Work Text:
“Okay, so as one of the only non-witches in this group of friends,” Jimin says, starting the conversation in a way he far too often starts conversations. “How normal is it for witches to ask you to be a part of their trial and error potions?”
Jungkook groans. “This is literally the first time that I’ve asked you all to help me out.” And it’s true. Jungkook has asked a few times for Jimin to tell him what a potion smells like (love potion, he described the brand of body wash that Jungkook knows Taehyung uses), or for Namjoon to try a potion out on one of his plants (a growth potion that Namjoon accidentally put entirely on one plant that now takes up the majority of his living room in a comical way), or for Hoseok to let him know when he has a cold so that he can give him something to make him feel better (a cough soothing potion which Hoseok had been very grateful for and now keeps in stock at all times), but he’d never had a group potion before. But, this time, Seokjin needs his help figuring out how the potion affects different body types. He needs all of his friends for this one. “And it’s to help out my hyung! My mentor! The platonic love of my life!”
Yoongi snorts from where he’s sitting on Jungkook’s couch. “He thinks that you’re for real in love with him,” Yoongi says. “Seriously, every time he asks Hoseok out, he asks him to keep it a secret from you so that they don’t hurt your feelings.”
“Hoseokie-hyung and Seokjinie-hyung are going on dates?”
Yoongi nods. “For, like, three months now. I’m not exactly sure why Hoseok started going into his shop so much, but I can tell you that he keeps going because he likes Seokjin-ssi a lot. It’s getting kind of unbearable to hear about at home.”
Jungkook pouts. “Hoseokie-hyung should know better.”
“What should I know better?” Hoseok asks, suddenly appearing behind Jungkook. “Also, your door doesn’t seem to be locking these days. Isn’t it supposed to automatically lock?”
“Yes,” Jungkook says, wearily looking over at his door. “It is.”
Hoseok raises an eyebrow, glancing between Jungkook and the door. “Maybe you should get that checked out. I just walked right in. Not that I’m complaining about the easy access…” He trails off, his curiosity piqued by the tension in the room.
“Right, but we were talking about you and Seokjinie-hyung,” Jimin interjects, trying to steer the conversation back. Jungkook is more concerned about his front door, though. When did the lock break? How? Has someone been sneaking in while it’s been broken? Jungkook’s been far too busy to pay attention to whether or not anything in his apartment has gone missing. “What’s this about you two going on dates?”
Hoseok's cheeks flush a deep pink, and he stammers, “It’s not- I mean, it’s just a couple of hangouts, nothing serious!” He laughs awkwardly, looking sideways at Jungkook to gauge his reaction. Jungkook would have thought that, of all people, Hoseok would know that he most definitely is not interested in Seokjin. Considering that Jungkook has been in love with Hoseok’s roommate for years now.
“Hangouts that you’ve been sneaking around about for months?” Yoongi smirks. “Sounds like a secret relationship to me. I mean, you’re never even home anymore.”
“It’s not a secret!” Hoseok protests, but the laughter in his voice gives him away. “I just didn’t want to make it weird for you, Jungkook. You’re so obsessed with Seokjin. I thought you’d be upset or something.”
“Gross,” Jungkook rolls his eyes, but he can’t hide the small smile creeping onto his lips. “You think I care about that? Seokjinie-hyung is practically my second dad. The idea of dating him makes me want to throw up.”
“That’s mean,” Taehyung interjects and Jungkook jumps. “Hey, your door is broken, by the way. I’m going to be honest, I think that it’s my fault because last week I dropped an anvil on the door knob and I was hoping that it would be okay-”
“You stole my anvil?”
“Why do you have an anvil?” Jimin asks, tilting his head. Then, to Taehyung, “And why did you need an anvil?”
“Witch stuff,” Jungkook and Taehyung say at the same time. Jimin makes a face at them both.
Jungkook glares at Taehyung for a second longer. “Buy me a new doorknob, I do not need my landlord to know about this. He’s already kind of a dick.” Then, to Hoseok, “And I just want you and Seokjinie-hyung to be happy. But don’t tell him that I said that… I want to fuck with him for a while for keeping you two seeing each other from me.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Hoseok grins, leaning against the couch. “So, what’s up? What exactly do you need from us with hyung’s new potion?”
Jungkook pulls out a series of vials, each filled with brightly colored liquids that shimmer under the light. “Seokjinie-hyung said he needs to know how it affects different body types, so we’re going to test it out,” he explains. “It’s a strength potion- physical strength, not mental, so no one quit taking your anxiety meds- that’s supposed to help you gain muscle. In a non-test run, you’d take it once per month, but hyung just wants to observe each of you over the next month. He gave me these little notebooks for each of you to fill out with your height, weight, a couple of measurements… Can you do it each day?”
Jungkook waits for everyone to nod. “Cool. Namjoonie-hyung couldn’t make it today, but I’m going to his place later this evening to give it to him, too.”
“What are the predicted side effects of this one?” Taehyung asks, eyeing the potion warily. “Fucking with body mass makes me nervous. When I tried something like this in college, I accidentally turned my noona into a frog.”
“Frogs? I’m out,” Yoongi deadpans, but the glimmer of mischief in his eyes suggests he’s not going anywhere. Jungkook’s heart thumps irrationally loudly. He’s surprised no one else can hear it.
“Come on, Yoongi! It’ll be fun! We’re all friends here,” Jimin chimes in, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Fun? You mean like the time I grew a tail for a week?” Yoongi retorts, but he’s clearly intrigued. “Of course, that was my own fault. Never take an advanced potions course if it’s not required for your degree. No matter how cute the TA is.”
And… then Jungkook’s heart cracks. Of course, Jungkook has been in love with Yoongi for years and years. He’s not sure when it happened. Probably, like most feelings, slowly over time. He doesn’t remember the day that he realized that he was in love with Yoongi, but he knows that it was slowly building over time.
But Yoongi most definitely only sees him as an annoying younger brother. Yoongi has dated countless men and women over the last few years, never one to be shy about the way he feels for someone, makes countless remarks about hot celebrities, equating people like Seokjin and Taehyung to them, and has, on more than one occasion, openly tweeted about how delicious he finds Namjoon’s thighs to be when he’s had a bit too much wine.
With Jungkook, Yoongi is much gentler. He doesn’t talk about Jungkook’s body or face (probably because he has literally zero thoughts on them) and definitely treats him the way that a good hyung treats a favored dongsaeng. Sure, Jungkook gets invited over all of the time for dinner, but with Yoongi and Hoseok always asking him about his apprenticeship or job prospects, Jungkook thinks that it feels much closer to a dinner with his parents than a date.
“Okay, okay,” Jungkook says, trying to subtly change the subject away from whoever Yoongi had a crush on in college. “I took the liberty of making everyone a nice lunch, and I’ll just sprinkle some of this here potion on it, if that’s okay with everyone.”
Everyone exchanges glances, a mix of excitement and trepidation. Jimin raises an eyebrow. “You’re just going to sprinkle it on lunch? Isn’t that a bit… casual? What if we turn into-”
“Frogs?” Taehyung finishes, grinning. “Or even better, like, super strong frogs? We could take over the world!”
“Why do I even like you?” Jimin asks at the same time that Yoongi says, “Don’t even joke about that. I am not interested in sounding like a bullfrog for the rest of my life.”
Jungkook blinks. “Wait, do bullfrogs sound different from regular frogs?”
“Yeah, of course,” Yoongi says, then does what Jungkook assumes is an impression of a bullfrog.
“Okay, listen,” Jungkook says, putting his hands up. “It’s completely safe. I promise. I even had Seokjin run through the effects with me before I invited you all. It worked really well-”
“Is that why you’re looking much more buff these days?” Jimin asks, eyes twinkling.
Yoongi rolls his own. “Don’t talk about Jungkook like that.”
Jungkook swallows the bitter taste in his mouth, choosing to ignore the two of them. “Plus, it’s just a couple of drops in each meal. We’ll all be fine.”
“Famous last words,” Hoseok mutters, but he’s already moving to help Jungkook set up the spread on the coffee table. “What did you make, anyway?”
“Just some sandwiches and snacks,” Jungkook replies, pulling out a colorful platter of neatly arranged sandwiches. “I thought we could keep it light since we’re doing this… experimental lunch.”
Jimin peeks at the sandwiches, his eyes lighting up. “Did you make those pork ones that you’re so good at making? The one with the radish and that really yummy homemade sauce?”
“Of course I did,” Jungkook beams while Yoongi mumbles something about never having tried Jungkook’s delicious pork sandwiches. “And I’ve got chips and some fruit, too. I spent big bucks on these grapes.”
Once everything is laid out, they gather around the coffee table and Jungkook uncaps the first vial, the bright liquid swirling enticingly. “Alright, here’s the potion. I’ll add a few drops to each sandwich.”
“You better not overdo it,” Yoongi warns, leaning forward, an amused smirk on his face. “I’m not ready to become a bodybuilder.”
“Relax, I’ve got this,” Jungkook says, carefully drizzling some of the blue liquid onto each sandwich before glancing around the room. “Okay, everyone ready? Let’s dig in!”
With that, they all take their sandwiches, and after a moment of hesitant silence, they start to eat. Jimin takes a huge bite, his eyes widening. “Wow, this is good! You really outdid yourself, Jungkook!”
“I try,” Jungkook replies, his heart fluttering at the praise. He takes a bite of his own sandwich, and the familiar flavors fill him with warmth and comfort. As they munch away, the atmosphere shifts to one of relaxed camaraderie.
“Seokjinie-hyung is getting really good at making these things flavorless,” Jungkook comments. “He didn’t even attempt it with the bit he had me try. It tasted like grass.”
“Do you think we’ll feel anything immediately?” Taehyung asks as Jimin wipes juice off of Taehyung’s chin. Jungkook hadn’t even seen Taehyung go for the fruits, so he has no idea how he has so much all over his face already. Jungkook bets that Taehyung just likes it when Jimin babies him.
“Probably not,” Jungkook replies. “I think it’ll take a little while to kick in, maybe a few hours. You should definitely notice some differences tomorrow, so make sure to measure all of that shit for hyung as soon as you get home.”
“Hey, did anyone feel that?” Hoseok asks, pausing mid-bite.
“Feel what?” Yoongi replies, looking between them.
“Like a rush or something. Almost like… I was feeling a lot of fondness all of a sudden…” Hoseok shrugs, but he has a gleam in his eye. “Maybe I’m just imagining it.”
“Or you’re just excited about your secret dates with Seokjinie-hyung,” Jungkook teases, trying to lighten the mood. But inside, he wonders if he should be worried. He hadn’t experienced any energy like that when he tried the potion for the first time. He wonders if Hoseok truly had just imagined it.
“Seriously, though,” Taehyung muses, leaning back on the couch. “Imagine being able to look like Jungkookie or Namjoonie-hyung without putting all of the effort in that they do.”
Yoongi snorts. “You’d still be terrible at sports, so what’s the point?”
Taehyung shrugs. “Namjoonie-hyung and Jungkookie would probably get really pissed off at us if we looked like them in just a few weeks,” he admits. Jungkook doesn’t have the heart to tell him that it really isn’t supposed to change what they look like. That’s the whole reason that Seokjin is having so many people test it. “And I can’t imagine Jungkookie if I suddenly became better than him at sports.”
“Like that’d ever happen,” Yoongi says, sending Jungkook a gummy grin that makes Jungkook’s heart do backflips inside of his chest. “Jungkook’s too good.”
🔮🔮🔮
Jungkook wakes up the next morning to a frantic knock on his door.
To be clear, he means his bedroom door. Clearly the remainder of his house has been tainted and while Jungkook lives in a relatively safe neighborhood, he’s not interested in being harmed if someone wants to rob his basically open apartment.
Jungkook blinks, wondering if he’s actually being robbed or if one of his friends is at his house at- Jungkook looks at his phone- six-thirty in the morning? What the fuck ?
“Jungkook, open the door.”
“Jiminie-hyung?” He mumbles, walking up to the door. He slowly unlocks it, wondering what is so important that Jimin couldn’t have just called him. Or texted him. Or, geez, maybe waited until the it wasn’t sixty-thirty in the fucking morning to talk to Jungkook.
When Jungkook opens the door, he’s not entirely shocked to see that Jimin’s eyes are red rimmed and brimming with unshed tears. He kind of figured that, whatever had happened, it was bad.
“Hyung?” Jungkook says again, ushering Jimin out to his living room while he puts on water for some tea. Jungkook really would prefer coffee right now, but he’s fairly sure that he’s entirely out of grounds. He was just planning to get an iced coffee pouch on his way to Seokjin’s store. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” Jimin bemoans, dramatically flopping back onto the couch. “I woke up this morning beside Taehyung.”
Jungkook nods. “Makes sense. You’ve been dating him for, like, three years now. You moved in together six months ago.”
“Yeah, except it felt wrong ,” Jimin says.
And.
Well.
That makes Jungkook pause.
“What do you mean wrong?”
Because Jimin and Taehyung are the most in love people who Jungkook has ever had the pleasure of witnessing together. They’re constantly together, being gross with one another and sending each other cheesy emojis and heartfelt texts and sometimes Jungkook has to put on his most whiny voice when it’s just the three of them because he swears that Jimin and Taehyung actually forget everyone else around them when they’re together.
If Jungkook walked into his apprenticeship today and Seokjin told him that soulmates exist, but only two people get to have one another every hundred thousand years, Jungkook would fully believe that those two people are Jimin and Taehyung right now.
Two people destined to meet in each lifetime. Destined to love one another.
So it can’t feel wrong.
“Jiminie-hyung, what do you mean?”
Jimin takes a deep breath and Jungkook feels even more worried. He’s never seen Jimin look so out of sorts before. It’s worrying to him. “I just…” Jimin starts, trailing off immediately. “I felt like I wanted you to be there.”
Jungkook blinks. “Me?”
Well, that doesn’t make any sense at all.
Jungkook has known Jimin the longest of any of his friends, since they grew up in houses directly across the street from one another. Jimin was Jungkook’s first friend, the first person who he ever told about the uncanny ability he had to just make things happen when he started presenting as a witch, the person who Jungkook has trusted with his not-so-tiny crush on Yoongi for all of these years.
They’re best friends and Jimin has never once shown interest in Jungkook as anything more.
“Yes,” Jimin says, looking at Jungkook wearily, like he’s afraid that Jungkook will be mad at him for it. “I woke up feeling overwhelmingly like I needed to be close to you. Like, I realized that I’m in love with you.”
“There’s no way,” Jungkook argues, immediately. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s so early and Jimin seems to have been genuinely crying, Jungkook would think that this is just a really lame prank from him and Taehyung. “You need to go back home,” Jungkook instructs. “You need to go remember how much you love Taehyung and you need to do it before he wakes up-”
Jimin cringes. “Too late for that.”
“Oh my gods,” Jungkook says. “Don’t tell me that you told Taehyung this. Do not tell me that you told Taehyung that you’re in love with me. Because you’re not in love with me .”
Jimin sighs. “I didn’t have to tell him. He woke up and broke up with me before I could. Told me that he’s in love with you and asked me to leave.”
Jungkook stares at Jimin, his mind racing. “What? Taehyung loves me? Since when?”
None of this is making any sense to Jungkook. He’s gone back on his previous thought process. Jimin and Taehyung must be crazy enough to pull a prank on him before seven in the morning.
“Since this morning, apparently,” Jimin says, rubbing his temples. “He was all… giddy and said something about waking up feeling strong and wanting to confess. I didn’t even have a chance to process it before he said he couldn’t be with me anymore because he realized he had feelings for you.”
Jungkook feels a rush of confusion mixed with an overwhelming urge to laugh, still unsure whether or not this is a joke. People don’t just wake up, suddenly in love with someone who they’ve been friends with for years. Not when they’re one half of the grossest couple in all of Seoul. “So, wait. You both just woke up, suddenly in love with me?”
“Seems like it,” Jimin says, a mix of disbelief and hurt in his voice. Jungkook doesn’t have the brain power right now to figure out if it’s because he’s been broken up with or because Jungkook outright rejected his confession.
Jungkook blinks, wondering what the hell is going on. “Call Taehyung,” he says, seriously. “I’m calling Yoongi-hyung and we’re going to figure this out.”
“Okay, let’s recap,” Yoongi says, running a hand through his messy hair as he leans against Jungkook’s kitchen counter, still in his pajamas. Jungkook had called him as soon as Jimin filled him in, and within minutes, Yoongi was on his way over, half-awake but clearly intrigued by the chaos unfolding. Jungkook had also tried calling Namjoon and Hoseok, his immediate thought process being that something went wrong with the potion, but neither of them had answered. Which makes sense because it’s just after seven in the morning on a Saturday and no one should be awake.
“Recap what? That Jimin and Taehyung woke up in love with me? That’s all I’ve got!” Jungkook feels a mix of disbelief and a strange flutter in his chest. He glances at Jimin, who’s pacing the small living room, looking equally frazzled.
“Right, so you two,” Yoongi gestures at Jimin. “You’re saying that you both just happened to have some epiphany this morning about your feelings for Jungkook. Is that correct?”
“Yes!” Jimin exclaims, spinning around to face Yoongi. “But I don’t understand it. I don’t think that I was in love with him yesterday, but all of my emotions feel like they’re rose tinted when I think about Jungkook.”
“Why now, though?” Yoongi raises an eyebrow. “What’s different? Did you suddenly become more… attractive?” He smirks, but there’s an underlying seriousness in his tone.
Jungkook can’t help but feel self-conscious. “I don’t know. I thought I was just doing my regular thing.”
“Regular thing being super cute and adorably clueless?” Yoongi teases.
Jungkook’s cheeks undoubtedly start burning. He’s always blushy and nervous around Yoongi, due to the whole being in love with him thing, but it definitely gets worse when Yoongi says things like that. Things that make Jugnkook irrationally think that he has some sort of chance with Yoongi.
However, the nerves aren’t just from Yoongi calling him cute. Jungkook had been hoping that this was something to do with the potion, that there was some mishap that caused anyone taking it to wrongly feel that they’re in love with Jungkook, but Yoongi isn’t acting any differently. He hasn’t come over professing his love for Jungkook.
While Yoongi most definitely wouldn’t behave like Jimin if he were under some kind of love effects from a potion, he’d most definitely reassure Jungkook that things are just potion-related and tell him that he woke up also uncharacteristically in love with Jungkook.
So. The potion is out. He’ll call Hoseok and Namjoon later to confirm, but. Odds are pointing to not potion .
Which means that something else is going on.
Jungkook just doesn’t know how to figure out what it is.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Yoongi asks, breaking Jungkook from his thoughts. Jungkook watches as he rustles through Jungkook’s pantry to make himself some coffee. Jungkook wishes that he’d told Yoongi to bring some coffee grounds with him, since he really needs to wake up before trying to deal with the headache that is this entire situation. “We can’t just sit around waiting for Taehyung to show up and drop more bombshells.”
“Right,” Jungkook agrees, crossing his arms over his chest. “We need to get to the bottom of this. Maybe I should talk to Taehyungie-hyung. I mean, if he loves me now, maybe I can get some clarity. You know how Jimin said that he wasn’t in love with me yesterday- I have to assume that Taehyung is the same way.”
“Or he might be just as confused as you are,” Jimin interjects, still pacing, his hands running through his hair. “What if it’s just the potion? What if we wake up tomorrow and everything’s back to normal?”
Jungkook stares at Jimin. “I’ve already determined that it’s not the potion,” he says, though staying vague. He doesn’t want to call out that Yoongi’s most definitely not in love with him in front of the man himself. “But that doesn’t mean that it’s not something that just happened to you two . I need to talk to Taehyungie-hyung to see what he’s been working on that might have brought all of this up.”
Jimin stares at him. “I don’t like the thought of you two meeting up alone.”
Yoongi snorts beside him and Jungkook shoots him a glare. Yoongi should not think that this is funny. Jungkook is suffering here . The wrong hyungs woke up in love with him this morning.
“Okay, listen,” Jungkook says, his mind racing. “What if we all meet up? The four of us- me, you, Taehyungie-hyung, and Yoongi-hyung. We can lay everything out on the table and see what’s going on.”
Yoongi nods, his expression thoughtful. “That might actually work. But we need to be prepared for anything. Emotions are… strong right now.”
“Right,” Jungkook agrees, but he doesn’t really care about that. He needs to get to the bottom of Taehyung and Jimin suddenly being in love with him so that he can get them to fall out of love with him. “I’ll call Tae-hyung and let him know to meet us here.”
As Jungkook grabs his phone, he feels heavy anxiety bubbling in his stomach. Whatever happens, they’ll figure this out together.
“Jungkook-ah, I’m going to borrow some clothes of yours,” Yoongi says, sauntering off to Jungkook’s bedroom. Jungkook’s throat goes dry at the thought of Yoongi in his clothes. Sure, Yoongi is constantly cold and borrowing (read: stealing) Jungkook’s hoodies, but Jungkook has never gotten used to it.
“Hey,” Jimin says, interrupting Jungkook’s thoughts. “Do you think we’ll actually solve this? I mean, what if we don’t?”
Jungkook meets Jimin’s eyes, determined. “We will… It’s probably just some stupid witch thing.” Then, lowering his voice, so that there’s no chance of Yoongi hearing him, “Plus, I’m not interested in either of you. I’ll move on from Yoongi-hyung someday, but not today and not with you or Taehyungie-hyung.”
Jimin nods slowly, but Jungkook can see the worry etched on his face. Jungkook swallows hard, knowing that everything is about to change, but he has to believe that they can navigate this chaos together.
As he dials Taehyung’s number, Jungkook takes a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever response comes.
🔮🔮🔮
“We are gathered here today,” Yoongi says, dramatically.
“Shut up,” Jungkook yells, groaning. “This is not a marriage ceremony. This is a figure out what the fuck Taehyung did to make him and Jimin both think that they’re in love with me ceremony.”
“Okay, okay,” Yoongi chuckles, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
Jungkook shoots him an exasperated look, unable to avoid the fact that Yoongi is so not in love with him that he only has jokes when two other people are claiming to have feelings for him. Jungkook does not deserve this. “This isn’t the time for jokes, hyung.”
“Right, serious business,” Yoongi replies, trying to suppress his grin. Jungkook glares. “So, what’s the plan?”
They’re all seated in Jungkook’s living room, the tension thick enough to slice. Jimin is pacing again, his anxiety palpable, while Yoongi leans back against the couch, arms crossed and watching Jungkook closely.
“Let’s just wait for Taehyung,” Jungkook says, trying to focus. “We need to hear from him directly about what happened this morning.”
“Do you think he’ll confess to you?” Jimin asks, his voice shaky but tinged with hope. “I mean, what if he really does love you?”
“I don’t know,” Jungkook replies, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I can’t imagine he just suddenly woke up with feelings for me. This has to be witch shit.”
“You’re so cute when you’re in denial,” Yoongi teases, smirking at Jungkook’s growing frustration.
And… Jungkook doesn’t get it. Yoongi knows that this has to be witch shit- Yoongi himself has probably been through more magical mishaps than the rest of their friends combined (which is to say that as much as Jungkook adores and loves Yoongi, he’s easily the worst witch of all of them. Jungkook knows that he’s way more interested in music than magic.)- so he knows that Jungkook isn’t actually in denial about anything.
But the teasing seems so… pointed . So intentional.
Jungkook just doesn’t know why . Does Yoongi know about his feelings and doesn’t want Jungkook to think that there’s ever going to be anything between them? Is this his way of subtly letting Jungkook know that the attraction is not mutual?
Jungkook doesn’t know. And, honestly, he doesn’t really have the time to figure it out today.
“Shut up!” Jungkook snaps, but a small smile tugs at his lips despite the chaos. “Seriously, I just want to make sense of this.”
As if on cue, there’s a knock at the door. Before Jungkook can get up to answer it, Taehyung must remember that he broke Jungkook’s lock and walks in. “Uh, hey, everyone,” he says, sounding and looking more awkward than Jungkook can ever remember him being.
Yoongi, apparently deciding to be a good hyung to someone today, says, “Tae, come sit down with us. We have a lot to talk about and would like to hear what you have to say.”
“I woke up this morning feeling… different,” Taehyung admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I thought it was just a weird dream. Like, I didn’t love anyone but Jimin yesterday, but this morning, all that was running through my mind was Jungkook .”
Jungkook forces himself to not mutter the word ‘gross’ as Taehyung talks about being in love with him. He’s already seen how Jimin didn’t love hearing a rejection and Taehyung has always been more sensitive than his boyfriend.
“And that’s it?”
“Yeah,” Taehyung replies, his voice steadier now. “But I don’t want to hurt Jimin. I love him too, but… I don’t know. It’s all so confusing.”
“Confusing is putting it lightly,” Yoongi says, leaning forward. “So, do you think this has anything to do with magic?”
“Honestly?” Taehyung shrugs. “It’s possible. I was thinking about it this morning and this does feel like love potion kinds of things. Since, when you have a love potion, depending on how well it’s made, of course, you tend to just feel obsessive over a person. It doesn’t usually feel like actual love, though.”
Jungkook bites his lip. “I mean, that’s when we made it as teenagers. Obviously anything that we make now would be stronger and more efficient in replicating actual feelings of love. So… who were you making a love potion for?”
Taehyung blinks. “I didn’t make a love potion.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was- Ah, I was hoping that it was a side effect of the potion that you gave us yesterday,” Taehyung admits. “We’d feel this way for a few days, but as long as we don’t have any more , then these fake feelings will fade away.”
Jungkook shakes his head. “It’s only you two who feel this way,” he admits. “Namjoonie-hyung texted me this morning that he didn’t suddenly wake up in love with me and he had the potion last night, too. Yoongi-hyung’s the same as he was yesterday. And I haven’t heard from Hoseokie-hyung, but he’d probably have reacted in the same way that Jimin did. Rushing over here first thing in the morning and all.”
“But I swear that I haven’t made a love potion,” Taehyung says, frantically. “In fact, I haven’t made any potions in quite a while. There’s no way that this was something we took at our place. Or… maybe my place now?”
“You’re not breaking up with Jiminie-hyung,” Jungkook says, shooting a glare in Taehyung’s direction. “Don’t even talk like that.”
“He already did,” Jimin mumbles, finally seeming to run out of anxious energy and collapsing on Jungkook’s couch. “Remember? That’s why I came over here this morning?”
Yoongi tilts his head. “I thought that you rushed over here to profess your love to Jungkook.”
“It was because of both of those things,” Jimin amends, still not really looking at Taehyung or Jungkook. “I wish it was a stupid witch thing,” he laments. “I’d feel much better if I woke up tomorrow morning and knew that Taehyung didn’t mean to break up with me and that I’m not actually in love with my childhood best friend.”
“One of my least favorite romance tropes, honestly,” Yoongi pipes in, still being entirely unserious.
This time, however, Jungkook can’t help but be curious. “What’s your favorite trope, then?”
Yoongi stares at him, unblinking. “Maybe mutual pining, friends to lovers.”
“Huh,” Jungkook says, his brain betraying him and not allowing him to form a single coherent thought. Does this mean something? Jungkook is certainly pining, and he and Yoongi have been friends for longer than Jungkook’s been interested in him romantically. Maybe, just maybe…
No, Jungkook needs to focus on the problem at hand. He can’t get swept up in the possibility that Yoongi might like him back.
“Anyway,” he quickly moves on, standing up when he hears an insistent pounding on his door. He’s not sure who it is, but he’s glad that not everyone has decided that Jungkook’s apartment is a free for all now that the door is broken. Jungkook wonders if it’s a bad time to bring up the fact that Taehyung owes him a new doorknob. “We know that this is a magic thing. We know that it’s not a love potion thing and that it’s not from lunch yesterday-”
“Jungkook-ah, thank gods,” Hoseok says, cutting Jungkook off when he opens the door. He’s holding a to-go cup of coffee in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. Jungkook already has a sinking feeling that he knows where this is going. “I had to come here as soon as I woke up and let you know: I think that I’m in love with you?”
“Well, isn’t that interesting,” Yoongi muses, getting up to make himself another cup of coffee. “Very interesting.”
🔮🔮🔮
Jungkook groans.
“Well, that’s not exactly how I anticipated this confession going,” Hoseok admits. “I’m not sure why, but I imagined that Jungkook would be a lot more gentle when he was rejecting me.”
“Why would you imagine that?” Jungkook asks at the same time Yoongi asks, “How did you know that he would be rejecting you?” Jungkook’s also fairly certain that Taehyung and Jimin both say, “Same,” but he can’t be entirely sure.
Hoseok stares at Yoongi. “Interesting is definitely a word for what’s happening here.”
“I’m calling Seokjinie-hyung and Namjoonie-hyung over here,” Jungkook says decisively. “There’s no way that hyung’s potion isn’t the cause of this. But I need to know why it isn’t affecting Yoongi-hyung or Namjoonie-hyung.”
“Hoseokie-hyung, Jiminie-hyung, Taehyungie-hyung… Go sit in the corner or something so that you don’t try to pounce on me or anything,” Jungkook says, pressing his thumb and forefinger into the bridge of his nose. He can definitely feel a stress headache coming on.
Hoseok scoffs. “Rude. I might be in love with you, but I have self control and respect for those around me.”
Jungkook waves him off. He remembers the first love potion he ever tried. He can’t say that he reacted rationally toward the senior boy who had the misfortune of being the object of Jungkook’s affections.
“I’m calling Seokjinie-hyung,” he says. “Just be quiet while I explain everything to him, okay?”
“Shit,” Taehyung says. “I totally forgot to measure myself last night and this morning. Do you think Seokjinie-hyung is going to be mad at me?”
“So, you’re all in love with Jungkook,” Seokjin says nearly half an hour later. “That’s interesting.”
“If one more person uses that word today, I swear to all of the gods in the universe-”
“You shouldn’t swear at the gods,” Namjoon says, walking into Jungkook’s apartment. “Also, Jungkook-ah, your doorknob is broken.”
Jungkook rolls his eyes. “You know, none of you would be able to figure that out if you tried knocking instead of just walking in.”
“I knocked,” Hoseok argues.
“That’s just because you wanted to win Jungkook over,” Yoongi points out.
Seokjin laughs. “Yes, which brings us back to the original statement: So, you’re all in love with Jungkook.”
“Namjoonie-hyung and Yoongi-hyung aren’t,” Jungkook points out. “Just these three, but they weren’t together after they left lunch yesterday, so I know that it has something to do with your strength potion. I just don’t know why it would only affect the three of them.”
“Bring it to me,” Seokjin says. “It’s not supposed to strengthen feelings , but maybe it’s messed up. Maybe these are feelings that these three had before they ate lunch yesterday and they just were heightened after the potion.”
“They better not have been harboring secret feelings for me,” Jungkook mutters, but stands to grab the remainder of the potion as instructed. When he returns with the bottle of blue liquid, he hands it over to Seokjin, and says, “Besides, there were no emotional effects of the potion on me last week. And I had some of the food yesterday, too, and nothing like that for me.”
Seokjin inspects the bottle, eyes widening a little bit. He takes the cork out of the top and gives it a big whiff. “Well, that’s most definitely a love potion.”
Jungkook blinks. “That’s impossible ,” he says.
“Not impossible,” Seokjin says. “It looks a lot like the strength potion, though. They’re, like, the same exact color.”
“Why did you make two potions the same color?” Jungkook asks, exasperated.
Seokjin shrugs. “It’s a really pretty color. And I can tell them apart by smell. This one,” he says, swirling the potion around, “is most definitely a love potion.”
“Like I said, it’s only these three who have suddenly fallen in love with me-”
Seokjin purses his lips. “Well, did either Namjoon or Yoongi consume it in a different way? There’s something particular about this love potion that might have led to that.”
“Yeah, I had it at home,” Namjoon says. “I had a student who really needed office hours to be extended yesterday, so I couldn’t join them for lunch.”
“And you put it into food that you made?”
Namjoon nods. “Yeah, I had leftover kimchi stew for dinner last night and put it in there.”
“Right,” Seokjin says, nodding like this makes sense to him. He looks at Yoongi. “What about you?”
“Hyung had it with us,” Jungkook tells him. “What does it matter? What’s special about this potion?”
Seokjin sighs. “So, you remember how you had to have intention when you made love potions back in school? Like, you had to put into the love potion that the intention was for the person who consumed it to fall in love with you , the maker?”
“No,” Jimin and Namjoon say, which makes sense, because neither of them are witches or went to magic school. Jungkook nods his head, though.
“So, potions used to have to be made individually,” Seokjin explains. “Either the person who wanted someone to fall in love with them had to make the potion, or they had to have a potion maker who could infuse that intention into the potion make it for them.”
Jungkook blinks. “And this one isn’t like that?”
“I decided to try out making it in a large batch,” Seokjin admits. “So, the point of this one is that the consumer will fall in love with whoever made the food that the love potion is in. It only works if it’s in a home-cooked meal. So, if you put it in water or juice straight from the store or just drink the potion by itself, it won’t work. It also doesn’t work if it’s consumed by the person who made the food, which explains why there’s no effect on Jungkookie or Namjoon-ssi.”
“Oh my gods,” Jungkook says, sighing in relief. “Please tell me that the turnaround time for this is quick.”
Seokjin nods. “Yeah, the full bottle would only make the feelings last for, like, a week. So a few drops means that these three will probably be over their supposed love for you by the end of the day.”
Jungkook laughs, feeling grateful. “Good, then we can all just pretend that this day never happened. That way Tae-hyung and Jiminie-hyung don’t have to remember the time that they broke up for me, and you and Hoseokie-hyung can keep going on dates-”
“You know about those?”
“I’m not into you,” Jungkook snaps, happy to see that Taehyung and Jimin are already hugging one another and apologizing. “So you two don’t have to hide it anymore.”
Seokjin nods, looking relieved. If Jungkook weren’t currently experiencing a lot of thankfulness for the fact that his friends aren’t in love with him, he’d probably feel offended.
“But why didn’t the potion work on Yoongi-hyung?” Namjoon asks.
Everyone looks at Yoongi.
“Well,” he says, looking between all of them. “I suspect that there would be no difference for someone who was already in love with Jungkook, right?”
Jungkook blinks. “What?”
“I mean, you might feel just a little more obsessed with him,” Seokjin says, actually answering Yoongi’s question instead of letting Jungkook process what Yoongi just said. “But, yeah, you obviously wouldn’t have had this realization that these other three had. Since it’s not like it would have been a new feeling for you.”
“Huh,” Yoongi says, looking like he regrets everything leading up to this point in his life.
Jungkook glares around. “Can you all please leave? Except for Yoongi-hyung?”
“I know that I’m not going to be in love with him tomorrow,” Jimin says. “But the rejection still really hurts since I’m in love with him right now.”
“I know, right?” Taehyung says. “Jungkook-ah, do you think that you could be a little gentler-”
“Please get out of my apartment,” Jungkook begs. “And don’t come back until one of you has a doorknob that locks for me.”
“Pushy,” Seokjin mutters. “How do you all feel about breakfast? And I can give you the actual strength potion?”
“Sure,” Taehyung says, never one to turn down a free meal. Jimin looks a little more apprehensive, though. “Come on, Jimin-ah. Maybe by the end of breakfast, we’ll forget all about Jungkook.”
When Namjoon has thankfully ushered everyone out of his apartment, Jungkook pushes a chair up under the doorknob. “I don’t trust any of them to not walk back in. And I can’t lock the door.”
“Right,” Yoongi says, looking uncomfortable. “Listen, about what I said earlier-”
“Did you mean it?”
“What?”
“Did you mean it?” Jungkook asks, again. “Because I’m in love with you, too. Have been for a while now, actually.”
Yoongi blinks, his expression shifting from surprise to a warm, almost shy smile. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” Jungkook says, his heart racing. “I thought it was one-sided. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“Me too,” Yoongi admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to mess things up between us. I’ve always felt something for you, but… I guess I never thought you’d feel the same.”
“That’s crazy,.” Jungkook’s voice comes out a little shaky, but there’s a spark of hope lighting up in his chest. “I’ve been head over heels for you for so long, oh my gods. I thought that you knew and just wanted to, like, let me down gently or something.”
“Let you down?” Yoongi laughs. “I- this is crazy.”
Jungkook agrees. Finding out Yoongi’s feelings, especially after a morning of being confessed to, makes Jungkook feel a little dizzy. “Are you sure about this?” He can’t help but ask, can’t help but be worried that this is love potion Yoongi talking right now.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything,” Yoongi replies, his gaze steady and sincere.
Jungkook lets out a nervous laugh, the tension in the room shifting as he feels a rush of relief. “Okay, then. But when I ask again tomorrow morning, please don’t get mad at me.”
“Okay,” Yoongi practically whispers. “I guarantee that I’ll still be in love with you tomorrow, too.”
As they stand there, the silence buzzing between them feels electric. Jungkook’s heart pounds in his chest, and he takes a tentative step closer. Yoongi watches him, eyes flickering in anticipation.
“Can I-” Jungkook starts, hesitating as he feels the weight of the moment. “Yoongi-hyung, can I kiss you?”
“Yes,” Yoongi breathes, his voice barely above a whisper.
With that, Jungkook closes the distance, leaning in. Their lips meet softly at first, a gentle brush that sends warmth through Jungkook’s entire being. It’s a tentative exploration, but as Yoongi leans into it, the kiss deepens, and Jungkook grows more confident. He can feel all the unspoken feelings between them bubbling to the surface, and he knows that this is just the beginning.
When they finally pull away, Jungkook’s cheeks are flushed, and he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. “Wow.”
“Wow, indeed,” Yoongi says, unable to stifle his laughter. Jungkook lightly hits his shoulder, which just causes Yoongi to laugh more.
“Yeah.” Jungkook bites his lip, feeling giddy. “So, what do we tell everyone else?”
“Let’s maybe wait until tomorrow,” Yoongi says. “Those three may realize that they’re not actually in love with you, but I’m lowkey worried for my safety if they find out tonight that we’re dating.”
Jungkook laughs, threading his fingers through Yoongi’s. “Okay, that sounds like a plan. But for tonight… maybe we could keep up what we were doing?”
Yoongi blushes and Jungkook thinks that his cheeks are the most pretty shade of pink that he’s ever seen in his life. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
With that, they share another soft kiss, the promise of something beautiful lingering in the air. Whatever chaos tomorrow brings, Jungkook knows he’ll face it with Yoongi by his side. And for now, that’s more than enough.