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"Ah, this is it!" The young man stopped in front of the last door at the end of the grungy, tiny apartment hallway. The building smelled weird and whatever they had for sound insulation clearly wasn't enough, but at that moment he was more focused on the keypad attached to the door. His door. His new apartment door, for his first year of university.

"Now what was the password again... ah, not that." The keypad beeped at him, and he glanced at two massive suitcases when one fell over with a bang. "Oops. Sorry for the noise. Uh... no, not that either... ah-hah!"

Taehyung grinned triumphantly when the keypad made a much more positive-sounding noise, the door unlocking. He pushed it open, holding the door from closing with one leg while he reached over to pick up the downed suitcase. It took a bit of one-person Twister to drag both suitcases closer without accidentally closing the door and having to input the password again, but a moment later he successfully pushed them both past the doorway.

The room beyond was dark. Taehyung let the door slam shut behind him, squinting in the darkness and feeling along the wall. "Lights, lights..."

"You turn that light on and I'm going to kick your ass," a voice rumbled from somewhere in the dark room. A bedside lamp switched on and a figure was seen sitting up from a mattress on the floor. Black disheveled hair sticking up in odd directions, over sized white shirt hanging off one shoulder and a sour look graced the man's features as he squinted at the intruder. "The fuck are you doing?"

Eyes darting over to the stranger in his new room, Taehyung blinked owlishly at him. His mouth opened and closed before he looked behind him at the door, then immediately walked back out into the hallway. "...Did I get the wrong room?"

No, the door number matched the number on the slip of paper the landlord had shoved at him. Looking at both numbers, he walked back into the apartment again, door shutting heavily. If this was his room, then... "Are you homeless?"

The look of bewilderment on the other's face was evident. "Why the hell would I be homeless, this is my room. I think the question is are you homeless and you've got about ten seconds before I call the cops."

"Eh?" Taehyung looked down at the paper in his hand. "But this says my apartment is this one. See?" He started to walk farther into the apartment, then quickly doubled back to take off his shoes. "Ah, oops. But look," once he was in socks he walked out into the middle of the small (very small) apartment, holding out the lease paper to the stranger. "The landlord gave me the code and everything."

Grumbling, the other man slowly got to his feet, smoothing down his shirt and boxers and walking towards him. Taking the slip of paper, he read it over, squinting at it before sighing. "... What an asshole. Didn't even bother to check if I'd moved out first?" Shaking his head, he shoved the slip of paper back at the other's chest. "Landlord's a slime-ball. Doesn't change the fact this is my room though. I've been here two years, wasn't planning on moving out until next year or this place gets condemned."

Taehyung blinked dumbly at him. He looked down at the paper he'd instinctively taken back, then back up at the older (older-looking?) man. "But then what do I do? I already paid first and last month's rent."

"Not really my problem," the other shrugged. "But that'll teach you to take a place without seeing it first." Stretching his arms above his head, the room's occupant turned around and shuffled his way back to the mattress. "But I'm going back to bed, I've got an early class tomorrow."

"I couldn't look at it, I just got here from Daegu..." Taehyung watched the older man walk away, then looked around. "This place is really small. The ad said it was small, but still."

"Yeah, it's like a sardine can," the other said, flopping down onto the mattress. "Look, it's ass o'clock at night, I'm tired. If you're quiet and don't annoy the shit out of me you can curl up in a corner somewhere and sleep and then figure out what you're going to do tomorrow."

"Er... okay." Taehyung stood there in the middle of the apartment for a moment before offering, "My name's Taehyung. Kim Taehyung."

"Yoongi," was the short reply before a pillow came sailing through the room to hit Taehyung square in the chest. "Extra blanket on the couch," Yoongi said, a hand flapping towards a beaten down patched up couch that looked like it had seen better decades, let alone years. "You better not snore."

Taehyung blinked, quickly diving to catch the pillow before he hit the floor and nearly wiping out on... something. It was still kind of dark, the lamp light didn't go very far. "Okay. Thank you?" He peered at the couch. "That couch looks older than my grandpa." But the pillow in his arms got him moving, trucking back to where he'd dropped his suitcases to pull off his jacket. He draped it over one before lying the other down, pulling the zipper open. Pajamas should be somewhere easy to grab...

"You can sleep on the floor for all I care, but I wouldn't recommend it," Yoongi yawned, coiling himself up in his blanket. "Jin hasn't been by to vacuum in weeks, so it's kind of gross."

"Jin?" Taehyung echoed as he tugged something that felt like pyjamas out of his suitcase. "Who's that?"

"My maid," Yoongi snorted. Though if Jin heard him say that, he'd stop feeding him for a week, and that would not be a pleasant week for Yoongi. "He lives across the hall, makes sure I'm not dead."

"Sounds like a mom." The 'pajamas' turned out to be a pair of boxers and a hoodie, but close enough. Bundling them up in his arms, Taehyung stood up and turned to look for the bathroom, promptly smacking into the corner of the wall. It really was a tiny apartment.

"He is, and naggy as one too," Yoongi replied, tilting his head up enough to watch the other. "If you're looking for the bathroom, the floor shares one down the hall. If you run into Namjoon coming out, give it about a minute to let it air out."

"Uh... okay." Taehyung wouldn't know a Namjoon from a Jinsoo, but no point in pointing it out. Looking down at his suitcases, he jammed his feet into his shoes and headed out into the hallway.

He came back a few minutes later, dressed in his hoodie/boxer combo and hair damp from splashing water on his face. "I didn't see a Namjoon." He pulled off his shoes again, dumping his clothes on top of his suitcase before picking up the dropped pillow and making his way to the couch.

There wasn't a response, only a sound of slight snoring from the mass of blankets on the mattress. At the very least, Yoongi had left the bedside light on so his new house-guest wouldn't trip and kill himself in the dark.

Taehyung peered at the bed, before realizing why there was no response. "Ahhh..." he trailed off softly, before sitting down on the couch.

It wasn't really all the comfortable and squeaked so much he was sure he'd wake Yoongi up again, but thankfully he was tired after the long trip here. "Good night, grandpa couch," he mumbled, making himself comfortable and dropping off to sleep.

Yoongi hated alarms, hated waking up, and would rather sleep most of the way through his life if he could. Unfortunately, you don't get paid for sleeping. Grumbling when his phone alarm went off for the sixth time, Yoongi finally sat up, rubbing at his face as he got up and shuffled to where he had his phone on a table near the door. He barely registered the luggage he nearly tripped over, turning off his alarm before finally opening his eyes fully.

"... Oh, right," Yoongi grumbled, confused for a second at seeing someone on his couch. "Yah, wake up," he said groggily. "Tae... something, wake up."

Taehyung's head was buried under the borrowed pillow, a small snoring noise Yoongi's answer before the form on the couch shifted. Poking his head out from underneath the pillow, Taehyung blinked blearily at Yoongi, hair all over the place and clearly not awake yet. "Mmm?"

"Wake up," Yoongi repeated, kneeling down to sort through the pile of clothes on the floor. "I've gotta get to class and you need to figure out what you're doing. I don't care if you stick around here until you've got things sorted, just don't steal my stuff."

Taehyung blinked dumbly at him for a moment longer before slowly sitting up, messing up his hair further with one hand. "I guess I should talk to the landlord... maybe he has another room free?" he yawned.

"Maybe, but I haven't seen anyone move out," Yoongi shrugged, gathering a pile of clothes and his bag. He started for the door and then stopped, frowning at Taehyung for a minute. "Is this your first time in Seoul?"

"Yeah." Taehyung brightened, beaming sleepily up at Yoongi. "Got here on the evening train last night. Daegu born and raised."

"Well shit, can't have you running around like a lost puppy, you might get eaten or something," Yoongi muttered, rubbing his eyes again. "Come on, let's go see if Jin will baby sit you until I get back from class. I guess I can try to help you with the landlord thing."

"Oh?" Taehyung perked up, hobbling to his feet and scrubbing one hoodie sleeve across his face. "I'd really appreciate it, thanks hyung."

"Yeah, well, some strange guy breaking into my apartment at two in the morning, is either an idiot or in need of help," Yoongi said, eyeing Taehyung for a moment. "Or both. I'm gonna get changed, and then we can go terrorize Jin for a bit."

"It was the right door number and pass-code," Taehyung protested in the middle of another yawn, before shuffling to his feet. "Okay. I'll get changed too." Or at least put proper pants on.

"Semantics," Yoongi replied as he stepped out the door, closing it behind him. A long soaking shower later, Yoongi looked at least a little more alive when he returned to the room, tossing his dirty clothes on the floor. "Come on, Jin should be up by now, he'll cook us breakfast."

By then Taehyung had dressed up and brushed his teeth, and had sat himself down on the couch with a pile of school papers in his lap. He looked up and smiled widely, hopping to his feet. "What's your major, hyung?"

"... You're way too chipper in the morning," Yoongi made a face at him. "Music production." Waving him closer, Yoongi held open the door for Taehyung before going across the hall to a nearly identical door, knocking twice. "Why?"

"Just curious," Taehyung blinked, following after him and placing the papers back down on his luggage. "So you're bachelor of music too? I'm majoring in voice! Or I will be, classes don't start till tomorrow."

"Why's everyone I meet in this stupid apartment building an arts major?" Yoongi grumbled, knocking on the door again before it was finally opened.

"You're late," the one who opened the door said, waggling a finger at Yoongi before his attention shifted to Taehyung. Large doe eyes blinked at the stranger but his smile was warm and genuine. "Oh, hello? New boyfriend Suga?"

"No, shut up Jin," Yoongi shoved Jin out of the way. "This is Taehyung, landlord fucked him over and he crashed on my couch. Feed us."

"Excuse him, he's so crabby in the morning," Jin said to Taehyung, motioning for him to come in. "What happened with the landlord?"

Taehyung looked between the two of them, shuffling in after them. "Boyfriend?" He echoed, before getting distracted by the next question. "Oh! I signed a lease for the apartment and paid first and last month's rent, but the apartment wasn't actually empty." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"You would think he would get tired of that trick," Jin said, shaking his head as he closed the door, shooing them further into the room. "He did that to an old lady on the fifth floor too. He thought she died." Jin's room was just the same as Yoongi's, though it was apparent by the lack of take out containers and dirty clothes that he took better care of his room than Yoongi. "I wasn't expecting another mouth to feed, but I made extras so help yourself."

Yoongi had already dug into the laid out dishes on the small dining table. Yoongi was always impressed by Jin's ability to make full course meals with nothing but a small fridge and a hot plate. "Yeah, eat before Namjoon comes and polishes this all off."

"Oh, thank you," Taehyung blinked, looking between Jin and Yoongi. He took off his shoes before walking farther inside. "The landlord's done this before? Do you think he has another room I can move into?" He asked, sitting down next to Yoongi.

"Far as I know, the building's full," Jin said, giving Taehyung a sad smile. "This place is cheap, room's don't sit open for long and people don't leave. Especially students, we're broke and have no options."

"Well, there are worse options, but I don't think Taehyung would survive long," Yoongi said, shoving noodles in his mouth.

"Maybe he can double up with someone?" Jin suggested. "There's always people willing to put up with another body if it means their rent goes down."

Taehyung's smile had faded a little, but came back at that last suggestion. "Really? I don't mind sharing a place. Should I knock on doors and ask around?" He tried a bit of the noodles, and made a surprised noise. "This is really good!"

"Thank you," Jin beamed at him. "I don't think it would hurt to ask around, I can go with you. You might get the door slammed in your face otherwise."

"You're such a do-gooder Seokjin," Yoongi muttered, shoving rice into his mouth and getting to his feet. "I've got to get to class, where's your phone?" he asked Taehyung, pulling his own out. "Text me when you figure things out?"

"Uh, yeah, here." Taehyung fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it and holding it out to Yoongi. "Thank you for letting me crash on the grandfather couch last night."

"Ew, Yoongi, you made him sleep on that?" Jin made a face, picking at one of the bowls of rice. "Maybe I should take you to the hospital to get checked out, make sure you didn't contract any diseases."

Yoongi ignored Jin as he took Taehyung's phone and called himself, saving the number when he was done and handed it back to Taehyung. "I'll be back by noon," he said, shouldering his bag and looking between the other two. "You," he pointed at Taehyung, "don't break into anyone else's apartments while I'm gone, and you," he turned the pointed finger at Jin, "don't lose him."

"It's rude to point," Jin smiled up at Yoongi, flopping a hand at him in a wave. "I won't lose him, I'll put a leash on him if I have to."

"I don't need a leash," Taehyung rubbed his neck, tucking his phone away. "And I didn't break in. I was given the combination." He waved one hand in goodbye. "Have a good class!"

"Yeah, sure," Yoongi rolled his eyes and left, leaving the other two alone. Jin began collecting dishes and getting up to clear the table.

"I'm not sure if it was good or bad that it was his room you were given the combination to," Jin said. "On the one hand, he's so grumpy, but on the other, he could have kicked you out and called the cops. He's a strange one."

"He seems nice enough," Taehyung licked a bit of stray sauce off his thumb. "Are you a music student too? He said something about everyone in the building being one." He grinned then. "I guess 'starved artist' holds some truth here."

"Ah... well, I was, but I'm taking a year off," Jin replied with a sad smile. "Or... more than a year, not sure. I was going for a theater major but I came to the conclusion I'm not that interested in acting."

"Oh?" Taehyung peered up at him, wrapping his arms around his legs. "What do you want to do then?"

"Truthfully? I think I'd want to be a chef, open a small little restaurant and serve good food to my friends," Jin replied, rinsing bowls out in the sink. "But going to culinary school isn't really an option right now, so I'm just going to take some time and really think about it, save up some money."

"Oh." Taehyung blinked, looking down at the remainder of the plates. He hopped to his feet, picking them up and carrying them to where Jin was at the sink. "Your food is really good. I think you could do it easily."

"Oh thank you, you are just the cutest," Jin chuckled, patting Taehyung on the head. "It warms a mother's heart to hear such praise, and I don't hear it often enough."

Taehyung grinned at that. "I can help dry dishes. Least I can do for the food, and helping me out. I didn't know people in Seoul were this nice." He placed the dishes down to be washed before looking around for a cloth to dry with.

"They're not, so you need to be careful," Jin said, motioning towards a drying rack under the counter with a clean towel. "Yoongi's right about you needing to be on a leash if we go out, you are way too cute and could easily get yourself into something you can't get out of."

Taehyung blinked, pulling out the drying rack and the towel. "I'm not stupid. I don't need a leash, I made it here by myself in one piece." He started to dry the dishes Jin was done washing.

"No one thinks you're stupid, naive maybe, but not stupid," Jin said, humming a little as he washed a cup and rinsed it, passing it to Taehyung. "But, let's think about what you've done so far since you got here. You rented a room, paid the landlord without seeing the room. Then you find out the room's already rented, and not knowing who this occupant is, you spend the night in that room with him. Then, you follow him like a puppy over here to eat with him and me, again, not knowing either of us. I could have drugged your food and you'd wake up chained to a bed in some sex house for all you know."

"Ah... well, what about Yoongi hyung?" Taehyung took the cup, dutifully drying it. "He let me stay in his room... could have just kicked me out. He doesn't know me, but he let me stay anyways."

"He could have, but despite his really prickly exterior he's got a bigger heart than I do," Jin said. "But, he can take care of himself. He's pretty much been on his own since he was young and... well probably shouldn't talk about people while they're not here," Jin chuckled. "But, if he thought you would be a threat, then he wouldn't have let you stay."

Taehyung blinked, glancing at him. "If you say so." He looked over at the door when there was a knock.

"It's open Namjoon!" Jin called over his shoulder. Drying off his hands, Jin moved to the small refrigerator, opening it and pulling out a couple of small dishes wrapped in cellophane to set out on the table.

The door opened, someone Taehyung didn't recognize stepping in. "I think I left my textbooks here last night," the new arrival said, looking only barely more awake than Yoongi had been. He certainly didn't notice Taehyung right away. "They're nowhere in my room."

"Table next to the bed," Jin said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Told you you should have just stayed here last night, how's the head? Need any aspirin?"

"I'll live," was the mumbled reply, Namjoon rubbing as his eyes as he made his way to said table. He only noticed Taehyung when he stood up straight again, books in his arms. "Who's he?"

"Ah, my name is Kim Taehyung," Taehyung beamed. Clearly that explanation wasn't enough, Namjoon looking at Jin.

"A stray puppy Yoongi picked up," Jin said, shrugging a little. "Landlord double booked Yoongi's room, so now I'm puppy sitting until Yoongi gets back from class. Taehyung, this is Namjoon, and before you ask, you don't want to live with him."

"Why not?" Taehyung asked, blinking as Namjoon sat down to eat what Jin had put out for him, picking up the glass of water. Then he remembered where he'd heard that name before. "Oh! Is it because Yoongi hyung said he smells?"

Namjoon coughed, quickly pulling the glass of water away before he could spit the liquid back out.

"Oh why couldn't the landlord have picked my room instead, you're just too cute for words," Jin said, grimacing a little. "Namjoon doesn't smell, not in a bad way at least. But you don't want to room with him because he destroys most everything he touches."

"Oh," Taehyung pursed his lips a little. "Well, I'm not too attached to any of my belongings."

Namjoon chuckled once he'd caught his breath. "In any case, my room is even smaller than Yoongi's. I'd have to stick you on the ceiling." Taehyung deflated at that.

"Don't worry, we'll find you a place," Jin said, returning to the dishes and putting away the clean ones from the drying rack. "What's your schedule today Namjoon, you want to help?"

"I have class in the afternoon," Namjoon said, starting to eat. "But I can help until then. What's the plan?"

"I'm going to ask around to see if anyone wants a roommate," Taehyung said, turning around to finish drying the dishes. "And try talking to the landlord. Maybe he'll give me my rent cheque back."

"Doubt it, but it's worth a try," Jin said, putting the last of the bowls away before returning to the table to sit. "We'll go with you and ask others in the building, we know which doors to stay away from. Yoongi will probably be back just after lunch, if things aren't sorted by then; he'll have a plan to do... something."

Namjoon raised an eyebrow, but seeing the happy expression on Taehyung's face, chose not to say anything. "Thank you for your help," Taehyung said, placing the dish towel back away before dropping down next to them. "My classes start tomorrow, I don't think they'd let me bring my suitcases to class."

"Probably not," Jin hummed. "At the very least you'll need a place to shower, they do take offense if you show up smelling like feet."