Chapter Text
August.
He should look away. It wasn’t polite to stare, but he wasn’t very polite to begin with.
It wasn’t his fault really, they were the ones that were making out like they were alone in a motel room and not on some stairs of a frat house. And sure, they were at a party, it wasn’t unusual for people to be making out. It was expected. Yoongi’s undivided attention had to do with the fact that it was him who was doing it. There was no way to deny it, not even to himself.
And maybe it didn’t hurt or make him sad, at least not anymore. Yoongi had already come to terms with his loss, he had already mourned and moved on, but his omega still hadn’t processed his departure, that he was no longer a part of their life. So if Yoongi had a staring problem, it was his omega’s fault and his desire to cling to Jungkook, and Yoongi suspected he was even punishing him for letting him go. He was a bit of a masochist.
There wasn’t much he could do if his omega was still clinging to the alpha. If his human side had already detached itself from him, or most of it, it was only a matter of time before his omega realized that Jungkook wasn’t his. It was a process that day by day became easier to overcome, to let go.
It had been particularly easy since he had been avoiding him for the past few months, but now they were both in the same place after such a long time, and Yoongi found it hard to stop staring.
It didn’t help much that Jimin, his only friend and roommate, had left him to go to Vernon’s room because “he wanted to show him something.” Sure, as if Yoongi didn’t know what that meant.
Being alone and bored, he decided he’d had enough for that night. He no longer wanted to continue watching something that tortured him, so he chose to leave early and just walk home. There was no need to wait for Jimin, since it was obvious he wouldn’t be returning to the apartment that night.
He sighed, taking one last look at the couple on the stairs, and he turned around. Unfortunately, and as if his night wasn’t bad enough, someone tried to push past him at the same time, causing the two of them to collide and the person’s drink to fall on Yoongi’s shirt.
“Fuck.” The guy said, quickly grabbing some towel that was in the counter to attempt to clean the mess on Yoongi’s chest.
“Don’t you dare.” Yoongi warned him. The guy stopped the motion immediately and just gave him the towel so he could do it himself. “Would it kill you to watch where you’re going?”
“Dude, you were standing in the middle of the hallway.”
“So? Are you blind or am I invisible?”
“Given the fact that I’m looking at you, I guess neither.”
“Then you could’ve seen me if you were paying attention instead of looking at some poor girl’s ass.” Yoongi looked at said girl, who giggled at the man being scolded, and left the kitchen. The guy watched her leave, his attention the returning to him.
He sighed. “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.” He kept cleaning his shirt, but it was useless: the stain, the smell and the stickiness were there, and they were not going anywhere anytime soon. “Goddammit.” He said to himself, expecting to be alone. To his surprise, the dude was still there. “You can go.”
“I know.” Then he took a swig from his red solo cup, maintaining eye contact.
“Then go.”
“I wanted to talk to you, actually. Give you a little advice.” That caught Yoongi’s attention. What could this moron possibly give him advice on?
“Okay. I’ll pretend I need it.”
The guy approached him and whispered in his ear. “You shouldn’t stare so hard.”
“What?” He frowned, knowing exactly what he was talking about but hoping he was wrong.
“I know why you were in the middle of the hallway.” The guy tilted his head to the stairs, where the couple was still going at it.
Yoongi turned around again, facing him. “I wasn’t staring... douche.”
“I’m Jay.”
“I know who you are.”
“Yeah, and I know who you are.” He said, pointing at him with the cup on his hand.
“Why?”
“You’re Jungkook’s boyfriend.” He turned his attention on that direction. “Well, ex-boyfriend from the looks of it.”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend, he’s my friend.” He thought about it better, then sighed. “He was my friend.”
The guy smiled. “Oh, then you’re welcome to stay.”
“It’s a frat party. The only requirements to be here are to be a. girl, b. omega or c. douche.” Yoongi said counting with his fingers.
“Hm, you’re not wrong.”
“I’m leaving anyway. It was lovely to meet you.” He said sarcastically, pushing past him and walking to the front door.
“Wait, Yoongi.” He knew the guy, that alpha, claimed to know who he was, but actually hearing him say his name felt weird, somehow wrong. Yoongi kept walking anyway.
“Yoongi, I know you can hear me.” He made it out of the house and even though he could hear the guy still following him, he didn’t stop.
“Let me drive you home!”
Okay, that actually made him stop.
“Why would you do that?” Yoongi turned around, a distrustful frown on his face.
“I’m incredibly kind.” He said, sounding like he actually meant it.
Yoongi huffed slightly humored. “Thank you for the offer, but I’d rather walk.”
And with that, the alpha stopped following him.
After walking for a few blocks, he took off the Doc Martens he was wearing because his feet were getting tired. And if his socks got dirty, he’d simply throw them in the trash. Sure, he knew it was wasteful, but he could never wear that pair again knowing he’d stepped onto the street where people spit and pee. He also tried not to think about it while walking around, but that was really the least of his troubles.
It was the first days of August. The nights were beautiful that month. Somewhat warm, with the slightest breeze hinting at the approaching cold weather. It was getting dark earlier, and the nights felt longer, almost eternal. It was beautiful when everything was dark, and if the sky weren’t so polluted, he would be able to appreciate the bright presence of the stars as he could do back at home.
Yoongi almost didn’t mind walking the thirty minutes it would take him to get to his apartment. Almost. After all, his feet did hurt and he was walking just wearing his socks, so those things outweighed the beauty of the night.
He should have listened to Jungkook when he suggested buying a second-hand Vespa. Yoongi thought about it too much and when he wanted to buy it, he broke his ankle and used that money to pay for the hospital. And how did he break his ankle? He fell into a hole walking to his job at the time, being a barista at the campus cafeteria.
If he had bought the Vespa, he wouldn’t have been late almost every workday and he wouldn’t have fallen into that hidden sneaky little hole.
Wait, no.
God, what was he saying?
Fuck the Vespa and especially fuck Jungkook. He didn’t need either of them. He would rather break every bone in his body than having to agree with him ever again. Jungkook didn’t get the privilege of being right anymore, not even inside of his mind.
Bastard.
Yoongi was grumbling, kicking rocks, and cursing at that stupid, bad friend when he felt the presence of a truck pulling up beside him. Now that he thought about it, it had probably been following him for a while.
Perfect, just what he needed: to be kidnapped by a stranger in the middle of the night.
“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, fuck off! I’m not in the mood!” He screamed, walking at the same speed as before.
“And what do you think I’m gonna do?” Oh, that voice. He recognized it immediately. In fact, it was the last thing he heard that night. Yoongi turned to see if his ears weren’t fooling him, but he verified that the voice belonged to who he thought it did. Damn, now he wished it was actually a stranger willing to kidnap him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I want to make sure you get home safe.” He said from his seat, his left hand on the wheel, driving slowly.
“My hero.” Yoongi kept walking, already deciding to ignore him.
“Yoongi, get in.”
“No.”
“Come on, let me drive you.”
“I’m not getting in a car with you. You’ve been drinking.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then what the hell is in my chest?” He stopped again, the alpha stopping at the same time.
“Oh, that’d be my date’s drink.”
“Why aren’t you drinking?”
“It’s pre-season.”
“Jungkook always drinks.”
“And that’s why he’s not as good as me.” He said with a smirk on his face, believing himself to be funny.
Yoongi kept walking.
“Hey, come on.” Yoongi wasn’t stopping, he had no intention of doing so. He wanted to see who’d get tired first. “I’m gonna follow you home like this then.”
He didn’t believe him, but after five minutes of being followed like he was the President, he understood that the guy was just as stubborn as he was.
Yoongi stopped, turning to look at him with his arms crossed. “Why should I get in?”
“To get home faster.” Yoongi said nothing, but the guy could see in his face that he wasn’t convinced. He smirked. “So I can stop bothering you sooner.”
“You promise to leave me alone as soon as I get home?”
“I do.”
He was persistent, he’d give him that.
Yoongi got into his truck, a pretty neat Jeep, somewhat new. The air conditioning was on, making it pleasant in there, but what really caught his attention was the smell. He immediately got hit with the musky scent of wet earth after it rained. It was crisp and clean, powerful and catastrophic, but still light and gentle. At first he thought it was coming from the vents. But no, this was more natural, more of a real scent. Which could only mean it was coming from the alpha. Unfortunate, truly, since Yoongi had always liked that smell.
Once he got in and buckled up, the guy asked him for his address before he continued driving. He didn’t say anything else to him, nor did he attempt to make conversation, which was appreciated. Yoongi guessed that if the guy had learned anything about him that night, it was that he wasn’t a pleasant person to talk to. Yoongi wasn’t proud of that, but it wasn’t like he wanted to change it either. He might not had many friends, the only one he really cared about didn’t talk to him anymore, but the ones he still had loved him as he was, and that was enough for him.
With that said, he was curious, and above all distrustful, so he decided to ask what he wanted to ask.
“Be honest.” Yoongi said, breaking the silence.
“About what?”
“Why were you following me?”
“I told you I’m very kind.”
“And I told you to be honest.”
The guy smirked, clearly enjoying whatever this was. “I do have an ulterior motive.”
“I don’t want to have sex with you.”
“Good, I don’t either.” He scoffed with amusement. “Is that where your mind goes first?”
“Shut up.”
“That’s not why I’m driving you, don’t worry.”
“Then why?”
“He saw you were leaving and it seemed like he was gonna follow you, so I followed you first.”
"Who?”
“Jungkook? Your friend.”
“Oh. I thought I told you he wasn’t my friend anymore.”
“I remember, that’s why I’m here.” Yoongi looked at him confused, waiting for him to elaborate. “You know, to piss him off. At the party he was staring at us in the kitchen.”
“Well yeah, he hates your guts.”
“And I hate his.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t he tell you?” The alpha looked at him, suddenly very serious. “He killed my cat.”
“What?”
His frown slowly broke into a smile. “Ah, you should have seen the look in your eyes.”
“Fuck you.”
“So you do think him capable of killing a cat?”
“No, I don’t! He’s very sweet and he loves his cat more than anything else in the planet.”
“He has a cat? Ha. No wonder.”
“You’re a dog person?”
“Of course. I have three dogs back at home and I would never hurt them.” He said simply, but Yoongi could tell he meant it with another intention.
“Neither would Jungkook!”
“Tell that to your face.”
“I was just shocked, okay? It’s a perfectly normal reaction to have after hearing such ludicrous information.”
“Yeah, sure. But do you actually wanna know why I don’t like him?”
“I guess.”
“I don’t like him...” He got as close to him as he could as he drove, his face preparing to tell a secret. “Because he thinks he’s better than me.”
“Oh my God.”
“I know. Unbelievable, right? I mean, you’ve seen me play. You know I’m better than him.”
“I’ve never seen you play.”
“What?” He frowned, looking offended. “How? I’ve seen you in the games, you were always there.”
“Sure, but I was there for him, it’s not like I was paying attention to anyone else.” As the words were leaving his mouth, he regretted them.
Realization hit his face, his mouth opening in the shape of an O. “You are in love with him. Is that why you had a fight? He rejected you and you got mad.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.”
“He rejected you and then he started dating the hot brunette and you got mad.” He continued theorizing, causing Yoongi to get anxious.
“Why are you assuming that I was the one who got mad?”
“Why’d he get mad?” He asked, softer than he had ever heard him.
“Great question. You should ask that to him.”
“I’d be flattered if you liked me.”
“What?”
“Well, not you specifically. I’m always flattered when someone likes me. It means that from the hundreds and thousands of people there are in the world, they think I’m the best looking one.”
“I know what you’re trying to say is kinda sweet, but it comes out so douchey out of your mouth.”
“Are you sure he got mad?” He kept going with the topic. “Maybe you misinterpreted it.”
Yoongi scoffed. “Are you defending him?”
“God no, I would rather choke with gum before siding with him. I’m just putting in the perspective of an alpha, sometimes people misunderstand us.”
“Ow, poor alphas.” He said sarcastically. “But no, I’m pretty sure he got mad.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I’m not telling you. It’s private.”
“Come on, maybe I could help you. I’m a very good listener.”
“No offense dude, but I don’t know anything about you besides your name, your stupid nickname, and that Jungkook hates you.”
“I’m not offering to become friends. It’s just some party conversation.” Yoongi opened his mouth, but before he could say something, the guy spoke first. “I know we’re not at a party anymore, but let’s pretend. Tell me what happened.”
“You’re annoying.”
“Yes.”
“Fine, but I’m not giving you any details, okay?” He nodded. “Basically, when Jungkook started dating Seokjin like a year ago, we didn’t get along well. He was so high and mighty, wouldn’t even talk to me much, like he avoided me actually. And I wasn't exactly nice either, okay?”
“I believe that.”
“But anyway, months later one random day in June, for some fucking reason Jin convinced Jungkook that I was in love with him.”
“Which is the truth.”
“Yes, but he didn’t have to know, unless I decided to tell him.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, Jungkook started to believe it, so he decided to ask me about it. And he did. I didn’t deny it. And he got mad.”
“Mad how? What did he say?”
“Dude I can’t believe you’re making me relive this bullshit.”
“Go on.”
Yoongi sighed. “He said, and I quote, ‘Damn it Yoon, I wish you would have told me sooner, or wouldn’t have told me at all’.”
“What? He asked for it.”
“That’s what I said! I told him ‘You almost begged me to tell you and now you’re upset? Fuck you’.”
“Oh, you might have been mad first.”
“Shut up and let me finish.”
“Sorry.”
“Ugh. Basically, we started to argue about us and Jin and whatever was going to happen next. I was willing to let it go, to continue like nothing happened, but then– Oh, stop. This is where I live.” He said unbuckling the seatbelt.
“Here?”
“Yeah.” The guy parked in front of Yoongi’s apartment building. “Thanks for the ride, dude.”
“Wait. You have to finish.” He told him, preventing Yoongi from getting out of the car.
“Are you really that interested?”
“I’m nosy.”
“Clearly.” He contemplated just leaving. What was he going to do? Follow him into the building and stay outside his door? No. He clearly would just leave, and they would never see each other again. Especially since Yoongi didn’t plan to step on a single football game ever again.
But he stayed. He hadn’t talked about this with anyone, and it honestly felt good to get it off his chest. And like he said, he wasn’t going to see him again anyway.
He sat again, facing the guy. “Okay, so after some back and forth, he tells me ‘We shouldn’t see each other anymore. Or talk for that matter’.”
“Huh. Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Yoongi looked at him for the first time since he was telling the story. The guy remained silent, as if digesting what he just heard. He didn’t know if it was him or Jungkook, but something clicked in his head. It was as if he had suddenly understood everything.
“So? What do you think?” Yoongi asked, slightly interested in his answer.
“I think he’s an asshole who made his choice.” He looked back at him. “And it wasn’t you.”
Ouch. He told him exactly what he already knew, but it was still painful. Painful because it was the truth, and painful because even this stranger seemed to caught on immediately.
“Thanks dude, that was helpful.” Yoongi replied opening the door of the car.
“Wait, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t upset me. You just told me the truth, one that I already knew.”
“Yoongi.”
“Thank you for the ride, Hoseok.” He closed the door behind him and walked to the building without looking back.
His little story time did nothing but reopened the wound.
He had come home upsettingly sober, hurt, kinda humiliated and mostly tired with sore feet. That stupid party did him no good and the worst part was that now Jung Hoseok knew his story.
Jung fucking Hoseok. “Jay” to his friends. God, what a stupid nickname. So pretentious and douchey, just like him.
This might’ve been the first time they spoke to each other, but it wasn’t the first time they met.
Jungkook is– he was Yoongi’s best friend since they were kids, back when life was simpler, before they even presented. They weren’t actually in the same grade, Jungkook was a year younger than him, but their moms were best friends so they saw each other often.
So often that they practically grew up together. They spent every weekend together, playing in the yard trying to catch each other, being witnesses of each other’s first crushes and heartbreaks. When Yoongi transferred to his school after losing a year due to a family problem, Jungkook took him in kindly, becoming even closer than they were before.
Yoongi had always known that Jungkook was a star athlete and a friendly person, so it was no surprise to see how popular he was at that school. Everyone loved him, even those younger than him. He was kind and easy going, he had a huge heart and an incredible smile, and he always had his arms open for anyone in need. He really did give the best hugs.
On the other hand, Yoongi had always been a loner. He liked his space and being left alone. If he needed to talk to someone, he’d do it first. He was quiet and smart as a whip, intimidating to people who didn’t know him. He wasn’t one to let himself be walked over, he wasn’t afraid to speak up.
Which was why they were such an odd pair. Jungkook and Yoongi were like a golden retriever and a black cat. It didn’t make sense but somehow it worked.
They grew up, Yoongi presented as an omega and the following year Jungkook presented as an alpha (to surprise of no one), they graduated high school, then they went to the same university. Jungkook got a scholarship for sports and Yoongi for art. Their lives were always intertwining, making it seem as if the universe was trying to keep them together, whether it was as friends or something more. That really didn’t matter much.
When they moved to college, they were still as inseparable as they had always been. Yoongi would accompany him to his football practices even if he found it boring, but he made the most of the time, sitting in the stands while listening to music or whatever audiobook he got for cheap. When Jungkook finished training, they would go get something to eat, either at the cafeteria or a convenience store, then they would part ways to their own dorm rooms.
They had the same routine for the first few semesters until Yoongi got a job and Jungkook became even more popular, even busier with new people, but still they tried to see each other as much as they could.
Once the season started, that first semester, Yoongi went to every single one of his games. He found them exciting, seeing Jungkook in his element, being the best at what he did. His gaze was focused only on him so he didn’t know when it happened, but from one game to the next, he noticed that the player with the jersey number 18 of an opposite team had a problem with Jungkook. They hit each other more than usual, sometimes people even had to intervene and separate them.
He asked Jungkook about it. He didn’t tell him why he disliked him, he just said that he did. It was strange that he didn’t give him an explicit reason since Jungkook was used to telling him the smallest details of his life (from what he had for breakfast that morning to what he had dreamed that night). Strange, but he let it go.
It was later brought to his attention that that alpha was from the rival team of the university and suddenly things made more sense.
Okay, quick history lesson.
The University of West Tilbury, the one Yoongi attended, had been founded back in the late 1800s, when werewolves were beginning to adapt to their human selves and join civilization. It was the first university of its kind in the country, pioneering many advancements in werewolf evolution. Soon more states began to create their own universities, focusing on different approaches: Medicine, technology, law, chemistry, physics, engineering, amongst others. Until the neighboring town of West Tilbury opened its own university, in Pennymoore.
It was said that ever since then, they had been in competition because they both wanted to be the best university in the state, and consequently, have the best football team. Which was why the rivalry between the Thorns and the Golden Knights predicted the hatred Jungkook and Hoseok had for each other.
Yoongi knew that couldn’t be the reason, Jungkook wasn’t the type of person who would hate someone just for attending a different university, but it explained things a little.
One of those times he went to see him play, Yoongi was sitting on the bleachers with his then dormmate Jimin, waiting for the game to start. They were in the middle of a conversation when Jimin broke into nervous laughter, looking towards the field.
“What?” Yoongi asked, looking at him with amusement.
“Jay is here.”
“Who?”
“Jung Hoseok, number 18 of the Golden Knights.”
He followed Jimin’s gaze until he reached him. Jay, number 18. He was kind of tall, lean body but strong legs, smooth skin like honey, dark hair, and a confident smile. It was the first time Yoongi had seen him without the helmet.
“Isn’t he gorgeous?”
“He is, but he’s not my type.” By then he was already in love with Jungkook, so he had eyes for no one else.
That game went horrible for both teams, having their captains benched for fighting in the field. Yoongi couldn’t believe his eyes. It was as if their instincts had overridden their ability to think. They just looked angry, wanting to hurt each other. No one was hurt because more people were able to intervene, but that prevented them from continuing to play.
After the game was over and everyone left, Yoongi went down to where Jungkook was. He sat on the bench next to him and put his wrist on his scent gland without saying anything, just combing the hair on the back of his head. When Jungkook was frustrated, he needed some peace and quiet to calm down, and Yoongi’s familiar scent accelerated the process. He smiled at him and put his hand in his, thanking him for being there.
The few people that were left on the field walked past them, minding their own business, but one of them walked closer to them.
“Good game, asshole.” Hoseok told Jungkook as he passed them by.
Before Jungkook could’ve said anything, Yoongi did.
“Fuck off, dude.”
Hoseok glanced at him, as if just noticing that he was there the whole time, and he gave him one of his signature mocking smirks.
From that day Yoongi hated him too, not needing to know more about him to do so. But those were different times. He didn’t owe Jungkook any loyalty anymore.
That didn’t mean he liked Hoseok now, though.
🌹☀️
Yoongi spent the rest of the weekend doing homework for his American Art class, which despite having great interest in, he wasn’t doing as well as he would’ve liked.
He wished he could blame his lack of concentration on Jungkook and everything he had been going through, but he couldn’t. This was genuinely on him. He hadn’t been doing his homework, he had been missing classes, he didn’t even pay attention when he did go, and he didn’t know why. He thought he lacked motivation or needed to get inspired again, but he didn’t know how to do it if he didn’t know what the problem was.
Jimin said he needed to keep attending and with the right class he’d fall back in love with his chosen career like he was in the first semester. He thought he was right, so he started to force himself to go.
Today’s class was good. He enjoyed it. But still, there was something that he was missing, connection maybe. Because as soon as he stepped foot out of the classroom, he forgot about the lesson, and that made it easier to breathe.
He left the building and looked at his watch. He still had some time before he started his next class, so he decided to go for a coffee at his old place of work, which was a bit far from where he was. It was okay though, he liked to walk and admire the path that he already knew by heart.
He needed a break, a quick breather to clear his head. He didn’t know why he was having so much trouble doing things he’d previously been able to do. It made no sense. He wanted to do it, he just… couldn’t.
There was time, he kept reminding himself. He could still do it, he just needed time and inspiration. And a miracle, probably.
A good walk would help calm him down, at least for the moment. So he took his earphones out of his satchel, and started untangling them as he walked. Listening to music would also be a great help, canceling out all of the outside noise. If he hated listening to other people on his good days, on this one he’d probably have someone’s throat ripped out.
So as he walked, he saw the buildings on campus. Old, seemingly trapped in time. Facades made of red brick, with high walls and big windows. It was divided into four main areas: West, East, North, and Central.
The central tower featured a huge stained-glass window of a red rose, the school’s emblem, which had been broken and repaired over a hundred times since its inception. It was mostly destroyed in the early years of the school’s founding, back when werewolves hadn’t yet been domesticated. But that had been years ago. They didn’t even shapeshift anymore, they barely had heats and ruts. Alphas were less aggressive, they could now contain their anger without becoming violent (but they still had bad tempers and big knots).
Yoongi stood in front of the stained-glass window, gazing at its magnificent colors. For him, in all his years at that university, the school crest didn’t mean much. It was just a simple rose with thorns. He didn’t understand the fanaticism others felt, the pride of being part of the West Tilbury’ Thorns. Before he only went to the games for Jungkook, and if he felt pride, it was for him; the team and the school didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
But it did make a very beautiful stained-glass window. There was something romantic and tragic about it, like something straight out of a fantasy. It must have been a magnificent sight to see when the school was founded, but now it was just part of a building that had been replaced more than a hundred times. That must have been what made it tragic.
Still with the earphones tangled in his hands, he accidentally dropped them while admiring the window. He groaned silently, bending down to grab them, but someone else beat him to it. He saw a hand appear, grabbing the earphones from the floor, then his gaze moved to the tiny shorts that showed off his long, toned legs. Hot.
Yoongi looked up to thank the person, finding none other than Hoseok.
“You have to be kidding me.” He told him, having him face to face. He then took the earphones from his hand, putting them back in his satchel. “You know this has to be considered stalking, right?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” He answered as he stood up, towering over Yoongi even if it was only a few inches. Hoseok wasn’t a big man, but he was an alpha. He was agile and strong, which made him a good football player.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you.”
Yoongi crossed his arms over his chest, squinting. “Why?”
“I was at practice when the funniest thought came to me, and I had to tell you.”
“So you came all the way here for that.”
“Well, you didn’t give me your number.”
“You didn’t ask for it.” Yoongi walked away. Hoseok followed him.
“Did you want me to?”
“Not really.”
He smirked. “Well, I have to ask for it now.”
“Hoseok, what do you want?”
“Right. Why I’m here. Well, you see, I was at practice.”
“You already told me that.”
“I was at practice, you know, running without a shirt, all sweaty and hot.” Yoongi wanted to laugh but he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction, so he kept walking with a straight face. “And I thought about you.”
He looked back at him, perplexed. “You think about me when you’re shirtless and sweaty?”
“When I jog, I think about my life and go over things that happened to me recently, so coincidentally you came to my mind when I saw the bleachers. I was like ‘Surely he went to all of his practices’ which is weird, no one does that.”
“How do you know I did that?” Hoseok just looked at Yoongi like saying ‘please, don’t offend my intelligence’. Fair. “Continue.”
“And then I remembered that you probably don’t do that anymore, since you know... Anyway, then I thought ‘man it would be so funny if you’d come to see me now’.”
“Oh yeah, hilarious.”
“But it would. It would piss him off so bad and I’m dying to see that.”
“Right.”
“Okay, so what I’m trying to say–”
“I know what you’re trying to say.” He interrupted. “And it’s not funny, it’s weird.”
“Why?”
“Hoseok, why would you want me there? Sure, it would piss him off. A lot, in fact. But then what? What would that accomplish?” Hoseok stopped to look at him with what he could only describe as amusement, perhaps a little mocking.
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re on top of your classes?”
“I’m failing two of them, actually.”
“Huh. With your attitude I for sure thought you were a nerd.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I said attitude, not looks.” Once again, he stopped to look at him, this time from head to toe. Yoongi hated to admit it, but he intimidated him. “No, you do look like you fail your classes, actually.”
He scoffed. “If you’re done insulting me...”
“Not an insult, just an observation.”
“Okay, here’s an observation for you: Jay is a stupid nickname.” He gasped, insulted. Yoongi had to suppress his smile to keep the situation serious.
“Just so you know, it’s a family nickname.”
“It doesn’t make it better.”
“You really don’t like me, right?” Yoongi said nothing, letting that say it all. “Great, I don’t like you either.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To talk to you.” Yoongi quickened his step, the other keeping up easily. “Why are you walking so fast?”
“Because it’s like a hundred degrees outside, I’m trying to get somewhere with AC and something to drink.”
“Oh, great idea. Let’s go to that coffee shop. I’ll even let you buy me some coffee.” Yoongi huffed. “Hey, you laughed.”
“I huffed, it’s different.”
“I’ll take it as a laugh.”
He followed him to the cafeteria.
When Yoongi walked in, his old coworker Hiro greeted him and handed him an envelope. His Nana still sent him mail to that address, since he hadn’t told her that he resigned a few months ago.
Hiro looked at Hoseok behind him and gave him an interrogative look. Yoongi just shook his head, like saying 'it’s hard to explain, don’t worry about it'. He nodded and continued serving the customers that were lining up.
Yoongi sat down on one of the sofas that were at the back of the place, right next to a window where the sun gets covered by the trees outside. Hoseok sat across from him, on a chair with armrests. He looked at him carefully, as if he was studying him.
He was wearing his workout clothes: a white T-shirt that clung to his chest, black athletic shorts that left nothing to the imagination, black and white sneakers, and a baseball cap pulled backward that covered his sweaty hair. He looked handsome, which wasn’t a compliment, it was just an observation.
“Are you planning on following me all day?” Yoongi asked, leaving his satchel in the sofa next to himself.
“I don’t have any classes today, so...”
“Well, I do.”
“I’ll wait.”
“And what about when I have to go home? Are you planning on staying outside my apartment?”
“Do you live alone?”
“I have a roommate.”
“Is he there right now?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“Oh, then he’ll let me in.” He said without any concern.
“Do you know him?”
“Uh, maybe I do. If I don’t, then I will.”
Yoongi snorted again, shaking his head decisively. “You’re not coming to my apartment.”
“Let’s talk here, then.”
“Talk about what?”
“The offer that I’m about to put on the table.”
“God, I’m gonna need caffeine for this.” He stood up to order an iced vanilla latte. Since he worked there, he became an expert in making all kinds of drinks with coffee, and he ended up getting tired of all of them, except his iced vanilla latte. Hiro was good at making it, but not as good as him.
“Great idea. I’ll take an iced coffee with milk.” Yoongi didn’t answer him, he just stared at him. Was this dude being serious? “Don’t worry, I’m paying for it.” He said while taking his wallet out of his back pocket. “Pay for your drink, too.”
“If you said that thinking I was going to decline, you’re very much wrong.” He replied taking his wallet and walking away to order the drinks. While he was there, he took the opportunity to check what was in it. A couple of hundreds, some credit cards in his name, a picture of his dogs. He guessed he wasn’t lying when he said he loved them.
“Before I tell you my offer, I have to ask you something.” Hoseok said as soon as Yoongi came back with the drinks.
“What?”
“You have to be honest.” Yoongi nodded, taking a sip of his drink. “How important were you to him?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Huh. Well, I used to think I was at the top of his list. We did everything together, you know? In high school we always grouped together for anything that required two people, we went to prom together, I even accompanied him to those stupid football presentation games and dances.” He rolled his eyes. “I was his number one, but now…” He was reminiscing about the good all days, he could’ve gotten lost in the memories if it wasn’t for Hoseok coughing. Yoongi got grounded again, remembering who he was with. “Why? What do you want?”
“I want you to be my date to my stupid football presentation.”
“Did you hit your head?”
“I’m completely lucid, Yoongi.”
“Why me?”
“Because of Jungkook.”
“Yes, you want to make him mad. But why, or how?”
“It’s my last season playing for Pennymoore, so I really want to... I need to win the championship. It’ll be easier if the quarterback of the opposite team is distracted.”
“You think Jungkook would be so affected by us going on a date that he would lose a whole season?” He shook his head. “That’s not gonna happen. He’s good, I know you know that since you’re asking me to do this. He will be mad, maybe he’ll feel a little betrayed, but it won’t affect his game.”
“Maybe it will. You were important to him. His number one.”
“You think I have more power than what I really have.”
“I think you have the perfect amount of power.”
“How do you know your little plan will work?”
“I don’t, but aren’t you curious to find out?” Hoseok was staring at him, paying attention to his reaction. “Don’t you want to see what he does when he sees you with me? How he reacts, to see if he demands an explanation, if he feels something at all.” Yoongi felt his strings being pulled. He knew what the other was doing, he wasn’t being sleek, but Yoongi didn’t think that was his aim. He told him exactly what he needed to be interested. He threw the perfect hook and Yoongi took a bite right away.
“I can’t do that to him.” Yoongi said, instead.
“He threw away all your years of friendship just because you liked him.” He came closer to him, looking him straight in the eye. “You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know, but to do something that might harm him... I don’t know, I don’t think I’m capable.”
He backed up, returning to his previous position. “Okay, I’ll let you think about it. The presentation is still in a couple of days, I won’t pressure you to make a decision now.”
“Thank you, how kind.”
“But do think about it, Yoongi.”
“I will.”
“I guess I should be going then. Oh, but give me your phone number first, so I don’t have to follow you here anymore.” Yoongi hesitated, making it very obvious that he didn’t want to do it. Hoseok scoffed. “Or I’ll give you my number and you can text me when you make a decision.”
“That’d be great.” Hoseok grabbed a pen from Yoongi’s satchel and wrote his number on his paper cup.
“You better add my contact as Jay.”
“You know I won’t, Hoseok.”
“Fine.” He got up to leave, but before doing so he approached him, and very close to his face he said. “Think about it.” Yoongi nodded, unable to say anything. Hoseok nodded back at him and left the cafeteria without looking back.
With his departure everything became silent, which allowed Yoongi to digest everything he told him.
His mind was divided. He knew that it was not morally correct to accept. Jungkook may have thrown away their friendship, but he couldn’t forget it existed. He couldn’t just erase his feelings and all the memories that he had with him.
He still loved him even if Jungkook didn’t love him back.
But because he loved him, he had to know how he would react if he saw him with someone else. And it wasn’t like it would be with just anyone. Hoseok wasn’t just a random guy he had never seen in his life. Hoseok got a reaction out of him like he had never seen before, so of course he was curious to know what would happen.
But was his intrigue stronger than his morality?
Good thing that he had a couple of days to think about it, because that moment he wasn’t sure he could make a decision that he wouldn’t regret later.