107. Me Under You Pt. 7

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

By: @vera_ba

"I don't get it."

"What?" Jungkook frowns, stuffing his face with the last pieces of nachos on the plate, "what is there not to get?" he says with his mouth full, too frustrated to care about manners.

"Jae was being his douchey self, I get that part," Tae says, "and managed to get under your skin," he continues with clear irritation in his voice. Jungkook knows it's not directed at him, yet he can't help but duck his head out of habit as if it would help to avoid the potential harsh words, gaze focused on his hands on the table. He didn't tell everything about yesterday's events to his friend. He never did go into details about Jae's shitty tactics to ––– well, yeah, to get under his skin is probably the right expression. Jungkook never understood, why he did that, why the hell he was ashamed of it – he was the one that got hurt, after all. Yet, he always played it down, always purposely leaving out the small details of their fights, the words that hurt the most––– "and then there's Jiminie, the knight in shining armor," the brunet continues, pulling the younger out of his thoughts, his wording earning him a grimace, "offering to be your date at the wedding–––" Jungkook wants to protest, but the older continues before he could open his mouth, "to which you happily agree, and now––" Tae picks up his soda from the table, taking an unrushed sip, "now you're unsure?"

"I just–––" Jungkook exhales, fumbling with his fingers, "there are a few details I didn't take into consideration ––– in the heat of the moment," he murmurs, shame creeping up his neck, making his ears burn. The thing is, Jungkook has been thinking – in fact, he's spent all night doing that, replaying every word his ex has said over and over, imagining the possible outcomes of bringing Jimin to the wedding.

First, his parents would freak out either way, considering how they still don't know about the breakup. Maybe even a little more if he appears with a stranger out of nowhere.

Second, Jimin is ––– not someone he could blend into the crowd with. His presence simply demands everyone's attention. Jungkook has seen it with his own eyes, the effect he has on everyone around him. How easily everyone at the office grew to like him, how he has everybody's attention whenever he speaks without even raising his voice ––– Jungkook is a little jealous and in awe at the same time, he's not gonna lie.

However, there's also that little factor he's considered when he's taken the older's offer – Jimin makes him feel safe and comfortable.

Grounded, even. Yeah, that might be the best word for it.

"Well," Taehyung starts, after realizing the younger won't go into detail, "if you changed your mind, just tell him," he shrugs, as if it was that simple ––– "I'm sure Jimin will understand."

Well, that's the thing. Jimin has been so patient with him, so gentle, but how long will it take for him to get tired of his indecisiveness? Jae has gotten tired of him too, after all ––– no, stop comparing them, Jae was your boyfriend, and Jimin is not, fucking hell–––

"Kook," Tae continues with a concerned frown, "please don't do something you don't want, just to avoid conformation, which, knowing Jimin, wouldn't happen in the first place."

"But I don't know what I want," Jungkook whines, pushing the empty plate away from himself. "I mean–––" he sighs frustratedly, "It would be nice if he was there, you know, for emotional support," he says, fiddling the crumpled up napkin now, "it's just ––– you know how my parents are."

"Yeah," the brunet agrees, "they can be a little overwhelming, that's for sure," he says, the younger making a face. "Okay, so," the older continues, "I do have a question though," he says, "are you worried they are going to make a fuss about the whole breakup thing or ––– Jimin?"

"What do you mean?" Jungkook frowns, not following.

"Well, you know," Taehyung waves with his hand leisurely, "Jimin is definitely not the kind of person your parents imagine you bringing as your date," he explains, the younger about to retaliate again, "which, they will think he is."

Jungkook sighs, crumpling the napkin even more. It would be a lie, to say he didn't think about this particular aspect of the situation. Jimin might be his wet dream, the kind of person he could easily fall for, but Taehyung was damn right when he said he isn't the kind of guy he usually dates. However, it's not an actual date, whether his parents believe it or not, so he shoved that thought to the back of his mind and plans to keep ignoring it. Another tiny little factor influencing his answer is that he is also stubborn as hell, so –––

"Well, I'll enlighten my parents then," Jungkook says, "because it's not a date, Jimin is not my date," he says, the brunet quirking a brow at him, "I mean –– technically, he is my date, but not like a date date," the younger says, maybe trying to convince himself, too. "We're going as friends," he repeats in a firmer tone now.

"Alright," Tae agrees, although he looks amused – just a tiny bit, but it seems he'll let it go, and that all that matters to the younger, really ––– "just not let it mess with your head," he says with a nonchalant shrug, but oh, Jungkook knows that look on his face –––


"Oh really?" he asks, feigning surprise, the older nodding, "and why would it mess with my head, Hyung?" he asks, propping up his chin with his hand.

"Because you have the hots for him," Tae explains, mirroring his position, "and now you're bringing him to a wedding as your date, which isn't a date, but is technically a date," he explains, lips curling up slightly as the younger makes a face, "the lines might get blurry."

Jungkook tears his gaze away, swallowing nervously. The thing is, that lines are blurry as they are already. Well, at least for him. He has no idea what Jimin thinks, to be honest. It's confusing as hell to him, because all of those little signs, the ones that he would generally consider romantic gestures, weren't necessarily meant to be romantic in the older's case, judging by the fact that he does most of them for his friends, too. The most concerning part, however, is the fact that he would probably cave in embarrassingly quickly if Jimin would show any sign that he's interested.

Interested in what, you might ask? Well, that's a can of worm he is sure as hell not ready to open yet. Jungkook sighs, aggressively shoving those thoughts into the back of his mind again.

"We probably shouldn't have eaten nachos before heavy cardio, right?" he changes the topic, laughing as the older makes a face, that says he definitely did not consider that tiny factor before ordering that they have a dance class in half an hour.







"Holy motherfucking hell," Tae pants next to him, still, although the practice room has cleared out in a few minutes, not counting them and Hoseok, "I think I'm going to pass out," the brunet continues whining, his arms giving out, back hitting the floor, too, "or puke, I'm not sure yet," he adds, touching his forehead with the back of his hand in his usual dramatic fashion, the younger chuckling breathily.

"Please don't puke in my dance studio," Hobi chimes in behind them, busy cleaning the mirror, the two youngers giggling.

"I enjoyed it," Jungkook shrugs, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, fuck, me too," Tae says, sitting up with a grunt, "but nachos aren't fueling enough for an hour-long dance class, that's for sure."

"Or you just aren't as fit as you think you are," the younger teases, snickering as he gets a light punch in the arm.

"I am fit," Tae huffs, "but don't compare me to yourself, muscle pig," he says, kicking the other's shin lightly, "that's not fair," the brunet adds, taking a big gulp of his water bottle

"Hoseok is doing fine, too," Jungkook continues teasing, giggling when the older throws some water at him.

"He's the dance teacher, you ass," Tae says, feigning offense, although his lips are curling into a smile helplessly. "Now that you mention," he continues, "Hobi," the brunet turns to the dancer, who hums questioningly, "are you up for a bagel at the cafeteria?" he asks enthusiastically. The oldest stills, blinking at Tae, then Jungkook, before they burst out in a fit of laughter, the brunet pouting.

"What?" Tae whines, "the nachos might have not been the best fuel, but I burned it, okay?" he says, pouting, "now I need more fuel to drag myself home."

"I'm sorry, Taehyungie," Hobi chuckles, finishing off the mirror, "I have a class in ten minutes," he explains with an apologetic smile. "Why don't you guys go find Jiminie? I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

Jungkook blinks, a blush creeping up his neck as he feels his best friend's gaze bore into him. He doesn't even have to look to know that there's a barely-there smugness on his expression, the kind only he recognizes, that little shit ––––

"Yeah, good idea," Tae says, pulling his phone out of his bags leisurely, "I'll text him," he says casually, although teasingly bumping the younger's thigh with his feet. Jungkook huffs, swatting his calf, the older snickering. Their usual bickering is disrupted by the soft ping of the brunet's phone, the latter smiling brightly as he reads the notification. "He's already at the cafeteria, let's go," he jumps up surprisingly quickly to someone who's been whining about his legs being 'completely done for' by the class just a few minutes ago.

"See you guys later!" Hobi waves them off with a warm smile on his face, the two youngers reciprocating earnestly.







Jungkook immediately spots Jimin as they enter the small cafeteria, hunched over his laptop with the concentrated pout he's grown very familiar and fond of, hood over his fluffy hair. The second thing he notices is how tired he looks, especially considering it's just Tuesday.

"Hi, Jiminie," Tae almost jumps on the other, back hugging him with his arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling his hood off and ruffling the fading blue strands with a bright smile. Jimin's hair is almost silver now, a little grown out at the roots. It suits him, Jungkook thinks. Everything suits him.

"Hi," Jimin laughs lightly, patting the brunet's arm with a fond smile, his expression turning even softer as his eyes set on the youngest, "hi, Jungkook-ah," he adds quietly, eyes shining brightly, never mind the unmistakable tiredness in them, the blond reciprocating with a small nod and a soft smile.

"Ugh, I haven't seen that font since college, it still gives me nightmares," Tae plops down next to him, eyeing the computer screen curiously while the younger sits down, too.

"Well, I am still in college," Jimin puffs amusedly, "and I'm pretty sure I think in Times New Roman 12-point font by now," he sighs, slouching down on the chair tiredly. "I'll never graduate at this pace."

"Don't say that," Jungkook frowns, heart clenching in sympathy. He knows the feeling all too well; how exhausting it is to give your best both at work and college, how it feels like you have to be at two places at once ––– he didn't really think about it in consideration of Jimin, though. The older has never given any sign that he's overwhelmed –––

On second thought, he shouldn't be surprised. He's still Jimin's boss after all. Jimin isn't the type to complain about the workload to his superiors. He does his job, even staying behind to finish it up if he was late due to his classes in the morning, or just simply couldn't finish. Jungkook never asks him, doesn't even imply he should stay overtime, but the older still does it from time to time ––– and now Jungkook couldn't help but feel guilty. He should've told Jimin to just go home, to focus on his studies, because that's much more important–––

Now is the time, Jae would say he's too soft-hearted for this line of job – and maybe he's right. He's never been good at dividing his personal and work life, Jungkook admits to himself wordlessly. Now, you see, it was easy with Taehyung. He's ridiculously good at keeping his work at the office, not letting it infiltrate his home, his personal life. He had only joined the company after graduating, so he could give work his full attention, strictly at office hours, though. Jungkook couldn't complain. Tae has always managed to get his job done effortlessly.

"Sorry," Jimin's voice stops his train of thought, smiling at him apologetically ––– why is he even apologizing, what––– "I'm just a little tired and that makes me slightly dramatic," he plays it off, chuckling weakly.

Jungkook knows that tactic. Jin does that too; joking when he's nervous about something instead of talking about it. This is also a clear sign he does not want to talk about it, so the younger lets it go. Taehyung, though, isn't exactly good at reading these clues on anyone but him, so he opens his mouth to ask –––

Jungkook disrupts him with the first thing that comes into his mind, the thing he really wished to share with Jimin anyway –––

"I learned how to do the moonwalk today, Hyung," he says enthusiastically, feeling himself blush a little as Jimin smiles at him brightly, so sweet, so pretty–––


"Really?" Jimin says with just as much excitement, leaning over the table just to pat the younger's hand gently, "that's great, Jungkook-ah."

"It's annoying how quickly he's learning everything," Tae chirps in, punching the blond's arm playfully, snickering as he gets a flick on his leg for it. "Kook-ah has always been like that," he continues distractedly, focusing on the menu already, oblivious to the younger's efforts to hide the flush on his cheeks profusely. He's never liked to be the center of attention, especially if it's praise–––

"Like what?" Jimin asks, smiling softly.

"Like, good at everything at the first try," comes the answer, Jungkook squirming on his place uncomfortably, smiling sheepishly as Jimin's curios gaze turns to him.

"Well, I'm not surprised," the blue-haired says with a soft smile, eyes boring into the younger, which only makes him squirm even more, about to tear his gaze away when the older's own one abruptly drifts away from him. "So," he clears his throat, standing up slowly, "are you guys ready to order?" he asks, adding before the other two could answer, "it's on me this time."

Now, this is another thing Jungkook has mixed feelings about, to say at least. He's used to paying for things. He always offers to do so, for his employees when they occasionally get some drinks, for family members especially, no matter how much they complain about it, and his friends, too, of course, because let's be real – he is usually the one with the most money to spare. Giving gifts is a love language of his, and people usually appreciate it. His family was probably the one to put up the most fight with him, he's the baby of the family after all, but they do appreciate it in moderation. Considering his friends – well, Jae's friends, rather, judging by how he hasn't heard about any of them ever since the breakup; on that note, why were they always hanging out with Jae's friends, but never his?–– – anyway, they had always happily taken his offer to pay for their gatherings. Now that he thinks about it, Tae is probably the only one who tends to insist every now and then to take the bill ––––

To get to the point, Jimin doing the same is ––– strange for him. He gets why Taehyung does it, he's his hyung after all, but Jimin ––– he doesn't take honorifics seriously, to be honest, which of course, isn't a problem, it's just -––– Jungkook doesn't get it.

He doesn't understand and, truth to be told, he should stop thinking about it before he spirals down to that familiar rabbit hole and ends up comparing him to Jae again, who despite the fact, that he earns much more than Jimin does, kind of expected the younger to pay all the time–––

No, this isn't about Jae. So, back to the point, maybe because Tae does it? Maybe Jimin thinks he's expected to do it sometime, too? Fuck –––

Taehyung disrupts his train of thought, warning him playfully not to touch his food if Jimin arrives before he comes back from the bathroom, the younger teasing him that he should be quick then as the brunet almost runs to the bathroom. Jimin does arrive first, placing the food on the table carefully.

"I've been craving, like, you know," Jimin starts explaining as he plops down on his seat, "those Salted Caramel Mochas with tons of extra caramel from Starbucks" he says, "but didn't have enough time to walk ten minutes to the nearest one, so I guess this will have to do," he jokes with a dramatic pout, referring to the hot chocolate he ordered.

"I don't think it would be wise to drink coffee this late anyway, Hyung," Jungkook chuckles lightly, thanking the older shyly as a cup gets pushed in front of him.

"Yeah, you're right," Jimin grimaces, "let's hope the sugar high will suffice," he says, taking a sip of his drink.

Jungkook nods quietly, doing the same with his own beverage before stealing a piece of ham from Taehyung's bagel, smiling sheepishly as the older chuckles.

"You could've just ordered your own if you're hungry," the blue-haired teases amusedly, and oh, there is that strange blend of emotions again–––

"Hyung," Jungkook starts hesitantly, the older humming absent-mindedly as he picks up his phone from the table, checking his notifications, "you know you don't have to, like ––– umm," he starts to ramble, which catches the other's attention, putting his phone back down, "you really don't have to take the bill for me all the time," he says warily, "like, I don't want you to think that either I or Tae expects you to," the younger continues hastily as he sees the other frowning, "I just like to treat people –– my friends, especially," he continues, tearing his gaze away shyly, "and Taehyung is just stubborn and still thinks he has to take care of me just because he's older –––" he chuckles nervously, shaking his head, "anyway, what I was meaning to say is that, umm ––– I would never expect you to pay me back in any way. It's just a thing I like to do for the people I ––– umm, my friends and –– I have all this money anyway," he shrugs, glancing at the older as his foot bounces under the table with nerves.

Jimin's face is unreadable for a long, unbearably quiet moment. Maybe some surprise flashes through his expression, morphing into a mixture of feelings, a strange blend the younger can't decipher. The thing with Jimin is, or so Jungkook has learned in the past month, that he isn't necessarily one to mask his emotions, it's just really difficult to learn how to read them when the younger is busy trying to hide his own ones. Jungkook is ––– working on it. He can hold eye contact with the older for more than five seconds now, so that's progress, right?

"Jungkookie," Jimin says, tilting his head as he observes Jungkook. "I don't––" he sighs, reaching over the table to place his hand on the younger's –– oh, it's becoming a thing now, isn't it? ––– "I just like to treat my friends too, from time to time, okay?" he says with a reassuring smile, squeezing the other's hand before

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net