Archive of Our Own

Kim Seokjin likes his new job at the concert venue. He likes listening to the different kinds of acts and music they host, meeting passionate people, and thinking up themed cocktails for whatever plays on a particular night. It’s fun, the shifts go to weird hours of the night, and most of the staff are good friends who got him the job in the first place.

The problem with working at this venue in particular, however, is the sound director: one Min Yoongi. A short guy with blue-tinted black hair and almost always carrying a deadpan expression on his face. Seokjin’s convinced he’s never smiled in his life.

Yoongi, aside from being essentially emotionless, is the most stuck up pretentious asshole that Seokjin’s ever met. He acts untouchable, like Seokjin is the ground he walks on and that he knows more about music than anyone ever could.

“I’m telling you, Seokjin, I know what a faulty mic sounds like. And it’s fine,” said sound director is growling, hands braced over Seokjin’s bar as he tries to wipe up the spilt alcohol he missed through the night. They’re at the second floor balcony bar, Seokjin’s preferred spot since he can actually hear what the attendees are trying to order as opposed to the ground floor bar.

“And I’m telling you, Yoongi, that I’m the one listening to the show without fancy headphones and that not a single guest here could understand a word of what the singer was saying during his encore speech!” Seokjin spits back, punctuated with slamming a shot glass down on the table that he was wiping under.

There’s a loud crash to the left of the arguing pair, and Seokjin looks over to see that it’s Jungkook. There’s three tipped chairs over on the floor, likely from Jungkook trying to put them upside down on top of the balcony-side round tables surrounding the floor. “Sorry,” he half-whispers, his eyes round with a deer-in-the-headlights look.

“Jungkook,” Seokjin calls out, waving his hands to summon the boy. Jungkook hesitates, but technically Seokjin is his superior even if he hasn’t worked here as long, so he obeys. “Tell me: could you hear what the hell the singer was trying to say by the end of the night.”

Jungkook bites his lips, looking back and forth from Seokjin to Yoongi. “I don’t know if I want to get into this,” he says.

Yoongi sighs, leaning an arm against the bar table. Seokjin’s bar table. “It’s fine, Kook. Just tell me if you could hear him or not.”

“Not really, it was fine in the beginning of the night but by the end of it it was pretty unclear trying to hear anything,” he admits.

Seokjin doesn’t say “I told you so” because he’s a mature adult. But he does give Yoongi a shit-eating grin; he’s not a saint.

Yoongi nods, and it’s obvious he has a soft spot for the youngest member of their team. Seokjin wont give him any credit for it though; who doesn’t have a soft spot for Jungkook? “Thanks, Kook.” He turns to Seokjin and his eyes show something of a glare, but the rest of his face is carefully blank. “I’ll talk to the techs to see if they messed with the board and talk to Namjoon about replacing the mic if we need to. Happy?”

“Peachy,” Seokjin says in faux agreement. Yoongi nods again and takes his leave downstairs to help with the equipment cleanup.

“You guys are so weird,” Jungkook mutters, rolling his eyes as he goes back to fixing his chairs.

———

Jung Hoseok is yawning when Seokjin finally meets him at the car after his cleaning duties. “Long night?” he asks.

Hoseok works as the head stage director; he knows every inch and creaky floorboard of that stage and ends up working longer hours than most of the crew since he has to work with the performers directly. Working with the performers, Seokjin thinks, is probably the most difficult part of his job. According to Hobi, they tour for months yet don’t seem to understand that each stage is different and performances have to adjust.

Hobi sighs with a nod and tosses Seokjin the keys, which he barely catches. “Really long, you drive today,” he says. Seokjin laughs and hops in the drivers seat, starting the car.

“First,” Hoseok starts, “Taehyung and Jimin have decided we need an extended stage. I told them, no, we clearly do not have the space nor even a reason for an extended stage. Most of our musicians have instruments and almost none of them choreography. And the floor space is small enough as it is; we would have to decrease our floor ticket sales by more than half.”

Seokjin can’t help but laugh as picturing their tiny underground venue with an extended stage. “I’m almost positive they were just fucking with you,” he says.

“Oh, definitely,” Hoseok scoffs back. “On a normal day, I wouldn't even care. Hell, I would probably play along for it a bit. How-ev-er-,”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah, oh no is right,” his friend groans. “I had just talked to the lead musician of the band after rehearsal. I told him straight up that on most nights we don’t mind crowd surfing, encourage it, even, but tonight we don’t have the security staff for it so there was to be absolutely no crowd surfing. And guess what he did? Take a guess, you only have one chance.”

“The asshole crowd surfed,” Seokjin exclaims, shaking his head before keeping his eyes on the road as he pulls out of the venue lot. He loves his second floor bar, but it keeps him just out of view of the stage and he doesn’t bother to look at the small televisions stationed around to show what’s going on.

“Yup,” Hobi says, popping the ‘p’ dramatically. “Like I get it, ok, thats half the fun of performing. But some nights you just have to give in!”

“Hopefully you don’t have to worry about it again for Thursday’s show,” Seokjin says gravely.

“Thursday’s just some EDM duo, that’s Yoongi’s hell - not mine,” he says, grinning over at Seokjin.

“Oh, poor Yoongi,” Seokjin exaggerates. “Can you believe that guy tried to tell me that the mic was working perfectly fine tonight? You heard it, didn’t you?”

Hoseok shrugs. “I was probably too busy bitching to Namjoon in the office about the crowd surfing,” he says. “But I heard Yoongi mention to him that the mic’s are fine and that one of the newbie techs messed with the sound board at some point.”

“Oh great,” Seokjin moans. “That means he’s going to be able to stick it in my face that he was right all along about the mic and go on about how I should stick to drinks and keep the sound stuff in his professional hands.”

“You know he would literally never say something like that, right?” Hoseok says, and Seokjin can’t see him but he can feel the eye roll Hoseok is likely pulling.

“But he’s thinking it, I just know it,” Seokjin mutters, eyes squinting in distrust.

“Sure, Jinnie, whatever you say. As long as you don’t pull me into your petty drama,” Hoseok laughs.

Seokjin gapes at his friend a moment. “Excuse me? Petty drama? Me? Drama? Never in my life… I’m insulted,” he says, one hand over his heart and another still on the wheel of the car. “It’s a serious hatred. It would be a rivalry if we had like, employee of the month or something.”

“Thank god Namjoon doesn’t believe in workplace competition or you guys would be insufferable,” Hoseok mutters. “Like I said, just don’t pull me into it. You guys are some of my closest friends. Yoongi’s a good person, super passionate about his work and he’s secretly pretty soft under all that tough guy exterior. I think you’d get along if you had given him a chance in the first place.”

Seokjin doubts that. “Soft as a porcupine,” he grumbles.

“They’re soft if you pet them the right way,” Hoseok points out. They finally pull into the parking lot of their apartment complex, the time nearing 2:30 in the morning. “I’m so glad there’s no show tomorrow,” Hoseok says after they leave the car and walk up the flight of stairs to their shared place and unlocks the door. “I think I would need more coffee than we actually own right now.”

“Speaking of which, I’m going to the grocery and record store tomorrow so write on the list anything you want me to grab,” Seokjin says, pulling off one of the lined sheets from their refrigerator door and adding coffee in pen.

“I’ll do it in the morning,” Hoseok yawns. “I’m going to go pass out. You gonna stay up and talk to your penpal for a bit before bed?” he asks.

Seokjin’s told him a few times that penpal isn’t really the word for what he and Agust D have, but it’s also not exactly wrong so he doesn’t bother. Semantics, really. “If he’s on, probably,” he says. Hoseok nods and wanders into his own room, likely to pass out until tomorrow afternoon.

The thing about Agust D is that despite Seokjin’s weird hours, he’s always on at around the same time. Sometime’s he’ll hop online first and other times it’s Seokjin, but they’re never far from each other.

Seokjin’s not really sure how to explain it, but Agust D is one of his best friends. Online friendships are different these days - there’s so many types of social medias and ways of making new connections that it’s not weird, Seokjin thinks. But he and Agust D are a little different.

Seokjin doesn’t do it much anymore, but he used to record covers of his favorite songs. He tried to make them different than just singing what was already done. He loved turning hip hop or rock into ballads, or punk into pop; whatever he could do with just his voice and a guitar. He always made sure to make it clear that it was out of love for the original and not a critique of the genre.

He’s also not very good at rapping unless it’s at karaoke after a few glasses of soju, so it’s not like he could do regular covers if he wanted to anyway.

It was just a hobby; he’d record the songs and post them without any talking, the youtube background a generic background image, sometimes with some haphazard lyrics thrown across for kicks if he had the energy. He never got too many views, but his few fans were loyal and he did it more for himself than anything else.

A favorite underground artist of his, Agust D himself, had found Seokjin’s cover of ‘The Last.” He responded to the cover, saying that he’s he’s not often a fan of ballads but that he thought Seokjin’s interpretation was artful and gave him new insight to the genre.

Seokjin’s not really sure how it happened, but they exchanged emails and it’s become a nightly routine to message back and forth. It’s strangely outdated, but it fits them. The off-timed responses and occasional refreshing on his desktop.

They don’t really know anything about each other, but that’s what makes it interesting to Seokjin, who goes by the name “Worldwide RJ.” It’s a name that his friends used to call him when he was younger since he was one of the few foreign kids in his classes and it sort of stuck as an online persona.

They agreed that keeping personal information to a minimal was for the best. Agust D prefers to keep his music separate from his life and Seokjin… Seokjin’s just not sure he wants his favorite musician to know the real him is just a bartender at a concert venue.

Despite the fact that they don’t know each other’s backstories, they get along well and there’s rarely a pause in their conversation when one of them isn’t falling asleep. He used to think that Agust D must be from a different timezone, but Agust D later told him about his bouts of insomnia and how he makes his best music late at night.

There’s an e-mail waiting for Seokjin when he boots up his desktop, the timestamp only five minutes prior.

[email protected]
3:02am

what are your thoughts on having an interlude without both an into and an outro?

Seokjin laughs. It’s these kinds of questions that let him know Agust D is stumped thinking about the mixtape he’s working on.

[email protected]
3:11am

Your first album didn’t have an into or an outro so it would be inconsistent to have them now.

[email protected]
3:13am

just because I did it once doesnt mean it was the right choice.

[email protected]
3:15am

I think it works. Like a book without a cover. It means the story existed before we got there and it will keep going after we’re gone.

It’s sappier than Seokjin tends to be, but Agust D is the type of person who needs a reason for everything, especially in his music. And he think’s it’s true; one of his favorite things about his music is that it tells something of a story. He knows there’s more to it, but he’s not privy to it.

Maybe not yet; maybe never. He can’t really decide what he wants the answer to be.

Agust D doesn’t respond for a few minutes, but Seokjin’s not concerned. He goes through his nightly skincare routine and brushes his teeth to prepare to join Hoseok in the land of the sleeping.

[email protected]
3:25

thanks

attachment: interludesmf_v3p.mp3

leak this and im sending you a virus that will infect your entire life

They almost never send attachments. Photos give too much information; the most he’s sent is a picture of his homemade latte that he thought looked like a frog.

Seokjin immediately opens it up, and it’s a sound file.

It’s a song.

It’s only a few seconds so far, 0:18 to be precise. Seokjin plays it over and over. It’s clearly unfinished, the sound isn’t nearly as full as he’s used to Agust D’s production style and the vocals are uncertain, like a first draft. But so far it’s the perfect blend of raw and smooth that Agust D’s more sung verses tend to be and he adores it.

It’s also the first time that Agust D has given Seokjin any kind of preview, and such a rough draft of it must have taken a lot of courage to send along. It makes Seokjin’s heart swell and he can’t help but smile to himself. He wants to keep listening to it on repeat, but he knows that Agust D is probably something of an anxious mess waiting for his response, so he quickly types one out.

[email protected]
3:27am

it’s just what I wanted to hear tonight

Seokjin doesn’t really know anything about music other than some guitar chords and having a passable singing voice. He wasn’t shown this to critique the music or tell him it’s good or not. So Seokjin tells him the truth, listens a few more times, and goes to sleep to Agust D’s voice singing “set me free” on echo in his dreams.

———

“Yoongi… did you sleep?” Namjoon asks around noon as Yoongi pours himself a cup of coffee. “I didn’t even hear you up and about last night.”

“That’s because you sleep like a rock,” Yoongi snorts before he pulls his coffee cup up to his mouth to drink. It’s too hot, but he’s pretty sure he’s a corpse right now and can’t feel pain. “I got,” he pauses to yawn. “I got motivation to work on the interlude last night and once I started I couldn’t stop.”

“Finally realized that it’s your mixtape and that it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s conventional?” asks Namjoon before he pours himself a cup.

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Yeah, something like that,” he says.

Namjoon doesn’t know about Worldwide RJ, his online friend. Yoongi’s shown him few of his covers, and Namjoon agrees that his voice is good and that the covers are cool. But Namjoon didn’t really get it - didn’t hear the way RJ was able to convey the song in a totally different way while stilling keeping the message.

It doesn’t bother him, though. It feels like a secret understanding between the two of them; Yoongi the rapper and this captivating stranger. He meant to tell Namjoon, it’s not like he’s ashamed of having an online friend. But it feels private to Yoongi, like RJ has become a little too close to his heart and he feels vulnerable for it.

“Oh yeah, Joon, are you still free to record with me on Sunday?” he asks, looking at his to-do list.

“Yeah, I’ve got it blocked out and it doesn’t look like there’s any last-minute reschedules for the venue,” Namjoon says. “Did you end up figuring out who you wanted for ‘Dear my friend?’”

“I’ve got someone in mind, but I haven’t asked them yet. If they say no we’ll just record you and I’s parts and we’ll take care of the rest later. I’m not in any rush,” Yoongi says, jotting down to email RJ about his idea. Namjoon nods and heads back to his room.

RJ hasn’t made any new covers in a minute, but Yoongi thinks his voice would work well in his track. The only problem is that this would mean actually meeting RJ, whose made it clear he likes his anonymity. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask. It might hurt his feelings a little if he says no, but it’s a risk he’s willing to take.

But first, he needs to go to the record store to grab a newly released album he’s had his eye on. He shoots Joon a text telling him to let him know if he needs anything before he grabs his wallet and heads to walk to his regular local music shop.

Yoongi’s deciding on whether or not to just buy the album or spring for the vinyl as well when he spots him: Kim Seokjin, in all his glory with his artfully styled chestnut hair and oversized pastels.

Seokjin’s only been a member of the venue team for a few months now, yet he’s full become one of them - god knows why, in Yoongi’s opinion. Seokjin’s narcissistic, interrupts everyone else’s work, and finds a way to critique Yoongi or his job at any given moment.

Everyone vouches for his character, but Yoongi’s pretty sure the only kind think he’s ever done for someone is give a crying girl a free drink because her boyfriend broke up with her mid-concert, and Yoongi’s certain he just did it to get her out of his hair.

Either way, the record store is supposed to be Yoongi’s safe place. Kim Seokjin is not supposed to be here, especially not on Yoongi’s day off while Yoongi is there.

“Yoongi,” Seokjin says, tone polite yet cold, when he seems him.

“Seokjin,” Yoongi says, attempting to recreate the voice.

It’s awkward for a moment; Yoongi expected Seokjin to carry on and Seokjin looks like he assumed the same of Yoongi. Seokjin looks like he wants to make a comment, but then he sees what Yoongi’s holding.

“Is that a copy of Wonderbeats?” To Yoongi’s surprise, Seokjin actually sounds genuine in his question.

“Uh, yeah,” Yoongi says, not sure what the mood is here. “I can’t decide if I should get the vinyl or not.” He could have stopped the conversation there - why did he tell this to Seokjin?

“I recommend the vinyl,” Seokjin says, eyes turning back to the album display, hands flipping through in search of something. “I bought it a few days ago, it sounds good.”

Yoongi flips the vinyl over in his hands. “Yeah, okay. Uh, thanks, Seokjin.” He can end the conversation here again, he thinks. Save himself from ruining their tentative truce. But he’s still feeling a little high from his lack of sleep and from RJ’s approval of his song, so he goes for it. “What are you looking for?”

“Hm? Oh,” Seokjin looks surprised that Yoongi’s talking to him again. For good reason, probably. “The new Rage of Vistas album. I heard that their sampling on this one is pretty unique, and I like to listen to new music on disc rather than the computer if I can,” he says.

“I didn’t think you knew so much about music,” Yoongi goes on, surprised that Seokjin would have any interest in a hip hop artist.

It’s a mistake.

Seokjin immediately looks at him, and Yoongi can practically see his shoulders bristle and his face turn from apathetic to frustrated. “Yeah, sampling is a real tough concept. Meanwhile, I’m surprised you listen to music that has any kind of emotion,” he said, voice low and seething.

Yoongi feels his blood pressure rise. “It’s just that you couldn’t tell the difference between a faulty mic and a bad sound mix so I figured your hearing was off,” he snaps. He doesn’t mean it, it doesn’t even make sense, but Seokjin just accused him of being emotionless so he’s kind of pissed off.

“At least I knew something was wrong and wasn’t just sitting in a booth with a pair of headphones acting like he was on top of his shit,” Seokjin growls, finally finding the album he was looking for and pulling it out. “In case you weren’t aware, I work at the venue because I like music, I can know a thing or two about it.”

“Sure you can,” Yoongi says, ensuring his face stays blank. “I just assumed you preferred vapid pop about summertime and partying than anything with actual depth.”

“Fuck off, Yoongi,” Seokjin snaps with finality.

“Whatever, Seokjin,” Yoongi hisses back. He’s determined to leave the store before Seokjin, so he stalks up to the countertop before Seokjin can move and pays for the album and vinyl.

He doesn’t look back at Seokjin as he leaves the store.

He’s frustrated to listen to the vinyl and hear that it sounds fantastic, just as the bartender had said.

———

Seokjin doesn’t respond to Agust D on the nights he doesn’t have work. He feels bad because it’s rare that they go a day or two without talking, and sometimes he tries to stay up to talk to him anyway. But he’s spent most of the day pissed off at Yoongi and it’s exhausted him, so he passes out early and promises himself to check his email when he wakes up.

He wakes up early, around 7am with his body unused to the strange hours. There’s an email notification on his phone; it’s Agust D, as he expected. To his surprise, it was sent only two hours earlier which is a bit late, even for his insomniac friend.

[email protected]
5:13am

morning

I have a strange favor to ask of you.
i’m ready to re-record some parts for my mixtape.
I have one track that still needs another voice.
and I was thinking maybe you could be that voice.

Seokjin feels his heart beat and he can’t help but hold his breathe as he continues to read, sitting further up in his bed.

I dont know where you live but if your not too far from me
we could meet.

but I know this wasnt the plan. i dont mind if you would rather not
i understand
but i thought it was worth asking.
you can pretend not to see this
if you want

Agust D e-mails like he raps; quick and to the point. Though unlike his rapping style, this email is riddled with vulnerability and insecurity. It’s a side of Agust D that Seokjin has seen before in their late night conversations, but it’s rare and precious.

The truth is, he doesn’t know if he wants to meet Agust D or not. It’s a scary thought. For a while, Seokjin thought he wouldn’t want to meet him because he was something of an idol to Seokjin. Don’t meet your heroes, or however the saying goes.

But as Seokjin has gotten to know and talk to Agust D, he’s learned to humanize him. He knows his faults through his words and his soft interior and life challenges. Seokjin is a little worried that maybe he would like Agust D a little too much.

And that maybe he wouldn’t feel the same about Seokjin.

But this is different. They’re not meeting to become best friends… or anything else. They’d be meeting to make music, which is what brought them together in the first place. If they don’t do it now, Seokjin’s not sure they ever would.

[email protected]
7:24am

I don’t know if I’m the right choice for your track or not.
But I wouldn’t be opposed to meeting if we want to find out.

He sends the email and immediately runs into the kitchen to start his morning and distract himself from overthinking anything and emailing a “Just kidding!”

It’s around 11 when Hoseok emerges from his room to Seokjin on the couch with a book and cup of tea. “Morning,” he yawns, stretching his arms above his head and heading into the kitchen.

“Morning,” Seokjin says, flipping to the next page on his book that he’s only half-reading.

“You sound awake, been up for a while?” Hoseok asks. He brings over a bowl of cereal to the coffee table and sits down on the couch next to Seokjin.

“Kind of,” he sighs, knowing his early rise is going to make work that much harder to get through tonight. “I need your advice.” Hoseok raises his eyebrows but continues to eat his cereal in silence. Seokjin takes that as a go-ahead. “Agust D wants to meet.”

Hoseok promptly spits his cereal back into his bowl, and Seokjin has to keep himself from gagging. “Email guy wants to meet? That’s big, Jinnie! You should do it.”

Seokjin laughs; he can always count on sunny Hobi’s optimism. “I told him I would, but I’m getting kind of freaked out about it, you know? He wants to meet and maybe have me feature in one of his tracks. It’s kind of a lot to go from strangers to, I don’t know, collaborators.”

“But you’re not strangers,” Hoseok says. “You guys have been talking for months now. You can call yourself friends by now. He likes your voice, and honestly he’s got cool music. It’s a great opportunity and excuse to meet him.”

“You’re right, yeah,” Seokjin sighs. “I’ve just gotta fight through the nerves." He takes his moment of bravery to check his email to see if he’s gotten another response, even if the time is out of character for them.

[email protected]
11:16am

I cant imagine why you wouldnt be
are you free this weekend?
we could meet for lunch saturday afternoon and ive got a booth reserved for sunday.
obviously this only works if we’re within driving distance of each other.
do you know of cafe cinnamon? on green ave.

Seokjin’s surprised; he knows the place. It’s only a fifteen minute drive for him. Seokjin expected them to be a manageable distance; they’ve accidentally referenced enough familiar landmarks through the past few months.

But now he sees that they’re close enough that it’s not impossible that they’ve seen each other before.

[email protected]
11:23am

I know the place. I’m busy in the evening, lunch is perfect and I’m free sunday.
Meet you at 11:30 on satuday?
Ill wear a pink baseball cap.
Unless someone else has a pink baseball cap. In which case I will leave immediately because that’s my thing.

[email protected]
11:29am

sounds perfect.

“I did it. I’m going to meet Agust D,” he whispers, staring down at the email on his phone app.

Hoseok laughs and pulls Seokjin into a one-armed hug. “It’s gonna go fine. You’ll meet, make some music, and, if you’re lucky, fall in love and live happily ever after.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Seokjins says, but he can’t help the smile on his face. “Don’t you have to be at rehearsal in an hour?”

Hoseok groans, but pulls himself up from the couch anyway to get ready for work.

———

“Are you and Yoongi sleeping together?”

Seokjin spits out the glass of water all over his freshly cleaned bar counter. “Jimin, are you high?” he asks, grabbing a couple of towels to dry the space.

Jimin’s got a Cheshire cat grin on his face. “Nah,” he says. “It’s just that both you and Yoongi look like you’re ready to pass out at the blink of an eye. I figured it was probably time you guys got out all of your sexual frustration with a healthy bout of hate se-,”

“Jimin,” Seokjin wines. “I would never sleep with Yoongi, I hate him and he hates me. Nothing sexy about it. I just got up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Okay, okay. I wonder what’s got Yoongi so tired then; he’s usually a night owl,” Jimin wonders to himself.

“Hey, question - why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be manning the last minute ticket sales with Taehyung before doors open?”

“I see how it is,” Jimin sighs, dramatically draping himself over the bar. “You don’t want me here, you wish I was your sweet rival Yoongi-,”

“Sorry I asked,” Seokjin mutters.

Jimin laughs. “I’m on 30 since we were too busy to take one earlier. I came to get an end-of-shift shot from my favorite bartender,” he says, his eyes in perfect puppy form.

“Drinking on the clock? Not sure I can enable that, not even for you Jiminie,” Seokjin says, but grabs Jimin’s preferred bottle of coconut rum anyway.

“I’m not on the clock, remember?”

“Can’t argue with that. Bottoms up,” he says, pouring two shots of the rum and toasting them with Jimin before they each swallow them down.

“Drinking on the clock?” Seokjin and Jimin whip their heads around to see Yoongi approaching them.

“Gonna tell on us, Yoongs?” Jimin pouts, but he knows the answer. Yoongi has a pretty big soft spot for Jungkook, but an even softer one for Jimin. They go way back, and their relationship always fascinates Seokjin. Like Yoongi has known Jimin for so long but still hasn’t quite figured out how to handle his unique brand of flirtatious friendship. Seokjin loves to see it; it’s one of the few times he catches Yoongi off-guard.

“Nah,” Yoongi says with a shrug. “Actually I was wondering if Seokjin would mind pouring me a whiskey on the rocks.”

“Oh,” Seokjin says, surprised. He grabs a bottle of one of their nicer whiskey's since he’s heard a rumor that Yoongi is something of an alcohol snob. He refrains from making a comment though, and Yoongi doesn’t say anything about his choice.

“Jimin, your break was over two minutes ago,” Yoongi points out. They’re not a team that’s a stickler for timing that kind of thing, but Jimin gets the message anyway.

“Shit, see you guys later. Don’t kill each other,” Jimin says, and he’s gone in an instant.

There’s an awkward silence in the air, their scathing last words from the record shop hanging over them. It’s not the first time their arguments have gotten a little personal, a little more targeted. Seokjin can handle their minor disagreements at work, but it leaves a bad taste in his mouth when they go for each other's personal tastes. They don’t really know each other well enough for that.

“I just. Came over to say I’m sorry,” Yoongi mumbles. His face is lightly red and he’s turned away from Seokjin.

Yoongi has never apologized to him before, but this Yoongi is different than the one he’s used to. Jimin’s right, he looks exhausted in a way Seokjin’s never seen him before. But he sits up straighter and there’s a relaxed look to his face, like he’s had a good day.

Seokjin moves to apologize as well, but Yoongi continues. “I know you know your stuff about music, and you were right. I didn’t realize the sound was off and I should have been able to fix it before the show ended.”

Seokjin lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “It’s cool, I get it. It’s your job. I’m sorry I judged your music taste.” He smiles. “It doesn’t seem far off from my own.” Seokjin's got his own things to be excited about, his exchange with Agust D replaying in his head. He figures he can give Yoongi a little leeway here. 

“Speaking of which, you were right about the vinyl. It was a good purchase,” Yoongi adds. “Did you have a change to listen to the Vista’s album? The third track is a favorite of mine,” he says. This Yoongi is unfamiliar to Seokjin, but he thinks he likes it.

“Not yet, but I’ll pay special attention to that one,” Seokjin says, trying to keep the awe from his voice at the situation.

Yoongi finally faces him again and nods before placing his empty glass on the bar and sliding it over to Seokjin. “Cool,” he says and the moment is uncomfortable, but Seokjin prefers it over their charged hatred. He kind of wants to laugh to break the tension. “I’m gonna head to the booth. I’ll, uh, see you around.”

“Sure, see you,” Seokjin says with a lazy wave. Yoongi makes his exit and for some reason, Seokjin feels like he just ran a mile.

———

It’s Saturday morning and Min Yoongi can’t do this.

He exchanged a quick set of emails with RJ last night to confirm their plans and now he feels like he’s going to lose his mind. RJ likes his music, and that the most important part of him. But what if RJ doesn’t like him? Thinks he’s too short, too round-faced, his voice too apathetic? Agust D is raw and emotive, and Min Yoongi…

Min Yoongi is nothing really special.

He picks up the phone and presses on Taehyung’s contact. He half expects him to be sleeping, or having morning sex with Jimin, but he has to try.

Usually Yoongi would go to Namjoon with this sort of thing, but Namjoon is a pretty bad secret keeper. He would definitely tell Hoseok and Hoseok is one of Seokjins best friends and he really doesn’t want Seokjin to have this kind of ammo on him. They’re at a tentative truce at the moment, but that could change at any moment.

“Hello?” Taehyung’s voice says through the phone, groggy enough to tell Yoongi he’s just barely waking up.

“Sorry, Tae. Didn’t mean to wake you, it’s nothing.”

He goes to hang up when Taehyung, sounding more awake, says: “Yoongi? No, no, it’s fine. It's always good to hear from you. Tell me what’s wrong.” Taehyung can read him like a book.

“It’s kind of a long story.”

“I’ll be there in 5,” Taehyung says, and he hangs up.

It really does take Taehyung only a few minutes to get to his place. Their apartments are right down the block from each other and Taehyung, a frequent oversleeper, has mastered the art of looking presentable in a short amount of time.

“You didn’t have to come over, Tae, it’s really not that big of a deal,” Yoongi insists while letting him in.

“Yoongi, the last time you called me was when your dad had a heart attack and you needed a ride to the hospital. That was two years ago,” Taehyung points out.

Yoongi sighs, rubbing his neck. “I can assure you it’s not even close to being that serious.”

Taehyung laughs while making himself comfortable on Yoongi’s couch. “I know that,” he says. “You would have been much more panicked on the phone. But it’s still important, so spill.”

Yoongi takes a seat next to Taehung, bringing him a mug of tea he prepared waiting for him to arrive. “So, I have this friend.” Taehyung sips his tea and nods for him to go on. “I met him online; I don’t really know much about it but we’ve been talking for a while now. I’ve heard him sing, so I know he’s not a creep or anything. We weren’t ever really planning to meet, but a few days ago I asked if he wanted to.”

Taehyung, to his credit, does look surprised. He knows Yoongi well, but this is a bit out of character for him. He doesn’t look judgmental, so Yoongi continues: “He said yes, and we’re supposed to meet in an hour and a half at Cinnamon for lunch. I’m starting to think I might not be ready for this, but I can’t just back out after being the one to ask him, right?”

Taehyung leans back, tea mug on the coffee table, and pauses for a moment. “I mean, sure you could. I think you’d risk disappointing him; he’s probably as nervous as you are. But he’d understand. I don’t think you should though.” Yoongi knew Tae would say that; it’s why he wanted his help in the first place. “You’re never gonna be ready to meet someone you’ve built up expectations to that also have them of you. You could stay online friends forever, but if you’re this close… you could miss out on something really special.”

He considers this. It’s true; he could tell RJ that they weren’t meant to meet and they could attempt to collaborate online-only. He’s done it before.

He doesn’t want to. He likes RJ; he’s funny, has thoughtful opinions, and always knows what to say to make Yoongi feel better. He wants to see him and to learn more about him. Strangely enough, he wants to be able to open up to him. 

“I could, couldn’t I?” Yoongi mumbles. “Okay, I should do it, huh?” Taehyung nods. “Will you come with? Just to keep me from changing my mind last minute?”

Taehyung grins. “‘Course Yoongi, anything for you.”

They hang out for a bit while they wait until it’s time to leave. Taehyung talks into the air while they pick out something for Yoongi to wear and it helps settle his stomach a bit.

The cafe is a five minute ride away, and Taehyung offers to drive him. They’re a minute or two late, because Yoongi thinks that RJ is the kind of person to be on time and he didn’t want the awkward situation of arriving at the same time and finding a table together. Yoongi also forgot to give him an identifier, so it’s best if he sees RJ first.

“You can do this, Yoongi. Just go through that door and tell him who are you!” Taehyung cheers, wrapping Yoongi in a brief hug.

Yoongi takes a deep breath. “Can you just - can you look first? Through the window? Just tell me what he looks like. Not that, you know, I care about looks. But I don’t know. Does he look kind, or thoughtful, or is he wearing something silly other than a pink baseball cap-,”

“Sh, fine, okay, I’ll look. You said he’d be wearing a pink baseball cap?” Yoongi nods. “Alright, give me a sec.” Taehyung looks through the window of the cafe, his head bobbing up and down as he looks for the cap. “Hey Yoongi, quick question. Do you think Seokjin is attractive?”

“What, why are you asking me that?”

“Just curious.”

Yoongi considers this for a moment. “I mean, sure, yeah. I’d never tell him to his face but he’s pretty attractive. Are you saying that RJ looks like Seokjin? If that’s the case, I’m not going to complain.” Seokjin has a symmetrical face, soft hair, big eyes and lips, and a nice build. It’s hard to believe there’s someone out there who could compare, if he’s being honest with himself.

Taehyung leans away from the window, biting his lip. “It’s just that… he kind of… is Seokjin.”

Yoongi freezes. “You’re joking,” he says. He knows Taehyung’s not. Taehyung would never. But he so desperately wants him to be.

“See for yourself,” he says, and he looks troubled.

Yoongi knows exactly what he’s going to see when he leans up to look through the window. And he’s right. Sitting at a cafe table, pouring over a menu with a pink baseball cap and matching pink t-shirt with an embroidered alpaca over the chest pocket, is Kim Seokjin.

Kim Seokjin, whom he hates. Kim Seokjin who rants about how his beauty could part the sea. Who rubber band wrapped the sink sprayer in the break room so that when Jimin turned the nozzle he got drenched. Who likes to butt into Yoongi’s work like he knows better than everyone. Kim Seokjin, who always has a scathing remark for him whenever they meet.

But also, the Kim Seokjin who everyone loves. Kim Seokjin who lets Namjoon talk for an hour about his most recent favored book because he knows it lets him relieve stress. Who brings Hoseok water bottles when he’s been running around nonstop for three hours. Who tells Yoongi about the mic problems because he wants the fans to have the best experience possible.

And lastly, the Kim Seokjin who he’s been talking to for months. Who feels like he could bare his soul to, wholly and completely. A Kim Seokjin he could probably fall in love with, he thinks, maybe one is already is a little enamored to.

“Fuck,” he groans, his stomach twisting in knots. “I can’t go in there.”

Taehyung gasps. “Yoongi, you can’t just leave him there! He’ll think you stood him up, it’ll break his heart!”

“I know, Tae, I know, it’s just,” Yoongi sighs, looking back at the cafe door. “If I go in there, it’s going to be over before it starts. We’ve been at odds since we met. We’re not just going to be able to fix it over lunch.”

“But you plan to fix it,” Taehyung says, and it feels more like an order than a question.

“Yeah, yes - I swear. I just need time. Now that I see it’s Seokjin I know I’ve been missing out on who he really is. I just need him to see that about me, too. But I’m not sure he’d give me the chance if I went in now, and I’m not sure I could really blame him.”

Taehyung peeks back into the window and then back at Yoongi. “I get it,” he finally says. “And I care about you both kind of a lot. So I want you to be happy. But I’m not gonna let you run from this, Yoongi. You have a chance at something great here.”

Yoongi nods. “I know,” he says, his voice akin to something wistful.

———

Yoongi and Taehyung leave for work a little early and request access to the quiet of Namjoon’s office to draft up an apology email to Seokjin. Namjoon doesn’t know what’s going on, but he trusts them so he agrees in favor of bothering Hoseok for a bit.

[email protected]
11:52am

I’m so sorry.
an emergency came up

“Hell no,” Taehyung snaps, pulling Namjoon’s desktop keyboard towards himself and pressing backspace on the email. “You’re starting this relationship out with honesty.”

“Relationship?” Yoongi mutters, but he nods.

I’m so sorry.
the truth is… i thought i was ready to meet you, but im not
i have some things i need to work on before then
and ill understand if you never want to try again after this
but if you just give me some time
id like to try it again later.

Yoongi looks up at Taehyung, face unsure. “If it’s how you truly feel then you should send it,” says Tae.

Yoongi presses send.

There’s an agonizing few minutes of refreshing the page and looking at Yoongi’s email notifications on his phone in case there’s a delay. Taehyung tries to console him, saying things like he’s just getting his food or he’s trying to think of what to say. Finally, a new message appears.

[email protected]
12:15

I’m pretty handsome; you’d know that if you showed up. I could get snatched up by the next guy asking me to feature on his track just from my looks alone.

Yoongi laughs, an anxious breathy sound. Suddenly the words feel comfortable. It’s RJ, but it’s also Seokjin as well.

Fortunately for you, I quite like you and I’m forgiving.
You owe me, though.
I want your thrilling saga of why wouldn’t show up. As much hyperbole as possible.

“How did you not know this was him,” Taehyung laughs, reading the emails over his shoulder. “This is textbook Jinnie.”

“I guess we just never gave each other the chance to see this side of us,” Yoongi smiles. Truth is, he doesn’t know either. Now that he knows that RJ is Seokjin, he can hear the offended octaves of his voice raise as he adds a flare for dramatics.

It makes Yoongi wonder how Seokjin must see him, then. How it’s not that they ever disliked each other, just the worst parts of themselves. Like they lacked a way to balance out their flaws.

“I’m going to talk to Namjoon to see if I can clock in early to help Jimin at the ticket stand. Good luck with your story,” Taehyung calls out before he shuts Namjoon’s door behind him.

[email protected]
12:18

I highly appreciate your good gracious, o sought after one.
you see, the real reason i didnt show was because my bus was attacked by a mutated tiger and i had to save the day.

[email protected]
12:20

what kind of mutated tiger

[email protected]
12:21

the orange kind?

[email protected]
12:22

boring but statistically likely
what superpower of yours made you the go-to tiger fighter

They go on like this for what feels like forever, and Yoongi’s anxieties are dissipated significantly. He still feels awful, picturing Seokjin alone in a cafe refreshing his email to respond to a guy who didn’t show. But Seokjin’s a natural conversationalist and he can only hope that his intentions were clear.

They don’t usually say goodbyes to their emails; one of them will fall asleep and they pick up the next day with either a new subject or as though the pause never happens. But this time isn’t their usual. Yoongi types out a “I have to go. Im sorry again. dont give up on me just yet.” and closes his phone to go meet with the night’s performers.

It isn’t until a few minutes before Seokjin’s supposed to arrive for his shift that Yoongi has time to check his email again.

[email protected]
2:47

I would never give up on you.

———

Seokjin exchanges emails with Agust D for a while before heading into work. He’s a little early, but he doesn’t feel much like going home just to wait around. His heart is heavy but his shoulders are light.

He doesn’t… blame Agust D for backing out last minute. He thought of doing so himself. He just kind of wishes he had had the foresight to back out a little earlier to help mentally prepare himself instead of sitting blindsided alone for lunch.

He finds Hoseok pretty quickly backstage, and fortunately doesn’t catch sight of any of their mutual friends. He’s trying not to be upset, but he’s not sure he’s ready enough to pretend to be in a good mood.

“Jin!” Hoseok exclaims, breaking away from chatting with one of the light techs. “How’d lunch go?”

Seokjin’s not exactly sure what his face must look like, but he presumes it’s not hopeful judging by the way Hoseok’s face falls. “Hold on, just give me one second,” Hobi says before jotting back over to the tech. He says something quick and with broad movements before returning to Seokjin’s sorry side and pulling him into an empty hallway. “What happened?”

“He, uh. He didn’t show,” Seokjin says, uncharacteristically reserved. He rubs a hand up and down his forearm. “Sorry, It’s honestly okay. I’m okay, I don’t know why I’m upset, it’s just.”

“What the fuck? Of course you’re upset,” Hoseok draws Seokjin into an encomposing hug. “That’s so shitty, I can’t believe he did that to you. It was his idea in the first place.”

Seokjin gives a tight hug back and breathes out a deep sigh. “He said he was sorry; he wants to try again when he’s ready. I get it. I just, I had really hyped myself up to it is all.”

Hoseok backs away, but his hands are placed on Seokjin’s shoulder. “You’re allowed to forgive him and be a little mad at him at the same time,” he says. “And if you decide not to give him another chance than that’s okay too. You’re allowed to be conflicted about this.”

Seokjin nods. “Right, you’re right. Thanks Hoseok. I do want to give him another shot, I want to meet him. We all have our things we’re dealing with.”

“If you need to go home I really don’t think Namjoon will mind. We don’t need to open the second floor bar.”

“No, it’s fine,” Seokjin shakes his head. “I’d like the distraction. Maybe I’ll go start a fight with Yoongi,” he a laughs, but it’s hollow.

Hoseok gives Seokjin a reassuring shoulder squeeze before letting go and Seokjin makes his way to the second floor.

He’s surprised to see Yoongi’s beat him to it. He looks especially contemplative today, playing with his phone and looks around anxiously every few seconds. “Looking for someone?” Seokjin asks as he approaches, startling Yoongi.

“Seokjin,” he says, pausing for a moment. There’s something so inherently un-Yoongi about his demeanor today. Like he’s a small animal ready to run at any moment. Seokjin’s not really sure how to handle this Yoongi, though he supposes he’s never been good at handling Yoongi in general. Hence the general dislike they have of each other. “I was looking for you actually.”

“Me?” Seokjin asks as he slides behind the bar. He pulls out his cleaning supplies to do a quick wipe down before the doors open in a little bit. Maybe he’ll make himself a feel better drink, who knows.

“I was wondering if you could pour me another whiskey on the rocks.”

Seokjin cocks an eyebrow at the shorter man. “You have two hands and I’m sure have poured yourself a drink before. You’re allowed to get yourself a drink while I’m not here, you practically co-own the place with Namjoon.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean.” This is already the second apology he’s gotten from Yoongi in one week; it’s gotta be some kind of record. Or maybe Yoongi’s been replaced with an imposter. Seokjin’s not sure which Yoongi he likes more, but this one’s kind of charming so far so he’ll let it slide. “I just didn’t know which one you got me last time and it was good, so. I thought’d I wait for you.”

Seokjin doubts that it was that great, but he’ll play along. He joked about picking a fight with Yoongi earlier, but it wasn’t honest. He’s still a bit fragile from his disappointment earlier and he’s not sure he could take an actual biting remark.

He pours Yoongi his drink and makes himself one of the cocktails he has prepared for the night, maybe adding a little more gin than necessary. “One of those nights?” Yoongi asks, tentative.

Seokjin nods. “Night hasn’t even begun yet,” he points out, but then smiles. “But something like that.”

“Want to talk about it?” Yoongi asks. Seokjin’s already talked about it, but Yoongi actually looks curious and Seokjin’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“How do I explain,” he wonders out loud. He doesn’t really have any intention of telling Yoongi the real story. “I was supposed to have something of a blind date,” he says.

Yoongi chokes on his drink. “Sorry, swallowed wrong. Continue.”

Seokjin raises an eyebrow but continues regardless. “Yeah, so I was talking to this guy for a bit before the date but uh, he didn’t show. Can’t really tell if it was because he decided I wasn’t interesting or if he did show but thought I wasn’t pretty enou- I shouldn’t be telling you this. You didn’t ask,” he stops. He’s apparently more vulnerable than thought if he was just spilling his insecurities to Yoongi of all people. He feels his ears burn as he rubs the back of his neck. 

“Neither or those could ever be true,” Yoongi says, his posture suddenly full of confidence and he’s staring into Seokjin’s eyes. It makes his heart skip a beat at the intensity.

“Yoongi,” he laughs. “You don’t even like me. I’m sure it’s possible others don’t either.”

“It’s different,” Yoongi says with a decisive nod. “What we have is special, I’m the only one allowed to piss you off. Besides, whether or not I like you doesn’t detract from the fact that you’re really handsome. Like, objectively.”

Seokjin freezes. Of all the directions that he thought this conversation would go, he would never have guessed it would be to Yoongi complimenting him. He had hoped for some banter, a distraction. This was distracting all right, but not in the way he expected.

“Thanks? I guess? You… are too?” he says, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

And then a sight that Seokjin never thought he would see.

Yoongi smiles, wide enough to show the gums of his teeth, and he laughs. “I didn’t say it for you to say it back, jeez. It was like it pained you to say it,” he says with a few stray chuckles.

“Yoongi, do you have a fever?” He reaches over the counter to feel Yoongi’s forehead, but Yoongi just laughs more and swats him away playfully.

“I’m fine. I’ve laughed before, I swear.”

“Everyone said you could but I had to see it to believe it.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever,” Yoongi says. His wide grin is gone but it’s replaced with something softer, a little more personal. “I meant it, though. I’m sure they just got nervous. Don’t beat yourself up over it, Jin.”

Seokjin’s not sure Yoongi has ever called him Jin before.

“Thanks, Yoongi. I think… you actually helped me for once,” he teases.

“I’m glad,” Yoongi nods. His face slowly returns to a blank one, but now Seokjin can see the way his eyes keep a brighter light to them when he’s in a good mood. He wonders if the light has always been there and he’s just noticing it now. “I have to talk to Namjoon about something, but I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, Yoongi.”

It's strange, but Seokjin feels like he wouldn't actually mind if he saw Yoongi again later. 

———

Yoongi doesn’t really have any solid plans for how to get Seokjin to like him, so he just goes with the flow. Which mostly consists of being obnoxiously present around him all the time.

It’s the third night in a row that Yoongi has appeared before his bar both before an after the show, and he’s dropped the pretense of needing a drink. It’s still awkward; Yoongi has a million things he can talk about with Seokjin now that he realizes he knows him better, but he can’t exactly bring up random topics without it looking a little strange.

Tonight, however, he has something of an idea. Last night, Seokjin (as RJ, of course) informed him that he’s being dying for barbecue but it’s not really lunch food and he’s often too tired after work to go out for food.

About forty-five minutes before the show was scheduled to end, Yoongi orders a barbecue buffet for the staff.

It hurts his wallet; barbecue is expensive enough for a few people, nevermind a team. But Seokjin was right when he said that Yoongi is practically the venue’s co-owner and he doesn’t regret treating the team. It’s much less suspicious than trying to tell Seokjin that he bought too much for himself and wanted to share. First of all, even with their tentative friendship he’d never believe that he would be the first choice to share. Second of all, no one just accidentally buys too much barbecue.

The food is arriving shortly just as the show is coming to a close, so Yoongi shuffles himself through the crowd of fans before he reaches Seokjin’s bar.

Seokjin during work is a rare sight for Yoongi. He’s swift and a multi-tasking expert. He can make three specialty cocktails while having two long conversations between sets. And he thrives; his smile as he listens to the fans are genuine and he works up a light sweat trying to see how fast he can get drinks out.

Yoongi has always known Seokjin to be handsome, but there’s something ethereal about the way the colored show lights reflect off of his face tonight.

Seokjin’s closed the bar now that the show is closing up so that guests can't to sneak drinks out of the concert, and he’s making quick work of cleaning up.

“Seokjin,” he says as he approaches, and Jin looks up.

“Yoongi,” he says, surprised. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,” he quotes with a chuckle. “But maybe I’ll make an exception for you. Need something?” he asks, his voice loud to hear over the end speeches of the lead singer of the band.

Yoongi shakes his head. “No, I’m good. Just letting you know that there’s a staff dinner buffet coming in; you’re gonna wanna head to the break room before it’s gone.”

Seokjin lights up: “Ah, perfect timing, I’m starved. What’s the treat?”

“Just proud of everyone’s hard work, thought it’s been a while since I’ve done anything for you guys,” Yoongi shrugs.

“Wait, it’s on you?” Yoongi nods. “That’s nice of you. Thanks for giving me a heads up, I’ll try to get down there early,” he says, smiling, and Yoongi returns it before heading off to let Namjoon know that the staff might be trying to leave their posts a little earlier than usual. 

———

Yoongi gets home later than he would typically; because he was the one to buy the food, it seems he is also the one to clean up after it all. But there was actually enough food left to keep as leftovers so he’s not really complaining.

He’s not surprised to see an email from RJ when he gets home in the early hours, especially with Seokjin having made quick work of his cleaning and leaving earlier than he would most nights. The contents, however, give him pause.

[email protected]
2:39am

Have you ever completely misunderstood someone and now you look like an ass?

[email protected]
3:32am

yes

He’s not expecting a response, Seokjin should definitely be asleep by now. But his phone informs him of a new email a few minutes later

[email protected]
3:42am

That’s a relief, I guess.
It’s just that there’s someone I know who drives me crazy, and I know for a fact that I drove him crazy too. Except lately he doesn’t. And maybe I don’t either. And I don’t know what’s changed.
But it’s kind of nerve-wracking because it feels like the ball could drop any minute. Like I’m going crazy.
What if I slip up again? What if I was the asshole this whole time?
I don’t think I want things to go back to the way they were.

Yoongi wants to tell Seokjin that they won’t, he wouldn’t let it. He wants to tell him that it was a misunderstanding, a petty battle of two people who didn’t try to get to know he each other.

But Yoongi’s not ready to tell Seokjin this yet. He wants to tell Seokjin when the ball no longer exists.

[email protected]
3:48

youre probably overthinking things
maybe he realized he was being ridiculous, that he wasnt giving you a chance to be yourself
thats what happened to me, at least
i thought i hated this person because i had made up this idea about who they were in my head
and then i found out that they weren’t like that at all

[email protected]
3:52am

I think… That’s probably accurate to my situation.
I’ll try not to expect the worst, I guess.
Thanks.

ps. You still owe me a spot on your track.
Let me know when you’re ready.

[email protected]
4:00am

i think i will be soon.

———

Tuesday is supposed to be Seokjin’s day off; there’s no performance at the venue this particularly day, but Namjoon likes to have staff meetings once a month to keep everyone updated and give opportunity for feedback on how everything’s being run. It’s surprisingly not miserable; they get paid to go, Namjoon buys them snacks, and it’s an opportunity for Seokjin to get to know some of the other staff that he doesn’t seen around as often.

For the most part, Seokjin sits next to Jungkook and they text each other the whole time since the meetings scarcely pertain to them. They’re discussing how one of the lighting techs is obviously boning one of the security guards when Seokjin feels eyes on him.

Yoongi is standing up near Namjoon, as he usually does, and makes the occasional comment or asks a question here and there. Currently, however, he’s staring at Seokjin.

Or, he was staring. When he glanced up, Yoongi turned away immediately and Seokjin’s not sure if it’s the lighting or not but he swears he sees Yoongi’s face turn the slightest shade of pink at being caught.

The more Seokjin interacts with Yoongi lately, the more he think he may be an imposter. Yoongi takes almost every opportunity to visit Seokjin’s bar that he’s free, and their conversations are getting easier, lighter.

The other day, Yoongi brought Seokjin a list of music he should listen to and Seokjin listened; for all that he said he assumed Seokjin only liked meaningless lyrics, he seemed to have pegged Seokjin’s taste down easily.

Except now Seokjin has a playlist of music recommended by Yoongi and whenever he listens to it he feels a little flutter in his chest.

And then there was another day where Seokjin was telling Yoongi about this bread YouTube he found and can't stop binge-watching. He hadn’t meant to tell Yoongi about it - why would Yoongi care about bread? - but it was like he held onto every word Seokjin said as though it was worth listening to. Then he came back a few days later to tell Seokjin about a particular video he liked. 

Seokjin misses their banter, just a little bit. At times it was seething and annoying, or perhaps most of the time it was. But there was a cleverness to it, a natural back and forth like they were in sync even if it was for the wrong reason.

Though, Seokjin doesn’t think it’s over, it’s more like they’re taking a break. They’re jutting out of pattern and maybe they’ll go back better than ever. Seokjin’s not sure when he started to look forward to seeing Yoongi again, but judging by the way his heart skipped a beat at Yoongi’s look he thinks it’s been for longer than he’ll admit.

Jungkook jabs at Seokjin’s side and he has to fight from yelping and drawing attention to himself. “The disrespect! Are you forgetting that I’m like, twice your age?” he growls at a whisper, leaning into Jungkooks space.

Jungkook leans back. “You’re literally not,” he whispers.

“Tomato, Tomahto,” he shrugs. Yoongi’s looking back at him again, but this time his fingers are twitching and his brows scrunched, like he’s thinking too hard about something.

“Seokjin, pay attention to me, I’m bored,” Jungkook whispers.

Seokjin pulls out his phone and opens up his notes app, drawing a tic-tak-to board for Jungkook, laughing at the kid’s persistence. He draws an x in the middle of the board before passing over the phone.

“You took the best spot,” he grumbles, but plays anyway.

The meeting, for all intents and purposes, should be boring as hell. But in the midst of keeping Jungkook entertained, Seokjin’s got something of a game going on with Yoongi, who’s barely contributing to Namjoon’s words anymore.

Whenever Seokjin looks up, Yoongi’s turning away. Whenever Yoongi looks over, Seokjin turns. It kind of makes Seokjin feel something, but he’s decided to ignore the feeling for a while longer.

At one point, Yoongi and Seokjin look over at the same time and lock eyes. And then they laugh, just barely, only to themselves, but Seokjin’s vibrating with some kind of adrenaline. It’s like a kid passing notes in high school and they almost got caught but they didn’t.

No one seems to notice aside from Jimin, who’s got on a confused expression and is glancing furtively between them.

The meeting ends, Jungkook groaning out a “Finally,” and Seokjin nodding as he stretches from sitting so long. “What were you smiling about the whole time?” Jungkook asks. “I kept listening in and nothing was happening.”

Seokjin pauses to think of a plausible reason, since playing eye tag with your former enemy isn’t something he fancies saying out loud. “Namjoon had a piece of lettuce in his teeth.”

“And you didn’t show me? I thought we were buds, Seokjin. Can’t believe this,” Jungkook mumbles, but then he’s laughing and Seokjin just grins and shrugs.

He says his hello’s to Taehyung and Jimin - who still looks suspicious. Hoseok tells him that he’s going to stay behind and help Namjoon with the stage renovation plans, but Seokjin suspects that they’re mostly just going to have lunch and flirt a bit for the better half of the day. Regardless, it means Seokjin’s heading home alone.

“Jin,” he hears Yoongi call from behind him as he walks up. He looks good, he thinks, now that Seokjin is closer to him. Yoongi’s fashion is mostly black, which he has to wear when he’s working on sound behind the stage anyway. Today, however, he’s wearing a burgundy sweater with a wide collar, exposing his collarbones, and tight fitted skinny jeans. “Did you need a ride home? Namjoon’s lending me the car since Hoseok offered to bring him back to the apartment."

Seokjin nods eagerly; he doesn’t exactly hate the bus, but he’ll never turn up a chance to save his $2.75. “You’re a lifesaver, thanks Yoongi.” The sound tech gives a small smile and nods.

Seokjin and Hoseok chose to split a car opposed to one of them taking on full responsibility for it. Namjoon, however, is the sole owner of the car that he and Yoongi use. According to Yoongi, he didn’t want Namjoon’s bad driving to possibly tarnish his otherwise impeccable car history. Namjoon decided only a year ago to finally get his license and, in turn, a car. He’s not great at driving; a bit too much a stickler to the rules and doesn’t have good instincts with them. But he hasn’t gotten into an accident yet so everyone’s quite proud of him.

The car is nice, though. A more recent model than the one Seokjin shares with Hoseok and it has an aux chord that functions, unlike the one in Seokjin’s where he has to jimmy the chord to keep it playing.

“You can play whatever you want,” Yoongi says as he pulls out of the employee lot and Seokjin puts his playlist on shuffle.

A few minutes into the drive, the biting soundscape of Agust D’s “Tony Montana" starts. Seokjin almost skips it - he thinks Yoongi would like it, but something about Agust D’s music is personal to Seokjin, like a secret he holds close to his heart.

But he doesn’t skip it. He sort of wants to listen to it with Yoongi. Yoongi, he thinks, is actually quite similar to the musician. Angry and passionate on the outside - the Yoongi that Seokjin used to know - but softer, caring on the inside, like the one he’s finally had the chance to meet.

“You, uh, you like Agust D?” Yoongi asks. His fingers are tapping the steering wheel and he’s biting his lip. His voice is also higher than usual, like he’s purposefully trying to sound different.

“I do, but I can change it if you want,” Seokjin says, nervousness creeping into his chest at Yoongi’s strange reaction.

“Oh, no,” Yoongi shakes his head, and Seokjin breathes a sigh of relief. “I do. Just haven’t met many people who listen to him.”

Seokjin nods, “Me neither, I’m looking forward to his upcoming album,” he says.

“Me too,” Yoongi smiles, and the rest of the car ride is quiet but comfortable.

Neither of them realize that Agust D has never publicly mentioned his upcoming album.

———

Hoseok is coming over, and therefore, Yoongi decides, he’s leaving.

Namjoon offered for Yoongi to stay and watch movies on the couch with them all evening, but the problem with couples who aren’t actually couples yet is that they’re the worst offenders for third-wheeling. Yoongi has no desire to watch them stare longingly at each other all evening while they try to figure their shit out, no thank you.

Fortunately, Taehyung and Jimin had plans to invite Jungkook over for a movie night and welcomed him to join.

It’s Taehyung’s choice to pick the movie tonight so they’re watching some black and white film that Yoongi can’t really follow right now; he’s got a lot on his mind.

Suddenly, Taehyung pauses the movie and pointedly turns to Yoongi. “Okay, spill.”

Yoongi’s eyes widen and he looks around the room, pointing to himself. “Me? Spill what?”

“You have not stopped moving once since we started the movie a half an hour ago. I can practically hear you thinking. We’re all friends here: what’s on your mind?” he asks, crossing his arms. The thing about Taehyung is that he’s a calm go-with-the-flow kind of person. So when there is a rare occasion that he is set on something, there’s no fighting it.

Yoongi glances at Jungkook, then at Jimin. He figures he can’t keep everything a secret for much longer anyway. “I’m thinking… of asking, you know, that friend of mine out,” he says.

“If that friend isn’t named Kim Seokjin, I will shoot my own foot off. The sexy one,” Jimin says, eyes hardened on Yoongi.

“Kind of?” Yoongi says, and then he tells him and Jungkook the story; about starting to talk with RJ, to wanting to meet him. He tells them about how he found out that RJ is Seokjin and about his plan to get Seokjin to like him. Once he starts the story, it’s a flowing river: about how he’s learned to enjoy all sides of Seokjin. About how he wants to finally tell him everything.

Jimin looks like he wants to cry. “That’s so romantic,” he whispers.

“Dude,” Jungkook says. “It’s sweet and all, but isn’t it kind of weird? Keeping something like that from him?”

Taehyung nods: “I tried to get him to tell him immediately, but he insisted.”

“Have you guys met Seokjin?” Jimin interrupts. “He’s really stubborn. And in this situation, Yoongi had the upper hand… I think he would have felt too uncomfortable at first. I’m sure they would have still worked it out, but I don’t know. You guys have your own weird ways of doing things. I think he’ll get it.”

Yoongi sighs. “I know, I know. I mean, it was hard for to accept seeing him there instead of this other person who was supposed to be my perfect match. I think I needed the time to accept it, too, before coming clean.”

“So now what?” Taehyung says. “You said you were gonna ask him to meet again. You think you’re both ready?”

“They definitely are,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes. “They’ve been up each other’s asses the past two weeks.”

Jungkook scoffs. “No kidding. I went to go hang out with Seokjin while I was cleaning his floor at work and it was all ‘Yoongi this, Yoongi that. Did you know Yoongi had mint hair in college? Or that his favorite movie is Inception?’” he says, imitating Seokjin without an ounce of accuracy. Still, Yoongi would be lying if he said the thought of Seokjin talking about him didn’t give him butterflies in his stomach.

“Whatever,” he mumbles, embarrassed. “I think so. It’s comfortable, being around him now. And I feel like he’s more open with me, that he might actually have positive feelings towards me now.” He sighs. “I just hope he’s not too mad that I’ve been keeping it a secret from him.”

Taehyung shrugs: “Even if he does, which he’s in his right to, I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

Yoongi can only hope he’s right, he thinks as he begins to draft one of the most intimidating emails of his life.

———

Seokjin makes a point to not check his emails at work. He always waits to talk to Agust D after and has purposefully turned off his notifications and prefers to use his desktop at home for emailing anyway.

But tonight is rare Saturday night that they get a sitting down orchestra performance, and most people got their small plastic cups of wine before they started and now feel too awkward to get more even though he’s sure they desperately want some.

He likes orchestra music well enough, but his feet are hurting without the distraction of guests to serve so he opens his phone, just to keep himself awake. He’s surprised to see that Agust D has messaged him so early in the night, especially compared to their usual.

[email protected]
9:42pm

good evening
i hope youre doing well
i know this is sudden, but im ready to try again if you are
and if i don’t show up this time you have permission to leak the entirety of what i have for august d2

Seokjin’s heart drops, though it’s in a good way he thinks. A nervous excitement.

[email protected]
9:51pm

You drive a hard bargain.
I would never, but it’s the thought that counts.
Where to this time?

[email protected]
9:53pm

kings blvd park? tomorrow? 12pm?
you can wear the pink baseball cap
ill wear my black beanie

[email protected]
9:55pm

you realize it’s autumn and that every hipster in the city is wearing a black beanie right?

[email protected]
9:56pm

mine is charcoal black. its different

[email protected]
9:57pm

Hahahahahahaha.
Can’t wait.

Seokjin is finally going to actually meet Agust D.

At least, he probably is. He doesn’t think that Agust D would bail on him a second time, and even just joking about leaking his mixtape is kind of a big deal. Seokjin thinks he’ll show this time.

The performance ends an hour later and Seokjin is still riding the high off of his feelings of excitement when Yoongi shows up at his bar, almost as if on schedule. Seokjin doesn’t remember the last time that Yoongi didn’t stop by to visit him while he cleaned up. Tonight there’s a pep in his step; maybe he likes instrumental music more than Seokjin would guess. Though he supposed Yoongi might never stop surprising him at this point. 

“You look chipper.” Yoongi remarks, and Seokjin realizes he’s probably been smiling to himself.

“I guess you could say I am,” he laughs.

“Special occasion?”

Seokjin shakes his head. “Not really. Well, I don’t know. Maybe. Remember the blind date I told you about? I’m going to try to meet up with him again tomorrow.”

Yoongi looks surprised, but there’s something dramatic about it. Not fake, but purposefully exaggerated? He’s strange tonight, but Seokjin would say it’s kind of cute. “Yeah? You think he’ll show this time?”

Seokjin nods. “I think so,” he says with confidence.

Yoongi smiles. “Then I think so too. I hope it goes well.”

“Me too,” Seokjin agrees.

“I have to go give Namjoon a hand, but let me know how it goes tomorrow?” Yoongi asks as he makes to leave, even if he was only here a moment.

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Seokjin says, and Yoongi nods before drifting away and down the stairs.

Seokjin is, for some reason, unsettled by the interaction. Yoongi seemed genuinely happy for him; like he wanted Seokjin’s blind date to go well. And Seokjin... kind of wishes that Yoongi had reacted differently. Maybe had tried to stop him, or...

Or maybe ask him out himself.

Which is ridiculous because Seokjin wouldn’t even know what to say to that. He thinks he would say yes, or he wants to think he would. It’s not like Agust D and he necessarily have anything inherently romantic about them.

But the thing is that they could; they have every potential to be. They formed a connection that went beyond physical attraction and Seokjin would say that there’s a definite possibility that he likes Agust D. But a small part of him thinks that he might also like Yoongi as well.

Yoongi, for so long, was a distant character. But lately Yoongi has solidified himself as a member of Seokjin’s life; a comfortable presence. They’ve finally shared laughs and now that they’ve begun to understand one an other it’s like they’re out for a walk and they know the way without uttering a word. He sees the same thing in Taehyung and Jimin: a person you can fully be yourself around.

Because Agust D hasn’t seen Seokjin’s flaws yet; he’s unknowingly hid them from him. What if Agust D can’t stand the way his laugh disrupts the room, or the way he won’t budge on the things he’s stubborn about? What if he doesn’t see through Seokjin’s confident exterior and assumes he doesn’t have to compliment him because he must already know how handsome he is? What if…

What if he decides he doesn’t like Seokjin at all.

But Yoongi is almost a certainty by now. He’s seen Seokjin at his worst, the way he fights when he’s frustrated or uses jokes to cope with stress. And now he’s seen Seokjin when he’s excited about new music and how he tries to be there for his friends.

It feels silly to compare the two. He doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring, or the thoughts Yoongi has up his sleeve. He’s overthinking it all.

But it would be nice, he thinks, if they were one in the same. The deep of Agust D’s rap and the calm of Yoongi’s voice. Their introspection and care disguised as apathy. Their passion for music and meaning.

It’s not impossible, Seokjin thinks. But it’s definitely too good to be true.

Seokjin leaves to meet Hoseok to go home that night with a hope swelling in his heart that he can’t seem to fight.

[email protected]
1:30pm

see you tomorrow

[email protected]
1:39pm

See you tomorrow

———

Seokjin’s gonna vibrate out of his skin. He’s going to have a heart attack and Agust D is going to show up and he will be too dead to meet him and it will be tragic.

hobi

good luck!

Hoseok’s a good roomate. It’ll be such a pity that he has to look for a new roommate. Actually he’ll probably just live with Namjoon so he should be happy for him. Rest in peace Kim Seokjin. 

He’s early, sitting in King Boulevard Park on a bench and fiddling with his baseball cap. His leg is bouncing and for some reason this is so much harder the second time around. He can’t tell if he’s nervous because he wants to meet Agust D or if he’s nervous because he’ll be disappointed that he hasn’t already met him… that he isn’t Yoongi.

He closes his eyes and leans against the bench, mentally picturing a flower.

Agust D couldn’t possibly be Yoongi, he thinks, mentally pulling off a petal. That would literally be way too coincidental and perfect, he pulls off another petal. But what if, another petal, it could make sense, another. Theyre weirdly similar. He doesn't pull one this time.

“Kim Seokjin?” a voice says from next to him, and it’s all too familiar. The flower falls and he opens his eyes.

It’s impossible but it’s true: Min Yoongi is standing next him, wearing a charcoal black beanie, and an uncertain smile on his face. Seokjin stands up.

“It’s you,” he says, unable to keep the awe from his voice.

“It’s me,” he laughs, his posture uncomfortable. “I’m sorry-,”

Seokjin pulls him into a huge, wrapping his arms around Yoongi’s neck. His heart skips a beat when he feels Yoongi’s arms on his back. “I’m sorry,” Yoongi continues. “That I didn’t tell you. I saw you in that coffee shop and I just. I had to make sure I was someone you could fall in love with,” Yoongi whispers, a breath on Seokjin’s ear.

“You were always someone I could fall in love with, I was just too blind to see it,” Seokjin whispers back, arms tightening for just a moment before breaking the hug. He doesn’t step away, instead leans down and rests his forehead on Yoongi’s.

“Me too,” Yoongi says back, his face smiling so much it must hurt.

Seokjin can’t help but smile back. “It could only have been you, I wanted it so badly for it to be you.”

“I’m glad it was,” Yoongi laughs. He sighs and brings his hands up to Seokjin’s neck. “Can I kiss you?” his voice quivers just slightly, and it leaves Seokjin warm.

Seokjin responds by pressing his lips to Yoongi’s, just a light touch that sends electricity through his veins before pushing closer. “I hope I still have that part on your track,” he says, breaking away from him for a moment.

“It was never not going to be yours,” Yoongi whispers before bringing their lips back together, kissing as in-tune with each other as they always have been.