Chapter Text
A knock at the door jarred him from his sleep, causing him to jolt up from his position on the couch. The sudden movement forced the blood to rush from his head, which then resulted in a wild case of vertigo. He grabbed at his temples, hoping to ease the unwarranted dizziness that was beginning to overtake him.
Another knock had him groaning, loudly, as if to communicate to the person on the other side of the door to f*cking quit it. But he got up, eventually, after another round of incessant knocking.
"Can I help you?" He swung open the door with a bit of force, and if the slight venom in his voice wasn't enough to portray his irritation, perhaps the annoyed look on his face was a dead giveaway.
"I'm with the Seoul Metropolitan Police—Detective Kim Seokjin. It has come to my department's attention that you have been harboring a wanted criminal." The man, Detective Kim Seokjin, graced Namjoon's eyes with a pleasant view; he was tall, nearly reaching the same height as Namjoon.
"Wait, a wanted criminal? I would never do such a thing. I think you've got the wrong address because only my friend Jung Hoseok lives here...and a Min Yoongi." Namjoon stood straighter, the news of him harboring a wanted criminal warranted his full attention because what the actual f*ck? There had to have been some kind of mistake, Namjoon's conscience couldn't handle him breaking the f*cking law.
"No, this is the right address. The person that I am talking about goes by Jester. This criminal supposedly terrorizes victims by forcing them to play card games.” The detective spoke clearly and concisely, his presence oozed authority and power even with him being a detective. He then reached for his phone to seemingly show Namjoon various pictures of this deranged lunatic.
The first picture portrayed a figure in a dirtied orange suit and pants, with a white dress shirt and black tie to accentuate the oddly colored clothing. His eyes caught a glimpse of sandy locks shoved underneath a black top hat as well as a single pearl stud in the right ear.
The most off-putting item in the photo was the mask, one of those theatrical masks crafted carefully and painted on with such delicate and precise hands. Two crescents were placed where the eyes should be, the shape of them undoubtedly similar to eyes that crinkled when someone would smile genuinely. The mouth was an upturned line with dimples painted onto the mask, not quite a smile but rather an unsettling version of a smirk.
The position Jester maintained was jarring in the sense that it was completely disturbing and downright disgusting. They displayed a peace sign with one gloved hand while the other held a cane drenched in a red liquid Namjoon could only assume was the blood of an unfortunate victim. The picture itself was clear as day, the quality so crisp Namjoon wondered if Jester purposefully posed and took this photo as a means of showcasing how demented they were. God…
“They, since we can't really confirm the sex of the Jester, have been at the forefront of several gruesome killings." The detective continued after allowing a few minutes of silence to ensue.
"K-killings?"
"That is correct. Now, if you knew of the Jester's previous crimes and you neglected to let the police know, I'll have to arrest you for knowingly aiding and abetting a wanted criminal as well as obstruction of justice." Seokjin stated with clasped hands in front of his very well-defined body.
"I can't go to jail! I-I..."
"Then you better tell me all you know. Any weird circ*mstances, any strange encounters, any odd behaviors, anything regarding the nature of this person, tell me."
“But I don't know who this person is!”
He didn't know. He honestly didn't know. They didn't know. How could they have possibly known? It wasn't their fault, it had to be his.
How the hell was Namjoon supposed to tell the police that he was harboring a wanted criminal?
—
"Hyungs! This is Min Yoongi, your third roommate! I know you guys are looking for someone to split the rent with, so...here you go." Jimin, as chipper as ever, announced at four in the goddamn morning.
Now Namjoon admired punctuality, favored it actually, but this was outrageous. It was a Saturday morning, he should be asleep in his king sized bed, so swaddled up in thick wool blankets to the point he'd suffocate and potentially experience a heat stroke. Yet here he was, at the door with his thick framed glasses haphazardly placed on his face with a wrinkled shirt and sweatpants that hung a little too low on his hips than he would've liked. Jimin, he thought, count your f*cking days.
And Hoseok wasn't any better; his hair was an absolute mess atop his head and his clothes were all tangled. He pouted his lips as he rubbed at his eyes, erasing the fatigue that was clearly possessing him and convincing him to fall asleep while standing up.
"And you had to do this at four in the morning...why?" Namjoon began as he glanced at his watch. Yep, it was now ten past four. He was losing precious sleep.
"Ah, I was just so excited for you to meet Yoongi-hyung. You three have a lot in common." Jimin clasped his hands together, excitement washing over him in waves. Namjoon loved Jimin, truly, though there were certain…things that made him want to strangle the shorter man, this early morning fiasco was one of those things.
"You'll love him!" His excitement would have been cute had Namjoon had at least a couple more hours in his system, but nevermind that.
The figure behind Jimin gave off very 'leave-me-alone' type vibes. This was purely speculation based on the fact that the man kept a permanent frown on his face and Namjoon had not once seen him change his expression. But he was pretty, the type of pretty that had men questioning their attraction, the type that made Hoseok gulp audibly, the type that made Namjoon clear his throat unnecessarily loud. He had midnight black hair that completely stood out against his very pale complexion, and a nice pair of bubblegum pink lips that looked so incredibly sweet, like candy. To top it all off, his small button nose and narrow eyes reminded Namjoon of a cat, fierce and somewhat stand-off-ish. Namjoon observed his mannerisms and determined that Yoongi liked to keep to himself and wasn't very prone to starting conversations, which was fine, Namjoon supposed.
"Yeah, okay. Um, hi Yoongi-ssi, I'm Namjoon and this is Hoseok." He introduced politely. Yoongi stepped out from behind Jimin, in which Namjoon saw a book-bag and a small duffel bag, and presented a small wave. He was dressed in ripped baggy jeans and a black hoodie that seemed to swallow him whole.
“Hey, nice to meet you. Hope we’ll get along.” Yoongi was soft-spoken but had an astonishingly deep voice. Namjoon had not expected such a man of his stature to possess a voice equivalent to that of actual honey, smooth and rich and velvety. Namjoon saw Yoongi’s eyes trail down his body, his gaze neutral but Namjoon swore he saw something flicker in Yoongi’s gaze. Something akin to arrogance and…maybe disgust? No, that wasn’t possible. Namjoon must’ve been reading too far into Yoongi’s stare.
“Hi Yoongi-ssi! It’s nice to meet you.” Hoseok finally said as his body perked up, the true nature of the extrovert finally revealed. Namjoon watched as the black haired male ran his tongue—correction, pierced tongue over his top set of perfectly aligned teeth.
“Yes, likewise.”
“Alright, well I’ve got to head home but hyung will stay here. I’ll check up on you guys sometime soon, okay? Bye!” Jimin casted them a quick goodbye wave before leaving Yoongi stranded in the apartment complex’s hallway.
A brief moment of silence passed between the three as Namjoon and Hoseok debated what to do next, though the obvious answer would be to let their new guest into the apartment to keep him from freezing.
“Can I come in?” He questioned as he clutched his duffel bag closer to his body. Hoseok and Namjoon looked towards each other as they silently communicated. Namjoon motioned for Yoongi to come in, stepping to the side to allow a decent amount of space for the smaller man. Yoongi ducked his head before making his way into the room.
“Uh, we weren’t expecting a roommate so soon, so your room isn’t ready. Sorry about that.” Namjoon began. Yoongi only nodded but did not spare a comment or even a simple observation about the apartment. He was quiet, eerily so, but Namjoon realized he wasn’t a nuisance or troublesome. A quiet roommate didn’t seem like the end of the world.
Said roommate began to peruse the area he would be sharing with two complete strangers, prodding at miscellaneous items and nodding when he found something amusing or perhaps enjoyable. Both Hoseok and Namjoon stood in a hushed silence as Yoongi continued his self-administered tour of the apartment, but stilling when Yoongi’s eyes fell on either of them.
“That’s fine. I’ll take the couch.” The couch was not much better than the hardwood floor in providing support, it was like the cushions were stuffed with sheets of paper instead of actual cotton. Namjoon had figured out the hard way when he had come home from his teaching assistantship well into the early hours of the morning, and crashed on the couch, favoring immediate sleep. He woke up with a painful crick in his neck and felt like his body aged forty years.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. That couch is not comfortable at all, this is coming from personal experience. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll share with Hoseok-hyung.” He suggested though he really didn't want to give up his room.
“Okay. Thanks.” Yoongi’s eyes, once again, swept over Namjoon's then Hoseok's body, as if he was sizing them up? That was probably not a logical conclusion, he must have been reading too much into the simple look, but maybe he wasn't? No, he was…definitely…
"Well, my room is down the hall, first door to your left and the bathroom is right across."
"Show me?" Yoongi inquired despite the clear directions Namjoon offered. But he nodded because he was a good host and would not dare to upset a guest. He detached himself from Hoseok's side and quickly walked in front of Yoongi, moving forward towards his room, which was luckily clean enough to have a complete stranger sleep in.
He opened the door which displayed a monotone room with very few distinct features. The walls were an eggshell white color with cream accents and with a desk on one side of the room and the wardrobe on the other, his room was bare. He had a decent amount of vinyls littered over his wall as a bit of decoration along with a few plastic plants placed strategically in his room.
"I can change the sheets if you'd like."
"It's fine. I trust that you shower." Yoongi quipped. Was that meant to be a joke? He clutched his bag and walked in the room, breathing in slowly, before releasing the breath as a giant exhale.
"Smells like you."
"I mean, it is my room, so…yeah, I would hope my room smells like me."
Apparently, Namjoon's response was a bit unnecessary. Yoongi turned around then dropped his bag on the floor. His face was blank, save for the few occasional twitches in his eyebrow. He leaned in, crossing unfamiliar boundaries and invading Namjoon's personal space.
He did this thing where he'd bite the barbell in his tongue, emitting a tiny clank sound. He curled his tongue in his mouth, alternating between biting the piercing and biting his tongue, all while keeping his eyes steady on him. Maybe it was a nervous tick of his?
"You smell nice." His voice cut through the silence like a butcher's knife, sending a noticeable shiver down Namjoon's spine. It was unpleasant and a little frightening considering that only Yoongi’s voice got him this worked up.
"Thanks. I, uh, use cologne." His answer was truly pathetic, but how could he have come up with a better response when his brain was malfunctioning? An IQ of 148 was useless if he couldn't even articulate his thoughts.
Yoongi stepped into the room to admire the lackluster environment, which now had Namjoon feeling somewhat embarrassed. Should he have decorated more? He sat down on the bed with a small thud and looked at Namjoon.
"Is there…um, is there anything else I can do for you, Yoongi-ssi?" He offered up, despite every fiber in his being hoping, screaming and praying that Yoongi would just say 'no' so he could go back to f*cking sleep. Yoongi's gaze shifted subtly from Namjoon to the plant next to his door, the only indication being the slight movement of Yoongi's pupils. The atmosphere was strained, unreasonably so, but Namjoon couldn't help but feel tense around the shorter man. His quietness was unnerving and his silence disconcerting.
"Do you have bleach?"
"To wash your clothes with?"
Yoongi shrugged but waited for Namjoon to continue.
"Yeah, there's some in the laundry room."
"Alright, thank you. You can go." His voice dropped to a soft whisper, though Namjoon held onto every word, every syllable, even the slight difference in pronunciation. The deviation had Namjoon wondering if Yoongi was from Seoul or if he grew up in another town—
"Namjoon-ssi? You're still here, why?" Yoongi deadpanned as he reached for what Namjoon assumed was his phone. He got to typing, keeping his eyes solely on his phone as his fingers moved expeditiously.
"I'm—I didn't mean to pry. I'll go." But, strangely enough, Namjoon didn't move, too engrossed in the enigma that was Yoongi.
Yoongi’s eyes flitted up to Namjoon's, his gaze hardened ever so slightly. The gloomy eyes, obscured by really long lashes, seemed less like actual eyes and more similar to dark black holes, waiting for you to get close, to get too comfortable, and suck you right in. Looking at Yoongi’s brown eyes felt like his life force was being actively drained out of him, and his body would eventually shrivel up into nothingness and cease to exist. Well…that was kind of morbid.
What he was trying to say was that he didn't like that. Namjoon didn't like Yoongi's eyes, how perceptive they were. They were too dark, too harsh for his own liking. Like he was constantly staring out into the shadows.
And the way his lips were always curved to form some type of unsettling smirk had Namjoon wanting to pull his hair out strand by f*cking strand. It was as if he always knew something or maybe he was planning something. Within the span of one hour, Namjoon had seen Yoongi’s lips shape into multiple frowns and disgustingly sinister smirks. No in-betweens, and quite frankly, it did more than just irritate Namjoon. It infuriated him.
Namjoon must've been too deep in his head to realize that Yoongi had gotten up from the bed and now stood in front of him. The obvious difference in height put Namjoon's mind at ease, but only marginally. At least he had some sort of advantage, just in case something were to transpire. With a pale hand on the frame, Yoongi leaned against the wall, waiting.
"Mm, good night."
"Good ni—"
Yoongi closed the door.
—
"Hyung, he's weird."
"Joon-ah, don't say that! He's probably just accommodating."
"I hate that you're always so positive." He sulked, though Hoseok only gave him a small smile, probably as reassurance but Namjoon wasn't feeling very reassured.
"Now you know that's not true. I have a dark side." Hoseok lowered his voice, showcasing just how deep his voice could really go. His words came out in breaths, his tone suddenly ominous.
Hoseok was sitting at the top corner of his bed, with his feet crossed underneath him. Namjoon looked over at him and co*cked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, right. The only 'dark' thing I've seen you do is turn the lights off. You're known for your positivity." Namjoon countered as he readied himself for bed which would now take place in Hoseok's room, thanks a lot, Jimin. Stripped down to just a random graphic t-shirt and his boxers, he readied himself to succumb to sleep as he admired how willing Hoseok was and his general jovial attitude. Hoseok had been so accepting about sharing a room with him, and Namjoon wished he could thank him in some other form without sounding like a broken record, constantly repeating the same thing.
Namjoon could hear the soft padding of Hoseok's dancer feet reverberate within the room, which to some degree captured Namjoon's attention. The room was eerily quiet, the condition made possible by the lack of talking from Hoseok as well as Namjoon's decision to not start a conversation. His mind was too busy replaying moments from earlier all centering around one f*cking thing: Yoongi. Yoongi was…something and Namjoon wasn't quite sure what to make of that.
“He's weird.” Namjoon ended up mumbling aloud when that thought had been meant for the voice inside his head. Hoseok responded with a snort, a soft one, before he placed his slim hand on top of Namjoon's head. He felt the older's fingers graze against his scalp affectionately, the action caring and intimate. Namjoon's eyes fluttered closed, suddenly too heavy to combat the sleep that was threatening to overtake him.
“He's not weird. He seems guarded, almost, afraid of something or someone. Don't give him sh*t for that, be nice, okay?” Hoseok's voice drifted in and out of Namjoon's consciousness, thanks to his sleep debt that was increasing every minute he stayed awake. Had Namjoon been more alert, his brain would have detected the serious and quite negative tone Hoseok's voice possessed.
He hummed somewhat in agreement. Hoseok's grip in Namjoon's hair tightened modestly, but not enough for Namjoon to be alarmed. The older forced the younger roommate's head up and eased the distance between them until Namjoon went cross-eyed trying to meet Hoseok’s gaze.
“Do you understand, Namjoon-ah?” The dancer asked for Namjoon's understanding, which he felt was weird. Hoseok was never usually this serious, at least to Namjoon.
“I do understand, Hoseok-hyung.” Hoseok never called him ‘Namjoon’.
“Good. Anyways, check out my toes!” Like a switch, Hoseok's bubbly personality that Namjoon had come to associate Hoseok with, returned like it never left. The younger cleared his throat.
"You, um, painted your toes? They're nice." Namjoon noticed a pretty royal blue coated over Hoseok's toenails.
"Yeah, I got them done a couple of days ago. I'm…experimenting." Hoseok had positioned himself in front of Namjoon's knees, their legs touching very slightly, but there was just enough friction to cause Namjoon to inhale deeply.
Namjoon would define his and Hoseok's relationship as friendly with the occasional groping and feeling-up (he didn't want to go into detail). However, as of late, he couldn't help but think that Hoseok wanted…more out of the relationship, it was just a speculation with no actual evidence. Of course, he could always talk to Hoseok and ask him what he really wanted but Namjoon was not much of a confrontational person. That would require a lot more work, so he opted for staying ignorant (sue him).
"Well, it's very nice." He finished.
"Just nice? Not something else, Joonie?"
"Yes? I mean, it's a very pretty color. I don't know what else you want me to say, hyung." A nervous chuckle escaped his mouth, it was more of a reflex rather than a voluntary decision. How was Namjoon supposed to respond? He was honestly clueless and he'd blame his lack of social awareness for that.
"You're lucky you're cute." Hoseok concluded, but not without a quick shove to the shoulder which Namjoon interpreted as playful and not hostile. Namjoon watched as Hoseok retreated to his side of the bed, but not before turning the lights out. The room was then bathed in darkness, the surroundings unfamiliar, but the older man switched on a small lamp. Namjoon watched as a faint glow blanketed everything in a warm orange tint, he felt safe.
"You're worried." Hoseok stated after a few seconds passed, as if he knew it was a fact. Namjoon heard the sheets move and he figured Hoseok was getting into bed. He took that as his cue to do the same.
"About Yoongi-ssi?"
A nod. Namjoon could only perceive the sound of the pillow sheet crinkling.
"...No." It shouldn't have taken him more than a few seconds to respond, but not only did his reply take him a minute, he also hesitated. Namjoon knew he didn’t need to worry about Yoongi, he was just another person. He inhaled quietly.
"Okay."
"Are you?" Namjoon retorted with a soft voice.
“There's no reason to be."
Namjoon didn't say anything. His mind was running too fast for any of his thoughts to be interpreted. This was a common occurrence and his solution to this problem was to just stay silent.
"Namjoon, I'm serious. Don't give him a f*cking hard time."
This was the second instance of Hoseok using his full name. He noticed his hyung also dropped the term of endearment signifying how serious Hoseok was. Namjoon took that as his warning to end the conversation and sleep.
"It's getting late, hyung. I've got my assistantship tomorrow."
"Okay, goodnight then."
"Goodnight."
Namjoon went to sleep though he couldn't shake the daunting feeling off of his chest. Something bad was going to happen. And why was Hoseok so defensive about a person he just met?
—
"Oh f*ck…right there. Yeah, yeah—"
Namjoon heard what he assumed was light panting, breathy and short. It was coming from his room. Alright.
He needed to use the bathroom hence the late night adventures. He didn’t mean to pry, honestly, but his ears couldn’t help what they heard. His feet dragged him closer to the sound, his body suddenly not needing to relieve itself. Namjoon found himself positioned at the door to his room pressing his hands to the wood. He pressed his ear against the oak and quieted his breathing, not really meaning to eavesdrop, again honest.
His ears picked up on very breathy exhales coupled with the sound of something slick? Slippery? Oh God. Was he—no, he wasn't, not in his bed. It wasn't possible because Namjoon would like to believe that Yoongi had a bit of decency to not masturbat* in someone else's bed.
"Namjoon-ssi, come inside if you're so desperate to find out." Yoongi commanded, his voice powerful and low yet calming.
Wait, how did Yoongi know it was him? He didn't remember making any noise, not even a single shaky breath. So like any sane person would've done, he kept quiet, hoping for Yoongi to give up from a lack of response. Yeah, that seemed like a solid—
"Can't sleep?" Yoongi stood with crossed arms as the door to Namjoon's room swung open. Yoongi, who was clothed in a black silky set of pajamas, a button-down and shorts, still had that frown Namjoon had come to associate him with. Did he ever smile?
"I, uh, needed to use the bathroom." Namjoon opted for awkwardly. Yoongi kept his lips shaped into a straight line before continuing to stare at Namjoon, his eyes unblinking and bored. Namjoon stood there as he shuffled his feet against the floor, looking for something to do to avoid Yoongi’s strong gaze.
"But you're not curious?" He had asked.
"What?" Namjoon blurted out a little too quickly than he would've liked but he was curious. He just couldn't show how desperately curious he was.
"That sound. The squelching, the panting…" He started softly, his gaze never wavering in intensity. He stepped forward and, in turn, Namjoon stepped back carefully. The taller male observed quietly as Yoongi walked him into a wall, leaving him trapped, vulnerable and a little confused. Despite the noticeable height difference between the two, Namjoon felt small, and maybe it was the look Yoongi gave, which screamed 'I can f*cking swallow you whole.' but, f*ck, Namjoon didn't like it.
"May I?" He started.
"Huh, what?"
"May I touch your arm?"
"U-uh I guess so?"
"It's a simple yes-or-no question, Namjoon-ssi. Yes or no?"
"Yes." Call it curiosity or call it a lack of self-preservation, Namjoon did want to know more. He couldn't help the way his heart would beat faster or the way his toes would curl, he enjoyed living curiously. He wanted to know more and unfortunately, he was deadly curious about his new roommate.
Yoongi had placed his large hands around Namjoon's bicep and pulled him down where his mouth hovered a few inches away from the shell of his pierced ear. A slight expulsion of warm air had Namjoon shivering from what he'd like to think was mostly fear, maybe slight excitement —nope, definitely fear.
"You're not curious?" His tone suggested something other than inquisitiveness, something more wicked and sinister.
"I swear I didn't hear anything." Namjoon countered, he swallowed quickly and suddenly found it hard to breathe. Was it hot in here? He felt hot, a little sweaty too.
"You didn't? Huh, then I'm sure you heard this…?" Yoongi then f*cking whimpered, his voice pitched higher than normal. He laughed briefly before bringing his mouth closer to Namjoon's ear. The taller male felt the ghost of Yoongi's lips brush gently up against the thin cartilage. f*ck…
"N-no—"
"No?" He quickened his breathing as if he was mimicking the sounds one would hear during sex. His breathing sounded as if he was pleasuring himself and bringing himself closer and closer to that point of pure bliss and want. Namjoon clenched his eyes shut and attempted to calm his racing heart but of course, his body would betray him. It was natural for his body to react to certain sounds and other stimulants but he hoped tonight was the night he'd steel his resolve.
"Hah~…sh*t. Right there, please…f*ck, right there."
"Oh…" Nevermind, it was not that night.
"You didn't hear that?" Why did he genuinely sound so confused as if he wasn't purposefully driving Namjoon to literal insanity? How could he be so oblivious to his doings?
He shook his head before standing up straight.
"Ah well, that's good then. I wasn't too loud. But if you were curious, I was rubbing my calf. sh*t's been hurting all week." Yoongi admitted quietly. Namjoon looked down to see that his calf was indeed shiny, most likely coated in rubbing oil or some other kind of lubricant.
"H-Hoseok-hyung studies physiology. He could help if you want." Namjoon stuttered though that wasn't supposed to come out of his mouth. But apparently what he said piqued Yoongi’s interest.
"Oh really? Yeah, tell him I would love his help. Thanks, Namjoon-ssi." Yoongi actually smiled, his perfect set of teeth on display. Namjoon's brain started to provide certain images ranging from wholesome to very…
"Yeah, no problem. Uh, good night."
"Goodnight."
—
Yoongi really liked showers. Namjoon figured that was the case the second day of him living in the apartment. Typical 15 minute showers were in fact not typical for Yoongi as he favored close to hour long showers, which would really hike up the water bill.
Having spent 40 minutes just sitting on Hoseok's bed, waiting patiently, Namjoon started getting irritable. He had planned to take a quick shower before heading out to his teaching assistantship, but Yoongi beat him to the bathroom.
"Hyung, he's been in the shower for 40 minutes already. What the f*ck is he doing?" He whined. Hoseok merely shrugged, unsure of how to approach the situation. Hoseok sat at his desk with his nose buried deep in a graphic novel by some foreign author. That’s different…Hoseok never really read.
"Maybe he just likes to be really clean? I don't know Joon-ah." Hoseok, who had not been on the receiving side of Yoongi's antics, answered half-heartedly. It was truly in his nature to see the good in people, no matter who it was. Namjoon groaned out in annoyance but dropped the subject when he heard the shower stop.
"Okay, I think he's done. I've got thirty minutes until I have to be there." Namjoon rushed out as he grabbed the miscellaneous items that he needed for his shower. Once he finally grabbed his towel, after searching for his shower cap as he wasn’t in the mood to wash his hair, he ran (yes, ran) to the bathroom and nearly collided with Yoongi as soon as he reached the door.
Yoongi was drenched in water, the droplets moved down his body calmly (thanks gravity) and his black hair seemed even darker than before (thanks water). Yoongi wasn't buff, but he was very fit with muscles beginning to form in his arms and his calves.
“Are, uh, are you done in the bathroom, Yoongi-ssi?” Namjoon questioned as he clutched his towel closer to his body unconsciously. Yoongi nodded and stepped out of the way to allow Namjoon entry into the bathroom. The taller man had started to move towards the bathroom door but Yoongi cleared his throat.
“Why do you still call me that?”
“Hmm?”
“Yoongi-ssi, it's so formal. We're friends, no?”
“Well…I just want to be respectful. We don't really know much about each other.” Namjoon couldn't even imagine him and Yoongi becoming closer with the way Yoongi seemed to favor his privacy, not that that was a bad thing. It was just that Yoongi kept to himself, even as Namjoon had opened up to him. Okay, well maybe he didn't quite open up to Yoongi but he had tried really hard to be nice. All Namjoon was met with was silence and an occasional scoff.
“You're right. But don't you want to change that? We'll be living together for a while and I figured we should talk.”
That was the most he had heard Yoongi speak at any given time.
“U-uh, sure, but does it have to be now? I kind of need to get to work…”
“Sure.” Yoongi’s dark fringe blocked his eyebrows so Namjoon had to rely on the smaller man's eyes for any sort of clue regarding Yoongi’s emotional state. His eyes were empty, as usual, no sign of life present within them.
Yoongi made no effort to actually move which left Namjoon puzzled. He allowed a few more seconds of silence to pass before he decided that he had had his fair share of awkwardness.
“Right, um, Yoongi-ah, can you move so I can take a shower?”
He nodded and soon left to occupy Namjoon's room. Only two days had passed but he could just tell that living with Yoongi would be literal hell.
—
It was the third day. The next time Namjoon saw Yoongi was in the kitchen in the early hours of the morning. It was nearly seven, the sun was still asleep behind the horizon. Namjoon's voyage ended when he saw a set of silky pajamas set near the fridge.
Stationed at the sink with a chef knife in one hand and an apple—no, tomato (weird, did they even have tomatoes?) in the other hand, Yoongi placed himself just a bit over the sink. He was bent over with his elbows propped in front of him to support most of his weight, though Namjoon would bet money that Yoongi didn't weigh much. He could make out a slight arch in Yoongi’s back, which really emphasized how well shaped Yoongi was, not that Namjoon was only looking at Yoongi’s body.
And was that a f*cking tattoo? A huge flower, Namjoon assumed a lotus or something similar to it, wrapped around the back of his right arm strategically and beautifully, however, disappointment did find its way into Namjoon's features when he couldn't get the full showing of the tattoo as it disappeared underneath his pajama shirt. How had he missed this?
The glimmer of the knife caught his eye. The knife moved. The sharpened metal penetrated the vegetable, forcing the juices to bleed from the tomato and onto Yoongi's fingers and palm. Namjoon watched with fascination as the smaller man cut up the vegetable with scary precision, skills akin to a professional chef.
Once he finished the slice, he placed each digit in his mouth and sucked, his tongue lapped around each appendage softly and very wetly. But what really got Namjoon was the motion of Yoongi fingering his own mouth with his ring and middle finger. He had turned his body to face the hall which meant Namjoon had a perfect view of whatever the f*ck Yoongi was doing. And not only did the menace finger his mouth, producing very obscene and downright filthy sounds, he slowly lifted his fingers from his mouth, displaying the concave, thin line of spit that connected them together. With his head situated towards the sky, his neck was strained, his Adam's apple visible. Namjoon watched as Yoongi's eyes trailed the waterfall of spit and saliva that advanced down his long fingers.
"Mmh~"
"f*ck…" Namjoon shut his mouth quickly before stepping out of view. His heart was racing, a little too fast for comfort, but otherwise, he was alive…somehow. He prayed he was quiet enough, and he was an atheist. Praying, to him, seemed kind of irrelevant and a bit useless.
"Namjoon-ah, come here. I saw you."
What the actual f*ck?
Keep silent, he thought. But when had that decision ever worked out for him? Namjoon remained quiet as he attempted to walk back to Hoseok's room and hopefully succumb to much needed sleep.
"Where are you going?" f*ck. His voice startled him, his heart rate spiking rapidly. Yoongi still wielded the knife, the object motionless at his side. The smaller man's eyes held no warmth at all, like at all. Namjoon was getting some major serial killer vibes from Yoongi, but he laughed it off because Yoongi couldn't be a serial killer…
"Back to Hoseok-hyung's room." He carefully stated.
"Did you want something?"
"Ah, no. I'm—I'm okay."
He stayed quiet after, brief moments of silence became long minutes of awkwardness as Yoongi kept his mouth shut. However, Namjoon wasn't sure if he could just up and leave, it seemed like Yoongi was stuck in his head, thinking, plotting, planning.
Namjoon's throat bobbed, he stepped backwards with hesitation and an eensy weensy tiny bit of fear since Yoongi was still holding a knife.
"Stay." Yoongi’s voice disturbed the difficult silence that once embraced them. Still coated thick in sleep, his voice left Namjoon apprehensive. He almost, key word almost, felt like a hostage with Yoongi as his captor. The knife was not helping, especially when Yoongi gripped the knife like his life depended on the tool.
"Uh…I'm really tired, Yoongi-ssi—Yoongi." He offered, it was a pathetic excuse really, but that was all he could come up with without sounding rude and possibly have harm come to his body.
"I know. I want to get to know you."
"This early in the morning? Don't you want to sleep or something?"
He hummed, maybe in agreement or as an acknowledgement, Namjoon wasn't quite sure.
"Do I have a choice?" He blurted.
This sentence seemed to stump Yoongi. He frowned and his brows furrowed in question.
“What makes you think you don't have a choice? Are you…afraid of me?” He walked closer to Namjoon which then forced a quiet gasp from the taller man. There wasn't, or more correctly, shouldn't be a reason to be afraid of Yoongi. He was only a man, Namjoon quickly rationalized. But, Yoongi had put himself in situations that Namjoon deemed odd and those odd encounters became more and more frequent. He then remembered what Hoseok said about not being too harsh on Yoongi. Perhaps he was just trying to accommodate.
Namjoon breathed in slowly before releasing a shaky breath.
“No, I'm not. It's just that sometimes you can be a little,” he paused as he searched for the right word to define how Namjoon felt about Yoongi without coming across as rude. He finally settled down on one word that summed up all of his meetings with Yoongi, “intense.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.” These f*cking one word responses were killing him. There wasn't enough information to gauge how Yoongi was feeling. Had he just angered him? Or offended him? Was he happy? Sad?
“I think you should be afraid of me.”
Namjoon suddenly found interest in the knife Yoongi was holding. The weapon was still positioned at his side, thankfully, but after that sentence, who could know how things would end up.
“Why should I?” He braved. Namjoon maintained eye contact with Yoongi and watched for any sudden movements. He could scream for Hoseok if things went south and Namjoon wasn't able to defend himself. But, on the other hand, Namjoon didn't want to end up as the boy who cried wolf and have Hoseok chastise him for giving Yoongi a hard time. He didn't have his phone on him either, which made the situation a lot more tense.
“Because I'm a stranger. Didn't your parents ever teach you ‘stranger danger’?”
“So what do you suggest I do, Yoongi-ssi? Call the police?”
He laughed. A deep rumble stumbled out of Yoongi's mouth, so unlikely and strange.
“If it'll make you feel better, then sure. I meant that we should explore each other's interests and hobbies. I wanna know what you like.”
Huh. Namjoon almost chuckled at himself for thinking the worst of the situation. Again, Yoongi was just a person and not just any person, someone who Jimin trusted enough to be Namjoon and Hoseok's roommate.
“I suppose we should.” Namjoon retorted more easily, now that he knew for certain his life wasn't in danger, at least not as much as before.
“Great. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you. Jimin-ah told me a lot about both of you. You guys seem…more like my type.”
Yoongi retreated to his new bedroom without sparing Namjoon another glance. The taller male wasn't given the chance to reply or even make remarks about the new information that was acquired. Namjoon decided it was best to leave Yoongi alone for now and instead, go back to Hoseok's room and sleep. It was fine. Things were fine. Yoongi was fine.
—
2 o'clock rolled by in the blink of an eye and Namjoon was still cooped up in Hoseok's bed, with the latter gone from the apartment to attend his afternoon classes. Namjoon opted to stay buried under the covers, his own little temporary safe haven since his actual haven was currently being occupied by a complete stranger…no, a somewhat stranger.
He opened his eyes to the sound of something heavy falling, maybe a pot. All Namjoon knew was that Yoongi was most definitely behind it. He waited silently, anticipating another loud bang but there was nothing. Just more silence. He thought about whether or not he should get up to investigate the sound. He supposed he ought to get out of bed and not spend the day rotting, but he didn't want to so soon.
"Namjoon-ah, where are the band-aids? I cut myself." Yoongi’s voice unexpectedly permeated through the door, alarming Namjoon.
"How bad is it?" He called out from the bed as he made no attempt to actually get up.
"Well, not too bad."
Namjoon huffed as he got up. He opened the door once he reached it. Fortunately for Yoongi, Namjoon decided to sleep fully clothed, saving both men from a whole ordeal. The taller man swept his eyes over Yoongi, looking for the cut that needed tentative care.
The first thing he noticed about Yoongi was that he was dressed in a very black off-the-shoulder sweater, which exposed his collarbone along with skinny ripped jeans. Okay. The second thing he noticed would happen to be the insane amount of blood pooling on the floor. The cut that was 'not too bad' was very bad. Yoongi held out his arm as he cupped his bleeding wrist.
"That's a lot of blood."
"Really? It didn't seem like a lot at first."
"It's pooling on the floor…"
"Oh yeah? Sorry about that."
"What even happened?"
"I wasn't paying attention."
There was no sense of urgency from Yoongi, a little too calm despite possessing a nearly severed hand. But Namjoon quickly got to work, pulling the smaller man along by the elbow towards the bathroom.
They made it to the bathroom, the space quite small for two grown men to be in at the same time. Namjoon searched for the first aid kit stationed somewhere underneath the sink, buried between cleaning products and rolls of toilet paper.
"Wash your wrist." He stated from his crouched position, in which Yoongi hummed in agreement. He heard the running water gush out from the faucet.
"Namjoon-ah, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Ah, not technically but there's this girl that I'm sort of seeing." Namjoon absent-mindedly answered, though his focus was solely on finding the first aid kit. Once he did, he stood to his full height but was unpleasantly surprised to find Yoongi seated on top of the counter, eyes on him.
"You…you don't have to sit up there. You're not that short."
"I know, I want to."
Okay, that was fine. He inhaled slowly before starting to disinfect the area.
"Is she pretty?"
"What?"
"The girl you're seeing. Is she pretty?" Yoongi asked, but his voice seemed to betray the genuine curiousness of the question. It was almost as if Yoongi was jealous but that wasn't possible because they barely knew each other. Their only connection was Jimin who could vouch for Yoongi. And now he was starting to question how well Jimin knew Yoongi.
"Insanely pretty." Namjoon grabbed Yoongi's wrist tentatively, turning his arm towards him. The cut was deep, too severe for Yoongi to say he 'wasn't paying attention'.
"Can I meet her?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"Does Hoseok-ah know?"
"Yes?"
"Is he jealous?"
"Yoongi-ssi—er, Yoongi-ah, what's with these questions?"
Namjoon ceased his cleaning to really look Yoongi in his eyes. The questions were invasive and irrelevant, yet Yoongi seemed to not care about boundaries. And he didn't even seem bothered by what he said but rather dumbfounded.
"What do you mean? I thought we wanted to get to know each other…better. I'm curious." He proposed. He was baffled, truly. Namjoon had never met a person so straightforward and blunt like Yoongi. A change of pace and strangely, a nice breath of fresh air.
"No, he's not jealous. I don't know why he would be jealous."
"Could be jealous of you…or jealous of the girl."
Namjoon laughed, now why would Hoseok be jealous of the girl? He never showed signs of being anything other than straight though it wasn't his place to assume that he was straight either. Namjoon supposed that because he and Hoseok had been living together for so long, he only saw Hoseok as nothing more than a friend, perhaps ‘brother’ was the better term. But now that Yoongi mentioned jealousy, he wondered how Hoseok truly felt.
"No, I don't think he'd be jealous of the girl. We're like brothers." He concluded by placing a gauze strip over the cut after effectively disinfecting the area. Luckily, the wound wasn't as deep as he originally thought but he still mentioned seeing a doctor just in case to Yoongi.
"You're free to go."
"Didn't realize I was being held hostage."
"N-no, you know what I meant, Yoongi."
Namjoon stood to the side to allow room for Yoongi to exit the bathroom without pressing his body into his. However, he made no indication of leaving.
"Aren’t you curious about me? If I have a girlfriend or if I'm jealous?"
One big sigh left his mouth. He sighed a lot as of late.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"Are you jealous?"
"Maybe."
"Why?"
"Because you're attractive."
He was silent for a minute because how was he supposed to respond to such a bold statement? Yoongi had been at the apartment for less than a week, his status still a stranger. It was as if Yoongi presumed his and Namjoon's conversations, not that Namjoon could even call those conversations, as meaningful when they were more functional as a tool to pass the time. Now excuse Namjoon's pessimistic attitude but he figured him and Yoongi would never really become friends. They were too different.
"Yeah? So what, you got a crush on me or something?"
Yoongi kept silent and leaned back, his head hit the mirror softly before bucking his hips up to readjust himself. He opened his mouth as his tongue ran over his teeth. Lips curved up at the sides gave Namjoon the impression that perhaps Yoongi had a crush on him?
"Do you?" He asked once again when Yoongi refused to say anything.
"If I say yes, what would happen? What would you do?"
"I wouldn't do anything. They're your feelings, I have no control over them."
"But you do. You don't understand how annoying it is to see you parade around this f*cking apartment the way that you do. God, you really are a f*cking tease, Kim Namjoon." Yoongi’s voice tapered off into something close to a heated whisper. It was just him and Yoongi in the apartment, no back-up. f*ck.
"I-I don't understand, you're—"
"No, you don't understand and it's fine that you don't. Just know this," Yoongi started, but he hopped off the counter in one languid move, putting less space between them. Namjoon noticed that behind those long lashes were hazel and amber and dark brown colored eyes. Had Yoongi always had such an intriguing imperfection? Too lost in thought, he failed to realize how close they were.
"I can't hold off forever."
Who the f*ck was this man?
—
Hoseok and Namjoon finally got to cleaning the spare bedroom and readying the space for Yoongi. Not that Hoseok was a bad roommate, but Namjoon wanted his room back. He needed his own private time to think and just be himself. Yoongi was absolutely delighted to hear the news and quickly bought a few posters and other accessories to help make the bedroom more his style.
Namjoon would see less and less of Yoongi as the week progressed, with the older one always keeping himself holed up in his room. Considering that Yoongi was the one to suggest getting to know each other better, Namjoon found it increasingly difficult to learn new things about their stellar roommate.
“Joon-ah, go ask him to dinner. I'm making jjajangmyeon!” Hoseok commanded from his place in the kitchen where he began to cut up the vegetables. Namjoon offered Hoseok his help but the dancer outright refused, mainly because of Namjoon's lack of coordination. He was clumsy and being in small, tight spaces with sharp objects moving about was not an ideal situation to be in. Granted, he had injured himself only three times this week, which was significantly less than last week.
“Hoseok…”
“What the f*ck did I say? Namjoon, I don't like this attitude of yours, it's really starting to piss me off.” Hoseok steamed and if the absence of endearment wasn't enough of a giveaway, perhaps the loud and obnoxious chopping would suffice. The knife in the dancer's hand picked up speed and moved scarily fast through the cabbage. Namjoon had never experienced such dissonance within this friendship, they were always in agreement with each other which was one of the reasons why Namjoon admired Hoseok. They shared the same views on almost everything yet Yoongi seemed to push him and Hoseok in opposite directions, polarizing the relationship.
“Okay, I'm sorry. I'll go ask him, hyung.” He reasoned carefully, hoping to diffuse the concentrated anger. Hoseok merely huffed but ceased his cutting and began preparing the noodles.
The younger made his way to Yoongi’s room, and as he did, he thought about why Hoseok was so worked up over someone new. He racked his brain for possible reasons but they all seemed a little mediocre.
Why is he so pissed, he pondered, even at the door to Yoongi’s room he still wondered but nothing stood out to him. There must have been something.
Namjoon noticed a red glow bleed through the crack of the door as well as felt the faint beat of a song vibrate the floor. He pressed his ear up to the door to distinguish the song as well as decide what artist this song belonged to.
Namjoon could barely make out the dampened lyrics but he was pretty sure it was in English. They were vulgar and explicit and blunt. All perfect descriptors for Yoongi.
“Uh Yoongi-ah? Hoseok wants to know if you're joining us for dinner.” Namjoon kept himself situated right outside Yoongi’s new room. He had knocked three times so as not to be rude.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, just Namjoon's uneven breathing filling the air and the muffled sounds of the song. He raised his hand to knock again when the door unlocked and Yoongi yelled at Namjoon to enter. There really wasn't a reason to enter his room, unless he just wanted to. And Namjoon wanted to.
When Namjoon stepped into the room, his senses were immediately overtaken by a sweet aroma, something fruity and delicious and intoxicating. The walls were lined with posters of various artists all in somewhat explicit positions. Namjoon looked around, examining how Yoongi made the once barren room an extension of his personality.
“What do you want?” Yoongi asked. Namjoon noticed how Yoongi was dressed: it was a very unholy combination of silk and leather. He had a dark blue silk shirt tucked into leather pants that seemed to lengthen his very well-defined legs. He had on a black harness that cinched his waist, accentuating his figure that Namjoon already knew Yoongi possessed. Thick leather platform boots wrapped around his calves and feet, adding a couple inches of height to Yoongi. But the one thing that had Namjoon completely stunned would be the jewelry. Yoongi had just about every piercing there was: a nose piercing, a lip piercing, a bridge piercing (Namjoon believed they were fake), and both ears lined with silver. His eyes were sharpened by eyeliner and smokey, black eyeshadow.
“W-wow, uh—”
Yoongi looked up as he put on another silver necklace.
“Yeah?” The smaller male asked rather impatiently, and Namjoon couldn’t blame him, not when Namjoon stood there like a f*cking idiot with his mouth agape.
“...H-Hoseok hyung wanted to know if you wanted dinner…”
“Oh. Sure, why not?” He finished clipping his necklace together and then sat on the bed. Yoongi looked at Namjoon with an impassive look while Namjoon averted his eyes to somewhere else, like the poster of a male artist half naked grabbing at his crotch with a very suggestive expression plastered on his conventionally attractive face. Oh wow.
“Where are you going?”
“To a rave.”
“Oh.”
“Did you want to come with me?” The older male suddenly offered an invitation. This was Namjoon's chance to dive deeper into the enigma that was Yoongi. But he had never been to a rave before and he certainly didn't know what to do at one. All he knew was that they played insanely loud music and the general mass got drunk beyond their wits, occluding all reasonable thoughts and decisions.
“I've never been to one.” He said. Namjoon wouldn’t say he was boring but he liked order in his life, he liked to be predictable, that way he always knew what was coming next. Predictability couldn’t breed disappointment.
“Hmm. Well, if you want, you can come with me. I'll show you how to have a good time. You can invite Hoseok-ssi as well. He seems like a good dancer.” Yoongi finished off.
Well. What was the worst that could happen? He wouldn't enjoy his time at the rave? The music wouldn't suit his taste? Namjoon supposed this would be a good occasion to actually get to know Yoongi.
“Yeah, sure…but I don't have anything to wear.”
Yoongi nodded slowly before walking closer to Namjoon, his eyes visibly scanning the expanse of Namjoon's body. He finally placed himself right in front of Namjoon, his hands soon finding a comfortable position on the taller man's waist. The sudden warmth had Namjoon gasping from complete astonishment. He would neither confirm nor deny the feeling of having Yoongi’s hands on his hips as enjoyable.
“You're small…” His response was barely audible to Namjoon, mostly because his ears were ringing. He felt hot because of the close proximity to the newest roommate. A feeling akin to literal electricity traveled to every joint in his body but heightened at the site of his waist where Yoongi’s hands lingered. His hands were large and all encompassing, a completely new revelation that Namjoon realized.
“Such a small, itty bitty waist. God f*cking damn.” The words left his mouth in a heated whisper, driving up the temperature of the room figuratively. Namjoon’s eyes darted down towards Yoongi.
“Yeah…”
“Do you have anything form-fitting?”
Afraid of his own voice, Namjoon shook his head ‘no’.
“Ah, no worries. Give me a shirt you don't mind getting ripped up.” Yoongi answered and he finally, thank God, let go of Namjoon’s waist which then allowed for him to breathe. His lungs stung from the lack of oxygen and he didn’t even realize he wasn’t breathing. Namjoon nodded quickly and departed the spare room now coined Yoongi’s room and made his way back to his. He rummaged through his closet, hoping to find something to wear. He ended up settling on an old graphic tee that was just a size too large for his form. This shirt hadn't seen the light of day in quite a few years as it was buried beneath a multitude of clothing. The next step was finding a decent pair of pants. Luckily, Jimin had forced him to purchase at least one pair of black leather pants, a pair of heavily ripped jeans to showcase his thighs, and his most experimental clothing item, a long asymmetrical skirt with a thigh garter.
“Hmm…”
It wasn’t his typical aesthetic but he supposed it was time to venture outside his comfort zone, even if it would mentally pain him. He settled on the skirt and the graphic tee as the outfit of choice and quickly made his way back to Yoongi’s room. Yoongi was sitting on his bed with his trusted black phone encased in his large hand. He looked up when he heard Namjoon clear his throat.
“This is the best I’ve got.”
Namjoon watched Yoongi reach into his desk to pull out a large pair of scissors. He extended his hand, a cue for Namjoon to let him have the clothing items. He watched in awe as Yoongi began to cut out parts of the material, some holes concerningly larger than others. Yoongi nodded once he finished and returned the shirt back to him with a small smile.
"Try it on." Yoongi softly demanded. Namjoon simply nodded and began to strip right in front of Yoongi. He wasn't offended by wandering eyes, especially when both occupants in the room were men too. Granted, Namjoon still kept the fact that Yoongi openly admitted to having a crush on him in the back of his mind, which made him slightly more aware of his surroundings. Once his shirt was off, he shoved his arms through what he thought were the sleeves but ultimately tangled himself in a web of sliced clothing.
He grunted, signaling the smaller man to chuckle. Namjoon watched as Yoongi came closer to him to seemingly offer help.
"Need help?"
"Please?"
Yoongi quickly made an effort to push Namjoon's arms through the correct sleeves which allowed for the shirt to slide down his torso easily. What he failed to notice was how close Yoongi was to him, physically speaking. He watched with hesitation etched into his features as Yoongi placed a hand on the waistband of his pants.
"These next. Or do you need help as well?"
"...no, I'm okay."
Yoongi conceded and returned to his place on the bed.
God, this night was going to be a long night.
—
The rave was located in an abandoned warehouse, a lot further away from civilization than Namjoon would've liked. Hoseok insisted on taking a taxi, in case all of them decided to get sh*t-faced drunk, which Hoseok most definitely planned to do. The actual building was modern, luckily for Namjoon, which meant the foundation was strong and functional. It wouldn't (hopefully) come crashing down upon unsuspecting people just wanting to let loose and have fun.
A few groups of people dressed in harnesses and doused in makeup were making their way inside the building, signaling that they were in the right place.
Hoseok was dressed in a sheer mesh top with no sleeves, leather pants and a really nice pair of heeled boots. His arms were covered in glitter and he even opted for a heavier makeup look that consisted of neon green eyeliner, smoky eyes, and a f*ck ton of highlight. He looked good, really good. Namjoon could admit that.
“Yoongi-ah, find us a place to sit? I gotta talk to Namjoon for a minute. Meet you inside, okay?” Hoseok suddenly announced, forcing furrowed brows from Yoongi. But he nodded, Namjoon supposed that Yoongi didn't like to argue. He didn't seem like that type of person. Yoongi left with a quick nod and made his way to the building where Namjoon could hear the syncopated rhythm of a song.
“Joon-ah, wanna smoke?” Hoseok revealed a pack of unopened cigarettes and a bright pink lighter.
“Yeah.”
Hoseok gave a bright smile before placing a cigarette between Namjoon's lips then his lips. Namjoon watched as Hoseok stepped in closer, both cigarettes meeting in the middle slightly. He lit his cigarette then leaned in to allow the flame to consume the bottom part of Namjoon's cigarette. Namjoon looked up to see Hoseok's eyes set on him, dangerously narrowed.
The older man breathed in before releasing a huff of air, forcing the smoke right into Namjoon's face.
“We gotta get you a girl to f*ck. You're too uptight these days.” Hoseok took in another big drag. Namjoon copied the motion.
“You already know I'm talking to Yeri from economics.”
“Yeah, but are you f*cking her?”
“Hyung, please. There's more to life than sex. Ugh, you're so annoying.”
A warm chuckle left his hyung's mouth. Namjoon watched as Hoseok wrapped his arm around his neck leisurely, promptly bringing them even closer. Had someone been uninformed of the dynamics of their relationship, they might have assumed that he and Hoseok were together. Hoseok was a very handsy person and Namjoon had just come to accept that about his affectionate roommate. It didn't bother him, not nearly as much as it did in the early stages of their friendship, but occasionally, Hoseok would take it a step further. This was proving to be one of those moments.
“Joonie, you're so f*cking hot. Anybody would be lucky as hell to get with you. C'mon, just live a little…” Hoseok's voice tapered off into something close to a whisper as if he were afraid of other ears listening in.
“Remember two weeks ago with Aeri? How she screamed?”
Namjoon could feel heat traveling to his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
“Hyung, you swore you didn't hear anything!”
“How could I? You must have a secret move~”
All he could do was laugh.
“Come on. Yoongi-ssi is probably waiting for us. He might get the wrong idea.” Namjoon attempted to step towards the building to enjoy a night of little worries and an abundant amount of reckless fun, but Hoseok's arm prevented him from moving. The older male took in another long drag, seemingly savoring the bitter taste of tobacco with little care for anything else. He tapped Namjoon's chin twice, a signal, which Namjoon knew too well. He opened his mouth and watched with excitement as Hoseok forced the smoke from his mouth into his. The distance between them was minimal, a mere inch separated their lips. Namjoon breathed in the smoke, simulating what it was like to breathe in the essence of Hoseok.
“Does he know?” Hoseok's voice was a lot more hushed, most of his words came out in breaths.
“Absolutely not. He probably thinks I'm a f*cking idiot.”
“Good. Let's go.” Hoseok's signature smile was back with a blinding radiance. Namjoon easily returned the smile with his own genuine one. Hoseok meant the absolute world to Namjoon: he was truly his best friend and he couldn't imagine a time-line where he wasn't.
—
Loud.
Why was everything so loud?
It was so loud to the point Namjoon couldn't hear his own thoughts. He winced as he heard a sudden bass drop, the instrument rattling his bones.
When Yoongi suggested that they go out to a f*cking rave, Namjoon must not have understood what that truly meant. He had no clue why he even agreed to join him despite them not really being friends let alone acquaintances, they were just strangers who happened to somewhat tolerate each other.
He walked in with Hoseok glued to his side, both of them experiencing something novel for the first time, but Namjoon found solace in his shared nervousness with his best friend. His senses were bombarded and everything just felt overwhelming. The music was loud, the air smelled like sweat and alcohol, the floor was coated in discarded remnants of people's outfits. It was a lot.
Now, don't get him wrong, Namjoon absolutely loved loud music, the feeling of forgetting and letting the music consume you was unimaginably euphoric. However, he never expected Yoongi to like such a thing. He seemed so reserved. He spotted the smaller man after taking a couple more steps. Namjoon was instantly surprised by how sociable Yoongi seemed to be. Numerous bodies surrounded him at the table he occupied, each and every one of them hanging on to every word that Yoongi said. He had them enchanted by only his words.
Namjoon poked Hoseok's rib, prompting the older male to squeak. But his response was reduced to sudden silence once Namjoon pointed in the direction of their new roommate.
"So he can talk? Huh..."
This was a whole different person than the one that kept himself holed up in his room twenty three out of the twenty four hours in a day. There was a genuine smile on his face as some girl placed a hand on his shoulder, doubling over with a boisterous laugh.
"Yeah, he can." Namjoon detected a slight bitterness in his voice even before he finished his sentence. Was he jealous? He wasn't even sure if it was jealousy at this point, maybe he was envious of how easy it was for Yoongi. People surrounded him as if it were effortless, as if it took nothing but a smile to lure in a crowd. He felt his eyes narrow in on Yoongi, observing and noting his mannerisms. Perhaps Namjoon's gaze was a little too intense because he saw Yoongi look up at him with a blank expression.
"It doesn't look like there's enough spots for us Joon." Hoseok's voice sort of faded into background noise. Namjoon kept his focus on Yoongi. He never broke eye contact with the smaller man even as Hoseok kept speaking to him, calling for his attention. There was something about this situation that just irked Namjoon though he hadn't a clue why. He had no right to be upset at Yoongi for having fun with other people but maybe it was just that: Yoongi knew other people and he would rather converse with them and express himself fully in front of them.
"Hey. Tone it down." Namjoon felt a warm pair of lips on his ear, notifying him of Hoseok's proximity. He was serious and that meant that he should calm down. So, he took in one large inhale and allowed his shoulders to drop on the exhale. He came here to have fun, dammit, he shouldn't be worked up over something so insignificant and irrational. He looked to Hoseok, who had decided to place his hands around Namjoon's waist, and nodded.
"Let's go sit, okay? We can get drinks after." The older had said softly despite the blaring music. They headed in the general direction of Yoongi's table. He garnered a few looks, a few harsh stares and a smirk.
"Yoongi-ah, thought you would've saved us some seats?" Hoseok's voice was uncharacteristically smooth and velvety, as if he were wanting to coax the smaller man, which wasn't far from the truth. He had decided to speak instead, somehow knowing that Namjoon most likely would've made a fool of himself in front of so many new faces. He wasn't completely wrong but he still felt slightly annoyed by how easily Hoseok could read him.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry. A lot of my friends were here and I invited them to sit so we could talk."
"Well you don't mind if we scoot in there, yeah?"
"Not at all! There's a spot on either side of me." Yoongi said and as if to prove that what he said was true, he gestured to the two somewhat empty seats on either side of his body. How wonderful. They slid themselves into the booth and sat with their thighs pressed against Yoongi's.
Yoongi continued on in conversing with his friends, promptly providing a topic to discuss, which ended up being about some underground artist. Namjoon kept to himself mostly, never really offering any valuable input. With so many wandering eyes, he felt that opening his mouth was a one way ticket to unbearable embarrassment. He opted to watch how lively Yoongi became when immersed in heated discussions about literally everything.
"Charlie-ah, get us some shots, yeah? I'm trying to get f*cked up." Some girl had announced suddenly, causing a chorus of 'f*ck yeah's and sounds of agreement. Namjoon saw Hoseok nod excitedly while Yoongi merely smiled.
"We're gonna have a f*cking good time."
—
Namjoon wished he stopped at the third shot. It was now the second hour of him being pressed next to Yoongi but thanks to the alcohol, his whole body felt like a furnace. He could feel how flushed his cheeks were and he knew that trouble coupled with a weakened sense of shame awaited him in the near future. Alcohol and him didn't mix well as all the more awkward parts of his personality became heightened. And Hoseok was no better: he had gotten even more handsy and with complete strangers, too. But the one thing that truly petrified Namjoon was how reckless he could become.
"Yoonie, you wanna dance with me?" A slim girl with long, raven locks dressed in a series of harnesses and very little clothing, asked suddenly. She was pretty, objectively speaking, anybody could see that. Namjoon, through his alcohol-dampened gaze, observed the encounter quietly.
"Soojin-ah, you know I don't dance. I just came here for drinks." With cheeks as pink as bubblegum, Yoongi easily declined. Yoongi possessed such long lashes and Namjoon was amazed at how they fluttered ever so slightly. Was he always this pretty?
"Aww, c'mon...you gotta at least once!" She insisted strongly.
"Nope! You can't change my mind."
The girl—Soojin—gave up in trying to force Yoongi to the floor, leaving him surrounded by Namjoon and Hoseok and no one else.
"You don't dance?"
Namjoon watched Yoongi’s head whip to the side, presumably to face Hoseok who had asked the question.
"No." There it was. The monotonous, leveled Yoongi and not the personable, ecstatic Yoongi that was just present only moments ago.
"f*ck that."
"Excuse me?"
"Why the switch, huh? What's so wrong with us that you can't be yourself?"
"I don't understand, I—"
"You do, Yoongi-ah. You know exactly what he's talking about."
Despite the near deafening bass, Namjoon knew that Yoongi could not only hear but understand them. They were still pressed against each other even with the now spacious booth providing various seats. Namjoon kept himself pressed up to Yoongi, though there was no actual reason why.
So when Yoongi made an effort to stand, both Hoseok and Namjoon placed a hand on his shoulders and shoved him down, back to his seat. Namjoon was met with a face that could only be described as terror. Namjoon slid his hand from Yoongi's shoulder further down his arm, stopping at his elbow.
"Where are you going? We're not done talking." Hoseok had said, though the way he said it was a bit odd. Namjoon put his chin on Yoongi's shoulder, his mouth just a few inches from the smaller man's neck.
"I-I just thought that I would go find my friends."
"And leave us, your roommates, alone? Oh Yoongi-ah, you wound me. I thought we were friends..."
"O-of course we are—"
"Doesn't seem like it. You avoid us and exclude us and leave us alone when all we want to do is get to f*cking know you." Namjoon was surprised by how heated he sounded, his voice held a sort of power that was quite unfamiliar. Yoongi was immediately silenced.
“Mmhmm, you know we just want to understand you, to know everything about you. Your likes and dislikes, your favorite things, your wants and needs and desires. Yoongi-ah, we want to know what makes Min Yoongi, Min Yoongi. Can't do that if you don't talk, baby.” Hoseok said softly. Namjoon felt Yoongi shiver and he had figured it had been an effect of Hoseok caressing his forearm, his fingernails nicking the skin gently.
“Baby?”
“What, you don't like when I say that?”
In a swift movement, Yoongi stood and positioned himself a decent distance away from Namjoon and Hoseok.
“I'm gonna go dance.” He commented quickly before he blended into the crowd. He didn't even wait for acknowledgement from either of them prior to leaving which really irked Namjoon. They had been talking to him and he just left as if they weren't in the middle of a conversation.
“You know, I'm getting real damn tired of him leaving.” Namjoon voiced suddenly, in which Hoseok responded with a nod.
“Wanna go find him? Tell him what's on your mind?” The older of the two inquired as he stood to his full height. Namjoon wondered if that would be a good idea, he figured they might be taking this a bit too far and may actually frighten Yoongi. But a voice in the back of his head was urging him to chase the smaller man, to stalk him like prey and pounce on him. The warm buzz from the alcohol did not help in his judgment either as Hoseok's encouragement paired with that voice had him standing to his full height too. If Yoongi was frightened, maybe he should have said something and voiced his concerns. But his silence was an invitation, an invitation to a game he didn't know he was playing.
“I'm gonna f*cking swallow him whole.”
“Atta boy.”
—
Why was it so dark? Individual bodies became a formless mass as people shuffled and moved in the dark. A few overhead lights lit the way toward an exit, but in terms of real lighting, there wasn't any. He, too, was dragged into the formless mass, his feet barely touching the ground as he gravitated to the center of the floor.
Namjoon was pushed in all directions yet he kept his attention directly forward. His gaze was focused on the small male a few feet away, planted next to a stranger who seemed a little more friendly than Namjoon would have liked. He could feel a sudden uptick in his heart rate as the adrenaline rush caused his breathing to accelerate. Yoongi himself seemed to enjoy the attention of this person, even if they were a complete stranger.
The music slowed as the bass picked up, plunging the entire warehouse and its occupants into a trance-like state where everything just existed. The music existed, the people existed, the lust existed. Namjoon witnessed as people gave into the need to be human, the need to feel someone else on them and to feel the warmth secrete from one another. The same happened for Yoongi: the stranger placed a strong hand on his waist and Yoongi leaned into it with ease, not caring that he had just met this person not even five f*cking minutes ago.
The stationary hand soon became a dynamic force as it glided over Yoongi's stomach and chest, sparing no space to be untouched. Namjoon didn't like that, the freedom, how carelessly the hand moved. It wasn't anger that filled his veins but a feeling more similar to jealousy. He was jealous.
Hoseok was right across from him, presumably observing the whole situation as well. His head was co*cked and he had an expression plastered on his pretty face. It looked like confusion and Namjoon couldn’t even question that. He was confused and jealous and envious. All these emotions were flooding his senses and he could feel his body rapidly progressing to a state of overstimulation.
Namjoon took the bright pink lighter placed in his pockets and held it tightly in his hand. He looked to Hoseok for permission and he was given an immediate response. Hoseok mouthed the words ‘burn it’ before stepping closer toward Yoongi.
Without even realizing, the flame had been ignited and was dancing across the stranger's clothing freely and carelessly, like they had been earlier, burning the material and the skin that lay beneath. Screams filled his ears and the ears of the crowd, swiftly causing the crowd to disperse into any and all directions. Yoongi screamed as he stepped backwards, the motion hesitant and unsure. Hoseok took his chance to grab Yoongi’s wrist and drag him away from chaos. As the warehouse descended into uncontrollable disorder, Namjoon followed Hoseok and Yoongi into the restroom where he locked the door right after he entered.
He breathed in deeply before releasing the breath quickly. His shoulders dropped and he felt rather calm despite the mayhem.
“What the f*ck?”
Yoongi had ripped his small wrist from Hoseok's grip and backed himself into the wall with no definitive means of escape. Poor Yoongi, always so ready to run.
“What's wrong? Now we can talk, baby.”
“Are you insane? Some guy just caught on fire and the only thing on your f*cking mind is that you want to talk? Does that even remotely sound okay to you?”
He was angry.
Namjoon had no idea why but he figured he should do something to ease his anger. He placed a hand on the side of Hoseok's neck, then he pulled him close until a few inches separated their bodies. His gaze was set on Yoongi who still pressed himself against the dirtied bathroom wall.
“I think Yoongi-ah is scared.” His words were partially drowned out as Hoseok surged forward to capture Namjoon's lips in a sensual kiss. His tongue ran over his bottom lip before roughly biting the skin. Namjoon released an unnecessarily long moan, mainly to coax Yoongi into relaxing.
Hoseok chuckled before he moved his lips from Namjoon's mouth to his neck where his skin was most sensitive.
“He feels so good, Yoongi-ah. So f*cking good. I know you want that, too.”
“I-I…I don't know what you're talking about.”
All he could do was laugh. It was honestly so intriguing how Yoongi kept denying himself something that he truly wanted: the longing stares, the eye contact, the lingering touches, all of it. They meant something to Yoongi, Namjoon could tell, and he was a little more willing, tonight, to indulge in Yoongi’s desires. What could he say, he was a people-pleaser.
He reached a hand out and grabbed Yoongi's arm. He yanked him closer until Yoongi was situated in the middle with Hoseok on his right and Namjoon on his left. Namjoon leaned in slowly, watching as Yoongi went slightly cross-eyed trying to keep eye contact. He stopped once he could feel Yoongi’s warm breath on his skin.
“You're so f*cked.”
