flicker in his belly. He hadn’t realized he liked a big gummy smile.
Min Yoongi shook his head and placed placating hands out to Tae, finally accepting the milkshake Tae pressed on him. Jeongguk, by now, had recovered from the scene and led Tae, clutching the tray with three drinks, back to the car, driver following, and Jimin bringing up the rear. Tae looked back as he entered the car, so Jimin did as well, half expecting to see Min Yoongi staring back at the perpetrators of that ridiculous scene, but he had already started walking away, sipping on the milkshake, looking at his phone, completely unbothered.
Jimin got into the car.
The driver was handed a cup, Jeongguk was already sipping on a mango smoothie, and Jimin was handed a chai latte. Tae was grasping the now empty tray.
“Thanks for the drinks, Taetae. I’m sorry you gave yours away.”
Tae was looking straight ahead, a small smile quirking his lips. “He dropped an americano, but he likes vanilla shakes, too”
“Hmmm?” Jimin was thinking about the sudden smile on Min Yoongi’s face...he doesn’t remember ever seeing that guy smile.
Tae’s face blanked and then he clapped his hands.
“Where the hell do we live?!! Why is it taking so long?!”