Chapter Text
Seated cross-legged on his mattress, Yoongi is already in loungewear even though the sun hasn’t gone down yet. He dots lotion across his T-zone and cheeks, rubbing it in gently. The other men have left the tent one by one, either pairing off with the girl they like or returning defeated, unmatched.
Yoongi is among the latter group, but he’s less disappointed about this than he lets on. So far all the women in the competition are either too shallow, too young, or too popular to bother with. He has no interest in being someone’s second or third choice, begging for scraps of their attention.
Once the match-ups finish, they can be free of this excruciating dance for another night, retreat to the dining area to prepare another inferior but perfectly adequate dinner. As Yoongi pulls his hair back into a headband, he wonders what it will be this time. Canned chicken? Sweet potatoes?
He’s mulling over these possibilities when the tent flap opens, a lanky man with unruly brown curls ducking inside with a bashful grin. Yoongi blinks up at him in confusion. Taehyung is the mid-season “surprise” addition to the male contestants, so he gets first pick to take anyone he wants to Paradise tonight. He should already be on his way, arm-in-arm up the hill with whomever.
“I may have caused a bit of a situation,” he says in that lilting deep voice of his, head tilted to one side. “Why are you in pajamas?”
“Huh?”
Yoongi really doesn’t want to know what kind of situation Taehyung could be talking about. This is now his fourth night in a row in Inferno. He’s tired.
“That’s okay. Where’s your bag? You haven’t unpacked it, right?” Taehyung is rummaging around at his bedside now, hefting Yoongi’s luggage and nodding in apparent satisfaction.
“Hey,” says Yoongi, finally snapping out of his daze. “Don’t touch my stuff, what the hell. Shouldn’t you be halfway to Paradise by now?”
Taehyung swings his head up at that. “Exactly! Now you get it.”
Yoongi really doesn’t.
“They said I could pick anyone I wanted, someone I was curious about, so I did.” Taehyung is looking at him expectantly now, and when Yoongi finally gets the message he’s nearly bowled over.
“Me,” he says flatly, in disbelief. “You picked me. Is that even allowed?”
Taehyung grins at him, squared off and toothy. “That’s the fun part. They had no idea what to do when I said your name. I think they might still be running around out there, actually. But it’s not against the rules, I checked!”
Oh good, Yoongi thinks. As long as it’s not against the rules.
“Anyway, I think they’re going to let us go together. I said it would be different and good for ratings, you know? Don’t worry, we can go as friends, it doesn’t mean you have to fall for me.” Taehyung flaps a hand dismissively, as if that’s something he expects to happen all the time. Maybe it does.
Yoongi works his jaw, sticks his tongue in one corner of his mouth and then the other as he thinks it over. It’s completely crazy, but it also may very well be his only chance to experience the more opulent side of this competition. And some steak and a nice glass of whiskey from room service do sound incredible right now.
“Okay,” he says at last. “Let’s go.”
Taehyung’s answering smile is warmer than the island sun.