Truyen3h.Co

Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

Font chữ: Palatino Linotype Bookerly Segoe UI Patrick Hand Times New Roman Verdana Tahoma Arial

Chiều cao dòng: 100 120 140 160 180 200

Kích cỡ chữ:

The end of the weekend brought the start of an onslaught of exams and assignments due, midterm week finally arriving. From Sunday on, Taehyung didn't see much of his new friends as they all dove headlong into their work. He barely even saw Yoongi despite sharing a room, only in the few moments he had a chance to stop by the studio. But he didn't have much chance to dwell on it.

Tuesday night he handed in his vocal track with barely time to spare. By the time he collapsed into bed, Yoongi still hadn't appeared. And when he woke up the next day, the mattress beside him was still empty. Taehyung blinked blearily at the undisturbed sheets, rubbing his eyes before checking his phone. No new messages.

Changing into new clothes, Taehyung made his way back onto campus. He found the studio, cracking the door open and peering inside.

By the evidence of empty disposable coffee cups around him, Yoongi had been keeping himself awake with copious amounts of caffeine. His eyes were half open, leaning on one hand, the other making adjustments on the track he was listening to with his headphones. Being in the basement of the building, he wasn't even aware it was day at that point, barely registering anything going on beyond what he'd been working on since the middle of the afternoon the day before. There wasn't much time left to finish it, he had to have it done before the end of Friday, and there was still so much to do.

Taehyung frowned, opening the door wider. After a moment of just watching, he approached the older man. "...Yoongi hyung?" When there was no reaction, he reached out to tap Yoongi's shoulder.

Between lack of sleep, frayed midterm nerves and too much caffeine, Yoongi jumped out of his chair, knocking himself over onto the floor. "Fuck!" he hissed, banging his shoulder into the desk and landing hard on his knee. He laid on the floor for a second, looking up at Taehyung with wide eyes. "The fuck did you come from?"

Taehyung yelped and jumped back, blinking dumbly down at Yoongi for a moment. "Are you okay?" He crouched down to help Yoongi back up to his feet. "Sorry, you weren't answering." He slid the headphones off the older man's head before he could damage the cord (or strangle himself with it), placing them back on the table. "Hyung, have you been working the whole night?"

Rubbing at his hair, Yoongi blinked blearily at Taehyung for a moment. "Uh... I don't know, what time is it?" he asked, peering down to look at the clock on the computer. "It says it's nine... it's the morning already? When did that happen? Last time I looked at the clock it was like.. Two."

Taehyung shook his head at that, sighing. So Yoongi had really worked straight through the night. "Hyung... you need to sleep. Tomorrow's your all-classes day." He looked at the mess of the room, deciding to deal with it once he had Yoongi back in bed. "Let's go back home, okay?"

".. But.. I'm almost done, I have to finish," Yoongi said, though he was wobbling a little just standing there. "I don't have time to sleep. Shit, I have an exam on Friday." Yoongi rubbed his face with his hands, screaming into them.

"Hyung..." Taehyung watched him, chewing on his lips before stepping forward. He smoothed his hands along Yoongi's shoulders, massaging the tense muscles. "You really, really need sleep. Get some sleep, and then food, and then you can keep working okay? Shut down your stuff and let me take you back home."

Yoongi looked so, so tired... but that was only one of the issues. He looked like he hadn't eaten, or even drank anything that wasn't coffee in the last 24 hours.

Shrugging off Taehyung's hands, Yoongi shook his head. "No, I have to finish, just a little longer," he said, leaning down to right his chair but pitched forward too far and fell over again. "Fuck," he hissed, curling up on the floor in pain.

"Yoongi!" There was distress in Taehyung's voice as he crouched back down next to Yoongi. He pushed the chair away to give Yoongi more room, eyes wide. "You can't take anymore. Please, let's go back." He couldn't even carry Yoongi back that distance... he'd just managed across their bedroom.

Now wasn't the time to be spineless. "Hyung, I'll call eomma. I will. So please listen."

Eyes cracking open, Yoongi looked up at Taehyung with a frown. "... You call him and I will end you Kim Taehyung, I know where you live," he murmured. "Fine, help me up."

Taehyung nodded, relief crossing his expression as he scooted forward. He wrapped one of Yoongi's arms around his shoulders and helped him up to his feet, trying to keep him steady. "You really need sleep," he mumbled. "Grades isn't worth this, hyung."

"Fuck grades, music is worth it," Yoongi said, leaning heavily against him. He was so tired and disoriented he almost felt drunk. "Sleep when I'm dead."

"No, sleep when you're alive too," Taehyung insisted, arm going around Yoongi's shoulders. "Can you shut down your things, or should I do it?" He'd spent a decent enough amount of time watching Yoongi work.

"I can do it," Yoongi said, wrinkling his nose a little at Taehyung. It was more of a combined effort, Taehyung holding him steady as Yoongi saved all his files and shut the computer down. He didn't bother grabbing his bag or his things, the extra weight would probably topple them both over and as long as he had the key to the space, no one was going to be rifling through his things. "Let's go before I pass out in the middle of the street and you have to drag me home."

"Yeah," Taehyung nodded, adjusting his grip on the older man so they could both walk while he supported Yoongi from one side. It was slow, slow going out of the building and across the campus. Students were already out and about for their morning classes by then, some casting them looks.

Finally they stepped out of the elevator onto their floor, Taehyung unlocking the door and hauling Yoongi inside. "Here," he tried to lower Yoongi onto the mattress.

Yoongi in this state wasn't exactly very coordinated and he toppled onto the mattress face first. It took him a second to roll over and sit up. He wasn't sure when the last time he'd taken a shower was, but these clothes felt like they'd become part of his skin and they were starting to smell. "Help," he grumbled, attempting to pull his shirt off and getting it tangled up and stuck on his head.

Taehyung blinked repeatedly before jumping to help, fingers easing the collar around Yoongi's head and pulling the shirt off. He helped take off Yoongi's shoes and socks, tossing the shoes back down into the entranceway. "Better?"

"Mhm," Yoongi nodded, his head bobbling a little before he fell back onto the bed. He was in the midst of getting his pants undone and pushed off when his actions stilled and he very obviously fell asleep, pants halfway down his thighs.

Taehyung stared at him for a moment, expecting Yoongi to renew the struggle to get his pants off any moment. When he didn't, the younger of the two shook his head before reaching out to help, being careful not to wake Yoongi back up again. He needed every second of sleep he got, but sleeping with his jeans like that wasn't going to be comfortable.

Once he had Yoongi's jeans off and tossed to the side, Taehyung drew the blanket up over his half-naked body so that he wouldn't be cold. "...Good night," he whispered, pressing a kiss to Yoongi's cheek. He had a lot to do that day, so he couldn't cuddle up beside Yoongi and sleep the day away. A belated goodnight kiss would have to be enough.

A growl in his stomach reminded him he hadn't had breakfast before heading to find Yoongi. Rubbing his eyes as he stepped out into the hallway, Taehyung looked between Jin's door and Namjoon's door blankly. Then he headed down to Namjoon's door, knocking.

The door opened after a moment, a sleepy looking Jin peering out at him. "Morning Taehyung," he said, opening the door a little wider. It was obvious he'd just woken up, still in his pajamas and hair toussled. "You have breakfast yet?"

"No," Taehyung shook his head, blinking up at Jin. "Sorry, did I wake you up? I thought you might be up already." He peered over Jin's shoulder before stepping in. "Is Namjoon hyung there too?"

"No, he left pretty early this morning," Jin said, closing the door. "I was just taking a short nap since I was up with him this morning to make him breakfast. I wasn't expecting company today, do you have any exams today?"

"Yeah, but in the afternoon," Taehyung nodded, sitting down out of the way. He hadn't seen Jin much either, he'd been just too busy. "The others don't stop by?"

"No, it's midterms, I don't expect to see anybody until Saturday, or Friday night at the earliest," Jin said, rummaging through the refrigerator for something to make. "I barely see Namjoon, which is why I get up with him in the morning to make him breakfast, it's the only chance we get to talk this week. How's Yoongi? I tried to bring him food yesterday but he locked the studio door on me soon as he had his food."

"Uh..." Taehyung winced, sighing. "He didn't come home last night, so I went to find him when I woke up an hour ago. He was still working in the studio. I made him come home and sleep, he was in a pretty bad state." And it was only Wednesday, they still had half the week to go.

".. He is impossible," Jin said, shaking his head. "If he didn't say it, thank you for taking care of him. I'm sure he appreciates it but he's bad at being grateful." Getting a pan out and setting it on Namjoon's tiny hot plate, he glanced at Taehyung. "So... how are things going with you and him?"

"Um... aside from midterms?" Taehyung chuckled, drawing his legs up to his chest and just resting. "It's been going well? He said once midterms are over, we're going to go on a date." His smile widened.

"A date? Really?" Jin couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Never thought I'd see the day where Yoongi would agree to an actual date. Do you know what you're going to do yet?"

"I think we're going to a hip hop club he likes," Taehyung said brightly. "Where he sometimes does rap battles. I'm really excited."

"Of course that's what he would suggest. Why not dinner, like normal people," Jin sighed. "Do not let him drink, and do not let him get on stage, he pisses people off. Last time he went to one of those clubs people went to the hospital and I don't think you want your first date ending in jail or the hospital."

"No, not really," Taehyung shook his head at that. "I'll try not to let him drink." He hadn't been very good at that so far. But he'd promised not to tell Jin about it, so... "I think a club could be fun. We both like music, so why not?"

"I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun," Jin said, humming a little as he cooked. "I have to admit I was a little concerned about the two of you at first, cause you both were so frustratingly dense, still are. But I've noticed a bit of a change in Yoongi, he definitely smiles a bit more. You've been good for him."

Startled, Taehyung rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Then he smiled up at Jin. "... I hope I can keep making him happy."

"I know you will, long as Yoongi gets out of his own way and lets himself be happy," Jin said. "Despite his... many flaws, he's still a marshmallow deep down and wants to be happy, but he doesn't know how. I hope you can make each other happy, but it's probably going to take a while. He's got issues to work through first."

"That's okay," Taehyung nodded. "He can take as much time as he needs. He went through a lot." Taehyung rested his head back against the wall. "And he has so many great friends looking out for him."

Jin finished up the noodles he was cooking, plating them for Taehyung and bringing the plate to him. "So I take it Yoongi told you about his past," Jin said, sitting in one of the chairs at the table.

"Uh-huh," Taehyung nodded, perking up when Jin brought food. "Thank you, eomma. It's kind of amazing that he got so far with the hand he was dealt. A lot of people would have given up." He dug into the noodles, feeling pretty hungry by then.

Jin nodded, looking down at the table with a thoughtful expression. "He's one of the few people I've really admired for being so strong, I don't know he kept going honestly. He's... had his bad moments too though, and I guess I should warn you about that. It hasn't happened in a while, but there are times where he won't be so strong."

Taehyung nodded at that. "No one can be strong all the time," he said once he'd swallowed his mouthful. "I never really expected him to be."

"He likes to act like it though," Jin said. "Just be careful."

"Course," Taehyung looked up at Jin. "I'll be careful. But right now I just hope he gets as much sleep as possible to get him through all his classes tomorrow."

"Easier said than done," Jin chuckled. "Worst comes to worse, take a blanket and pillow down to the studio for him if you can't drag him back home. He can sleep just about anywhere."

"Okay," Taehyung nodded. "At least midterms are halfway over?" he tried to be optimistic, smiling at Jin. "Sorry I haven't stopped by very often. I didn't expect exams to be so crazy, and I still have two essays to hand in. But my vocal track is done. Yoongi hyung's gonna kill me when he remembers I didn't show him before handing it in."

"Just don't mention it," Jin shrugged. "He can't complain when he's working himself to death right now, he did not need another project to add onto his pile. I can't imagine how he would be if he was trying to work on the festival song as well."

"Do you think he would have kept on trying to if he wasn't cut off?" Taehyung asked, finishing off his bowl.

"Yes, absolutely he would have," Jin replied. "He doesn't like that he has to do things like school work, all he wants to do is make music. I don't blame him, but he didn't go through the hell he went through just to end up as some sound board mixer somewhere, he wants to be a producer. To do that, he needs to graduate if he wants to be taken seriously."

"Yeah," Taehyung nodded. "He really doesn't pay much attention to his schoolwork." He'd heard Namjoon telling Yoongi that constantly. It seemed to be a point of frustration for Namjoon. "I think he left all his assignments to the last minute, that must be what he was working on in the studio."

"Not surprising," Jin agreed, sliding out of his chair and stretching out his arms as he headed towards Namjoon's small coffee maker, pouting when he saw it was empty. "That's why it really surprised me that Yoongi wanted to do this festival song so bad, he hates doing things that are school related. You know he gets graded for this right?"

"Oh?" Taehyung blinked. "Well it sounds amazing so far, so his grade is going to be perfect," he grinned. "Even better than perfect when we all sing it live, huh?"

"That's going to be the fun part, getting everyone on stage," Jin chuckled, making another pot of coffee. "Yoongi does not like performing, especially if he's sober. Namjoon doesn't like people knowing how talented he is in anything, let alone music. It'll be a bit of a struggle to get them both on stage at the same time."

"But Yoongi hyung is a great rapper, and he can't chicken out of his own song, when it was his idea," Taehyung's lips pursed in a pout. "Why doesn't Namjoon hyung want people to know he's talented?"

"Namjoon had a hard time in high school because of how smart he was, and he felt like a bit of an outcast because of it," Jin said, returning to the table with his cup of coffee. "He doesn't want people knowing he's talented because it reminds him of how the other kids treated him. He just wants to do his work quietly, at the same pace as everyone else."

Taehyung messed up his hair with one hand. On one hand, he could see where Namjoon was coming from. But on the other hand, it seemed like such a waste. "What do you think, eomma?"

"I think he's an idiot," Jin shrugged. "But I'm biased because I think he's really hot when he's performing and would like to see him performing every day."

Taehyung chuckled at that, eyes crinkling in amusement. "You seem to be spending more time in here than in your own room," he said, resting his elbows on his knees. "Are you two moving in together when Jungkook's gone?"

"I... don't know," Jin shook his head, cradling his coffee as he curled his legs up under him. "We haven't really discussed anything like that yet. It's only been a few weeks, and you never what's going to happen down the road."

"But you guys have liked each other for years," Taehyung said, tilting his head. "It's not really 'only a few weeks' the same way it is for Yoongi hyung and me."

"Harboring a huge crush on someone is not quite the same as trying to figure how to live together," Jin said. "I mean, we're okay now, because I know in the back of my head if I need to, I can go back down the hall to my own space. Right now it kind of just feels like we're playing house, and I'm okay with that. I don't think either one of us want to rush into anything"

Taehyung nodded slowly, leaning back against the wall. "Well, I'm still happy for you," He said, smiling widely. "How's... um..." He floundered for a moment, not sure how to phrase what was on his mind. "Are you still okay with the, you know, physical parts?"

Jin couldn't help the awkward little laugh, setting his cup down. "That's... something that's still in progress. Namjoon's been really patient with me, and I have to admit, it's not as scary as I thought it was. We're still not at the... Jimin level of sex yet, but it's been nice."

Taehyung blinked. "...Is Jimin-level considered the normal amount of sex? Seems scary."

Jin collapsed in a fit of laughter, his eyes screwed shut as he wheezed. "No.. god no that's not what I meant," he sputtered out when he could finally speak. "I meant that... we haven't taken it further than uh... some heavy petting and a little oral. I haven't really decided if I want to move onto anything more."

"Oh." Taehyung chewed on his lip. "There's really that big of a difference?"

"Hm?" Jin tilted his head a little, not understanding the question. "I'm not sure I understand what you're referring to when you mean difference."

"Ah... nevermind," Taehyung shook his head. "Was just thinking of something Yoongi hyung said some time ago. I guess the idea still makes me nervous regardless."

"... Something Yoongi said," Jin raised an eyebrow at him. "What did Yoongi say? I'm curious."

"When the whole thing with Jungkook and Jimin came up on Friday, we talked after and he said he would never have sex with a friend," Taehyung said, tapping his fingers against his knees. "And I'm not really sure how a blowjob from Jimin doesn't qualify as having sex, but I'm not sure how to ask because I don't want him to think I'm harping on it or something. I just don't understand the distinction. Why one's 'okay' and the other isn't."

"Ah, I see," Jin nodded. "That's kind of a complicated question. The short answer, is any kind of sexual act is sex, so you're not wrong there. But when it comes to Yoongi... it's definitely more complicated. If you think about what he did for so long, and I don't know how in detail he went with you, but there's... levels I guess of service. Oral and hand jobs are like a service, but actual penetrative sex is sex. Because he didn't earn much money for blow jobs."

He was careful to gauge Taehyung's reaction as he continued, knowing this was kind of awkward to talk about. "The other thing complicating this, is the rules that Jungkook and Jimin had on their relationship. Jimin could do anything he wanted with anyone, as long he talked to Jungkook about it first. Or if he was drunk, at least let Jungkook know what happened. The fact that Jimin didn't tell Jungkook about it, and that it was Yoongi, just made things worse I guess."

"Oh." Taehyung wasn't sure what to make of all that, chewing on his thumb as he looked down at the table. It was a little more information than he had been looking for, but did answer his question in a very roundabout way. "I... think I understand. It does seem really complicated. I hope Jimin and Jungkook work things out."

"Honestly I'd be surprised if they do," Jin said, watching him. "But I don't think you asked because of those two, you were more asking about Yoongi weren't you."

"Yeah... I guess... I just wanted to understand his logic," Taehyung said. "If he considers one less intimate than the other, or... whatever. I don't know. I don't know why I asked, really," he laughed sheepishly, messing one hand through his hair. "Maybe midterms are driving me crazy."

"I think you know why you asked, but you don't know how to handle it," Jin said, watching him. "Tae... you know you can tell me anything, but... have you been thinking about... being in a sexual relationship with Yoongi?"

Taehyung's eyes widened and he looked a little alarmed, shaking his head. "No. No, nothing like that. I just didn't understand the distinction he was making between the two different actions. That's all."

Jin clearly wasn't convinced, but he let it lie. He imagined he would have had the same reaction if someone had asked him something like that before he and Namjoon had got together. "Well, you could have asked him, he might have other reasons for it that I don't know about. The not sleeping with friends thing isn't something I've heard about, especially with how he was pining for Hoseok for a little while there."

"Eh?" That was new. "He had a crush on Hoseok hyung?" Taehyung asked, a little baffled. "But he always yells at Hoseok to go away." The only time Yoongi ever seemed to tolerate Hoseok's loudness was when he was wasted.

"It wasn't so much a crush as he found Hoseok really attractive," Jin laughed. "And Yoongi's like a puppy when it comes to people he's attracted to, plays a little too rough to get their attention. I think it just became habit for him to harass Hoseok once it was clear Hoseok wasn't interested in experimenting again."

"Oh, like when primary school kids have crushes," Taehyung piped up in understanding. "So even if he had sex with Jimin, Hoseok hyung is 100% straight?"

"Yes, but he's comfortable enough in his sexuality that he can appreciate when a guy looks good, and doesn't mind when Jimin's a little too... friendly," Jin said. "But far as I'm aware, Jimin was the only time before or since. But I guess Jimin has that kind of affect on straight guys, makes them confused."

"Oh?" Taehyung tilted his head at that. "Has this happened before? Do you have any stories, eomma?" If there was one thing Taehyung knew about Jin, it was that he loved to gossip.

"Far too many to count," Jin said, a smile spreading on his lips. He'd definitely missed talking to the others the past few days, and it was nice to have someone to share all the secrets of their groups of friends with someone else who was trusted. "Besides Hoseok and Jungkook there was...."

*********

By the time Friday came around, Jimin felt like his limbs were going to fall off. The show rehearsal the night before nearly killed him as they did two full run throughs of all the group dances, and then he and Hoseok had worked by themselves on their unit dance and his solo.

He would be forever grateful for his best friend for arranging Friday as a rest day, his feet and thighs ready to protest at any kind of activity that didn't involve sleeping or not moving. Luckily for him, all of his exams were done at that point, though he empathized with Hoseok who did have one that day.

It was rare he got the apartment all to himself, though not so rare these days now that Jungkook wasn't living there. He was very tempted to send the younger a text, but had been refraining all week. Jungkook had to come to him this time. So, with a quiet house, Jimin reveled in sleeping and lounging in bed for as long as he could.

It was sometime late in the afternoon when Jimin's phone buzzed, a new text message flashing across the surface. It was from Taehyung, who had been too swamped with exams and assignments to send more than 'make sure you take breaks' messages every now and then. Up until that moment apparently, if his all-caps "FREEDOM!!!!" message was anything to go by.

Jimin grinned at his phone, quickly replying. "Come over, I miss you!, and after a moment of hesitation, he also sent ""Help me dye my hair :)"

Taehyung's response came in a few seconds later. Well, responses. Taehyung was a serial chain texter, except with Yoongi whose level of agitation tended to rise in correlation with the number of times his phone needlessly went off.

"!!!"

"What colour?"

"But the pink is so pretty D:"

"You trust me with your hair?"

"Of course I trust you!" Jimin replied, running a hand through his hair. "I like the pink, but I need something a little more subdued for the showcase. Just hurry and get here and I'll show you the color."

"At campus on my way" was Taehyung's response, before going silent.

A good five minutes later there was a rattling sound at the front door before it opened, Taehyung nearly tripping over the entranceway before closing the door and kicking his shoes off. He peered into Jimin's room, grinning when he saw him. "Hi. Exams are over, and last assignment is handed in. I'm free until Monday!" He dropped down onto the bed next to Jimin. "Today's a rest day before the show?"

"Yeah, a much needed rest," Jimin said, immediately cuddling into Taehyung. "You're still going right? No emergency situations come up? No death in the family?"

"I'm not missing your showcase for anything." Taehyung wrapped his arms around Jimin, cuddling comfortably on the bed. "Gonna fight everyone for front row so I get the best view."

"Good," Jimin smiled, closing his eyes. "I'm so nervous Taetae, I've been working on this solo for months... I hope I don't fuck it up."

"You'll do great," Taehyung insisted, smoothing one hand along Jimin's back. "You've practiced so hard, and you're such an amazing dancer you could do your routines in your sleep. You're gonna ace it."

"I keep trying to tell myself that, doesn't stop me from being nervous," Jimin said. "I'll just be glad when it's done and I don't have to stress over it anymore. Next time, Hobi hyung's doing the solo."

"He'll have fun with that," Taehyung chuckled. "Where is he, anyways? Isn't today a rest day for him too?" He hadn't seen sign of Hoseok all week.

"I think he had an exam," Jimin said. He hadn't seen much of Hoseok outside of practice either, and the days kind of melted together when they spent more than half the day in the practice room. "He's been really stressed out this week too, the director put a lot on his shoulders to get this showcase ready."

"Why, cause he's in a higher year?" Taehyung asked. "Do the third and fourth-years take care of the behind the scenes work and not the department?"

"Depends on how serious they are about going further into dance," Jimin said. "Someone like Hobi hyung, who lives for dancing, he helps with choreography and the schedule for the show. Or whatever the director needs help with."

"Sounds intense," Taehyung said. "Do you want to do stuff like that, Jimin? Like be a choreographer, or study further?"

"I just want to be a dancer, get into a good company and put on good shows," Jimin said. "I'm not that good at creating choreography, I had to get Hobi hyung's help with my solo. I wouldn't mind teaching dance later on, I enjoy doing that with the beginner classes."

"Maybe I'll get to see that firsthand next semester?" Taehyung grinned, tickling Jimin's side. "Teach me seonsaengnim~"

"No, don't, stop! Taetae!" Jimin squealed, wriggling as best he could to get away from the fingers. "Stop!"

Taehyung grinned widely, having fun poking at all his friend's ticklish spots. He was so distracted he didn't hear the clatter of the front door opening and closing, Jimin's squeals drowning it out.

But he did notice when the light from the living room dimmed, someone appearing in the bedroom doorway. Laughing, Taehyung looked up and saw Hoseok was back. "Oh, Hoseok hyung!" He immediately stopped tickling Jimin, pretending to be innocent. "Finished your exam?"

It took a bit too long for him to realize he didn't recognize the expression on Hoseok's face as he looked at them, far too used to seeing a smile or smirk or a tongue sticking out to realize when they were missing. Hoseok looked... Taehyung couldn't think of a word for it. Stressed was the closest thing he could come up with, mind piecing together what Jimin had told him earlier about the director pawning jobs off on him.

"Uh... yeah," Hoseok nodded, one hand absently touching the back of his neck. "Guess you're done too. How's your legs, Jimin?"

"Sore," Jimin pouted, twisting around so he could sit up. "I'm going to be sore for days after Saturday." He held out a hand, making grabby motions. "You wanna come cuddle with us? We're dying my hair later so last chance for cuddles until I'm a whole new me."

"...I'll have to pass," Hoseok said, not moving from the doorway and giving a tight smile. "Just came back to grab some stuff then I have to check out the stage one last time. What colour are you using this time? Not green again, right?"

"No, but you'll like it," Jimin said, letting his hand fall. "... Are you okay Hobi hyung? You look really stressed, we can come help, right Taetae?"

"Course!" Taehyung nodded, sitting up on the bed.

"It's fine, it's mostly checking stuff off lists and showing the director I'm not slacking off," Hoseok waved them off, disappearing from the doorway. "I'll see you both later."

Frowning a little, Jimin pushed the blankets off of his legs and slid off the bed. "Hobi hyung?" he called, padding out to the living room. "Hyung... there's no way the director would think you're slacking, you've been in the performance hall every free minute this week. You need to relax."

Rubbing his temple, Hoseok dropped his hand at Jimin's voice and turned around. "The showcase is tomorrow, I'll be able to relax all Sunday," he said with a smile that looked a shade too fake. "And we can drink to the week being over, huh?"

"I hope so, we definitely will need to de-stress once the showcase is over," Jimin said, hugging his arms against his chest. "I'm probably going to make dinner, should I let you know when it's done?"

"I don't know when I'll be back in, but I'll let you know," Hoseok said, turning to push a binder into his backpack and zip it up. "I want to see your hair when it's done."

"Of course, can't go out on stage if it doesn't have Hobi hyung's seal of approval," Jimin said, watching him. "You sure you don't want help? I'm sure we could get it all done much faster."

Hoseok slung his backpack over one shoulder. "Yeah. I'm sure. Go have fun." He walked past Jimin to the door, reaching out to muse his hair on the way by. "Last time I get to do this to pink hair."

"... Jung Hoseok I know you're not leaving without giving me a hug," Jimin said, scowling at his friend's back. "I haven't had my Hobi hug all day." Or yesterday for that matter, but yesterday was practice all day non stop so it was forgiven.

"Oh fine," Hoseok chuckled tiredly, turning around again and holding his arms wide open. "Get over here."

Jimin nearly launched himself at Hoseok, arms going around his neck and hugging him tight. "It's a bad day if I don't get my hug," he said, nuzzling into him a little.

Hoseok's arms folded around Jimin's slighter frame, letting Jimin lean into him as he closed his eyes. "Let's not let that happen then," he murmured, hand resting against the small of Jimin's back and leaning his head against the younger man's. After a long hug he pulled away. "See you later, try not to get the cops called without me."

"Impossible, you're half the reason the cops get called in the first place," Jimin teased, poking Hoseok in the stomach. "Don't be out too late, you need your rest too for tomorrow."

"I'm gonna sleep the whole morning away," Hoseok swatted at the poking finger before heading to the door. As he stuffed on his shoes and left, Taehyung leaned out of the bedroom door to watch.

A brief flicker of worry crossed Jimin's features as he turned, but when he saw Taehyung he smiled. "Hair dye time! We should do yours too, the red's kind of fading."

Taehyung blinked, then self-consciously touched one hand to his hair. "Is it? I didn't really notice. Though the roots are more noticeable. Let's do yours first and see how much time we have left?"

"You know what you would look great in? Purple," Jimin said, walking towards Taehyung and taking him by the hand and pulling him to the bathroom. "You're really going to like what I picked out for myself though."

******************

"Taehyung, over here," Namjoon's voice caught Taehyung's attention as he was popping out of the performance hall to get some water. He perked up when he saw Namjoon and Jin waiting in line to get inside, doing an about face and turning to meet them instead.

"Hey!" He stopped, bouncing on his heels. "They're opening the doors soon. Just doing a last sound check."

"How long have you been in there?" Namjoon raised an eyebrow. "...And why is your hair purple?"

Taehyung beamed happily. "Jimin helped me dye it yesterday! And, uh... since three or something?" He rubbed the back of his head. "He texted that they needed help setting up so."

"I think the purple suits you, it's very vibrant," Jin said. "I haven't seen Yoongi yet, were you able to drag him out of the studio or no."

"I tried in the morning," Taehyung pouted. "He kicked me out of the studio and said he'd meet us at the showcase."

"..." Namjoon shook his head. "All his assignments are done. He's probably jumped right back onto the festival song."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, Jimin will kill him if he misses his big solo," Jin said, his hand having found Namjoon's and was swaying a little to the music playing in the lobby.

"We'll save him a seat so he doesn't end up scowling at the back the whole show," Namjoon said, glancing at Jin beside him and smiling.

Taehyung nodded, rocking back and forth. "What were you both doing today?"

"Just... relaxing," Jin said, though he gave a not so subtle eye slide to look up at Namjoon and smiled a little.

Catching the look, the corner of Namjoon's lips curled in amusement, thumb brushing against the back of Jin's hand.

Taehyung blinked at them, not getting it from the blank expression on his face. But then the doors were opened and propped that way, and his expression brightened. "Look, we're going in!" He wedged himself in line beside Jin.

"Don't get separated from us," Jin chuckled, hooking his arm with Taehyung's, the poor kid would get lost pretty easy in this crowd. It was nice having connections with the people who organized the event, Hoseok had reserved them seats right in the front row. They were pretty easy to find, and Jin couldn't help but be a little more excited now that they were sitting and waiting.

"These showcases are always amazing," Jin said once they were settled, Namjoon on side of him and Taehyung on the other. "Do you know they're in the first act or the second?"

"Jimin said first," Taehyung replied, shifting excitedly in his seat. "I don't know if all their dances are in the first act, but most of them at least. Jimin said his solo closes the first half."

"Great." Namjoon's lips curled, and he leaned back in his chair. "He was worried about that going well."

"I don't know why that kid worries so much, he's an amazing dancer," Jin said, looking around the hall. "I mean, there's a reason he was picked for the solo right? He has to know it's because he's so talented."

"Being talented doesn't mean the nerves disappear," Namjoon shrugged.

Listening to their conversation, Taehyung looked at the time on his phone. They were going to start soon. He glanced at the empty seat on his other side before pulling up Yoongi's number and firing off a text. "Hyung, it's starting soon, we're at the front row."

"Okay, be there soon," came a reply a few seconds later.

The three chatted as they waited for the show to start, the lights finally dimming after ten minutes or so once everyone was in their seats. The curtain surrounding the stage finally lifted, and Jin immediately nudged at Taehyung, pointing out Jimin who was standing posed near them. "Oh my god, his hair... what even color is that?" he whispered to Taehyung.

"Silver," Taehyung replied, eyes bright and sparkling as he leaned forward in his seat. He had to resist the urge to cheer, the whole venue was quiet as the first beats of music came on, the bass shaking their seats. "It turned out really good, didn't it?" He could see Hoseok in the first group as well, farther down the stage.

"He looks amazing, they all do," Jin nodded. There were so many things to look at, between costumes and hair styles and smiling faces, not to mention the intricate dance steps. There were so many people on stage, Jin was surprised no one managed to hit anyone else but they were nothing if not professional. The first song was fairly short, just an introduction to start the show. Jin barely noticed when most of the stage emptied, leaving half a dozen or so on stage.

Jimin, Hoseok and Jungkook were included in this group, and the beat shifted into something a little harder. Jin wasn't the biggest fan of hip hop, or english music, but watching the group dance to it, hips swaying and bodies rolling, he could see why so many people enjoyed this type of music.

"I didn't think Jimin or Hoseok could get any better at dancing, but I was wrong," Jin said to Namjoon, unable to look away from the stage as the song finished.

Whatever Namjoon had been about to say was drowned out by cheers and hollers, the audience erupting. He could hear Taehyung's voice cheering too, the younger man trying to make it known to Jimin with a loud two-fingered whistle.

The lights dimmed momentarily and Namjoon could see shapes moving on and off the stage. The next dance had none of their friends in it, but the one after that Jimin was back, filling in one of six positions in a more contemporary style dance. As the song ended and the group on stage left, Taehyung glanced at the empty seat beside him again. Yoongi still wasn't here. Why was he running so late? A couple of their friends' songs had already gone by.

When Taehyung finished sending Yoongi another text and looked up again, he realized only two figures were left on the stage. Jimin and Hoseok. Jimin's form was still hidden by shadows, only Hoseok's illuminated by a coloured stage light. Taehyung nudged Jin's side; he'd seen this during practice many, many times. "This is their duet!" He whispered in the older man's ear. "The one Hoseok hyung choreographed!" They'd been planning to add Jungkook into the routine, but obviously with the last week being the way it had... well... that had fallen through in the end.

Jin couldn't respond, the song had started and Hoseok was moving. He couldn't keep track of the fast movements, but he audibly gasped when Hoseok flipped backwards off one hand. Still reeling from that shock, Hoseok's stilled as the music came to an end, the back lights behind Hoseok dimming as across the stage, another set of lights came on.

"Oh my god," Jin's eyes widened as he saw Jimin, the younger's head rolling, the blindfold over his eyes catching the light. The song had switched into a light, airy mix, complimented by Jimin's twirls and rhythmic movements. "Is that a real blindfold?"

"Yup," Taehyung nodded. Jimin had done some practice runs with it, and had made Taehyung try it on (probably taking a photo as blackmail at the same time). "He can't see anything right now." He glanced at Namjoon on Jin's other side, seeing the other man was watching the performance intently.

But despite not seeing anything, Jimin's movements didn't falter, nor did he seem to get confused as to where he was on the stage, performing movements that would have been hard to pull off with all his senses let alone missing the most critical one. His solo piece lasted just as long as Hoseok's had, before the music and movements came to a brief stop. Taehyung leaned back in his seat, waiting with bated breath.

Then all the stage lights came on, both their forms illuminated in the contrasting colours. The music picked back up and they moved, perfectly in sync with the song and each other despite one of them seeing nothing.

The dance picked up in intensity, the two of them doing an intricate back bend and hand maneuver that Jin had a hard time following. They traded moves again, Jimin knowing exactly when to start and stop despite not getting the visual cues from Hoseok.

And then it was done, the music ending and the lights dimming to just two spotlights over the dancers. Jin could tell they were both tired with how heavy they were breathing. Jimin pulled off the blindfold, rubbing absently at his hair as they took their bow, the crowd cheering.

"I can't believe they didn't close the show with that," Jin said, looking at Taehyung. "Makes me wonder what Jimin has in store for this solo."

Taehyung whistled again, clapping as loud as he could to be heard over the cheers. "No clue," he said, looking at Jin with bright eyes. "I never saw him practice his solo. He never really mentioned anything about it except being nervous." This was nothing like anything he'd seen before, and he could barely keep still in his seat.

But they still had a few more numbers to go before they reached the halfway point, both Hoseok and Jimin taking a well-deserved breather after that to let the other students dance. After two songs and another appearance from Jungkook, all three of them were back in one of the group numbers.

"They're not getting much chance to rest between dances," Namjoon said, seeing Jimin's silver hair was darker with sweat at that point.

"Hopefully they'll be done soon," Jin said, watching the new dance. Each dance seemed more intense than the last, no wonder they had spent so much time practicing the past few days. "I think this is the last one before Jimin's solo? We're going to have to carry them all out of here later."

"I don't think they had many if any dances in the second half," Namjoon said, glancing down at the program in one hand. "They'll crash in a corner of backstage before curtain call."

Taehyung nodded absently, just barely hearing Namjoon's voice over the music. If they were tired (and they were), it didn't show in their movements. All three of them seemed as ready to go as they had been at the start. Though granted Jungkook had less numbers than the other two, even he had sweat glistening in his hair from the sheer effort expended in the last half an hour.

If Taehyung hadn't glanced at Hoseok at that moment, he wouldn't have noticed it. But as he swapped places with one of the other dancers, moving to the back, the older man's left foot slid and he nearly went down, catching his balance at the last second. Taehyung's heart jumped in his throat but Hoseok seemed to have recovered, expression focused as he matched the movements of the other dancers.

But even though he'd recovered, Hoseok's end to the song wasn't as strong as his start, a fact that went unnoticed as cheers rang out across the audience.

Jimin felt like he was ready to collapse, grateful that a scrim came down to separate him from the audience as one of the stage hands helped him change his shirt. Someone pushed a water bottle in his hands and he took a few small sips, just to ease his parched throat. Too much water in his system would make him sluggish, he could drink plenty when he was done.

Shaking out his tired limbs, Jimin rolled his shoulders and got ready. The soft cotton of his oversized white button down felt cool and comforting against his skin. He made one small glanced towards the right side of the stage, his eyes meeting Hoseok's and gave a small nod.

Then, the scrim was up, Jimin waiting there silently as the sounds of strings played through the speakers, and then, his own voice.

"Tell me, with your sweet smile. Tell me. Tell me like you're whispering into my ear."

Jimin began to move, the movements controlled, even through the starts and stutters, each tick of a muscle was perfectly designed to match the beat of the song. His song. The song he'd spent months writing and perfecting and worrying over. If he had had more time to prepare, he might have been willing to sing it live, but he was so tired as it was it wouldn't have sounded as powerful.

"It keeps happening even though I run away. I'm caught in a lie. Caught in a lie. Find the me that was innocent."

Dancing alone, knowing all eyes were on him at that moment, made Jimin feel powerful, but exposed. The words that his heart had wanted to say for so long, and now everyone knew, could see him for what he really was. He turned and twisted on stage, jumping and strutting, letting every ounce of energy he had left into his performance.

Hoseok had wanted to stand there and watch, but he had a job to do. So when the song's opening notes began he set off, looking around backstage for someone who had been hanging around just a minute ago.

Thankfully, Jungkook hadn't gone too far and backstage wasn't too large anyways. So Jimin would have barely started to dance by the time Hoseok saw the younger man and walked up to him where he was resting in a corner.

"Yah. You're coming with me." Hoseok grabbed Jungkook by his sweat-streaked shirt, tugging him out of his corner and back towards the curtains.

"Wait, what?" Jungkook didn't protest too much, stumbling a little as he was pulled. He was more than a little confused when Hoseok stopped and positioned him right near the side curtains of the stage, a perfect view point to watch the stage without being seen. Jungkook was very confused, but when he saw Jimin start to dance, he thought he understood. He hadn't though Jimin wanted to watch him considering how Jimin had been ignoring him all week (not that he blamed the older man of course).

But the lyrics started to filter into his ears and his brain processed the words... the words sung in Jimin's voice, a song he had never heard before. His eyes widened and he stared out at the figure dumbly.

"Caught in a lie, take me out of his hell. I can't free myself from this pain, save the me who's being punished."

Every line was like a stab through Jungkooks' heart, and he covered his mouth with both hands, holding back the tears. It wasn't hard to discern Jimin's words, or what they were about. It was about them, Jungkook and Jimin's relationship. A lie Jungkook had started, and had made Jimin suffer because of it.

Jungkook looked at Hoseok beside him. "This is what he was doing," he said, not really a question. "Writing this song, with Yoongi."

Leaning back against the wall (it was a very small nook he'd crammed them into), Hoseok nodded. "Of course he couldn't tell you about it," he murmured, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't carry across the stage. After a moment he nodded his head back out at Jimin. "Just watch, and listen."

It was hard for Jungkook to look back at Jimin, but when he did, he was startled. Jimin was standing in the center of the stage, turned towards Jungkook with his hands outstretched, then pulled them back in as he moved to the beat. Their eyes locked at that moment.

"I'm still the same me, the me from before is still here but the lie that's gotten too big is trying to swallow me up."

Jimin turned away from Jungkook's gaze, closing his eyes as the last chorus began. Even though he was tired, his bones protesting the movements, he flung himself across the stage, bouncing and stumbling, but always in control of each step.

"Caught in a lie, rind the me that was innocent. I can't free myself from this lie, give me back my laughter."

As the chorus wound down, Jimin slowly fell to the ground, each action stuttering until his head was pressed against the dance floor. He barely heard the cheers from the crowd, but a loud whistling from nearby had him smiling tiredly. He was sure he had made mistakes, his tired body a hindrance, but at that moment, he felt exhilarated.

Getting back up to his feet, Jimin bowed to the audience before turning to go backstage. He stopped in shock, Jungkook standing behind him in the middle of the stage. There was something weird in the younger's eyes, and Jimin was wary for a moment, not sure what was going on.

Jungkook hadn't even been aware he was moving once the song had ended, all thoughts were to getting to Jimin. His breath caught in his throat when Jimin turned around, his silver hair fluffed and wild from the dance, sweat running in lines down his temple and neck. Jungkook wasn't sure if he had ever seen anything as beautiful in his life.

Taking another step forward, he lifted his hand to cup Jimin's cheek and draw him in closer. "I love you," he whispered before pulling Jimin into a frantic kiss, his arm going around the younger's waist and crushing the dancer's light body against himself. The world around them dropped away, Jimin responding by putting his arms around Jungkook's neck and returning the kiss.

The audience's cheers had quietened in hushed surprise at the scene, two men kissing in the middle of the stage in front of everyone. But then Taehyung whistled loudly again and that caused a chain reaction, a few more cheers going off from the corners of the room until most of the hall was doing the same. Namjoon's lips curled into a smile and he clapped, glancing at Jin beside him.

"They are so cute," Jin's lower lip was trembling and he wasn't bothering to hold back his tears of happiness. "That was so amazing, oh my gosh, I can't believe it."

The two on stage seemed to become aware of where they were and what the were doing, Jimin pulling back when he heard Taehyung's whistle. He was looking at Jungkook with a bright smile, unable to help laugh. He was saying something, but Jin couldn't hear over the noise. The crowd was still cheering when Jungkook took Jimin by the hand and pulled him off the stage.

"How did Jimin manage to keep that kind of performance a secret?" Jin turned to Taehyung. "You had no idea that's what he was planning on doing? And that song! Oh my god that song. That was him singing, he even sang the song."

"I had no idea," Taehyung was shaking his head, bouncing excitedly in his seat as the hall lights came up halfway, signaling the fifteen-minute intermission. "He didn't say anything about his solo at all. Except I think, he said Hoseok hyung was helping him with the dance?" That had been Hoseok's choreography, that was for sure. "And that must have been what he was working with Yoongi hyung on!"

"There was only so many things he would have been in that studio for such long hours for," Namjoon said, straightening in his seat. "And he definitely wasn't going to help Yoongi with his festival song and risk his eomma's wrath."

"... Speaking of, where is Yoongi?" Jin frowned. "I thought he would have been here by now."

Taehyung blinked, looking at the empty seat on his other side. "...I don't know, I sent him like, five messages during," he said, looking at his phone. There hadn't been any reply since the show started. "He said he'd be here soon, right before the first song."

Namjoon frowned at that. "...He's going to be pissed he missed the song he helped Jimin with."

Taehyung nodded, glancing at the time before shifting to stand. "We've got fifteen minutes, I'll run down to the studio and see if he's still there."

"Okay, we'll keep an eye out here and let you know if he shows up," Jin said, though he was definitely worried by the expression on his face.

"Yep!" Taehyung hopped up to his feet, glancing towards the dark stage. "If you see them, tell them they were amazing," he tossed over his shoulder on his way out the door with the people heading to use the washrooms or make a call.

He didn't dally, breaking into a light jog once he was clear of the crowd to get out of the building. It would have eaten up the whole fifteen minutes to walk there and back, and that didn't count for if it was difficult to get Yoongi out of his chair. Which it usually was.

But at this pace it didn't take him long to find the music building, heading down into the basement. Lips pursing when he saw the lights shining through the crack under the studio door, he tested the doorknob before pushing it open. "Hyung?"

There was no response. Not even a grunt of acknowledgment. Yoongi's studio chair was on it's side, mouse and keyboard had been pushed to the floor, and Yoongi... Yoongi was face down on the ground, not moving.