Chapter Text
Jimin was popular among everyone.
Well, not actually in the goody-two shoes way.
He was not really your sweet, next-door college guy who is liked by everyone in town. Nor the heartthrob rich kid (aka the ladies man) who hosted parties every other weeknight. And unfortunately not the kind to suck up to others and thus, not on good terms with everyone. He was a little different with everything but he was nonetheless known.
He wasn't your bad boy either. Or the one who went rogue after he reached his youth.
(Well, that was a little questionable for now.)
Jimin was a little defiant by nature which resulted in him reaching heights of being a somebody than a nobody to everyone around him.
A little reserved, a little frowny, and a lot of chewing gum in his mouth. That was your typical definition of Park Jimin. Mostly seen with ripped skinny jeans and a leather jacket that was embroidered with little gems in colours of purple, pink and blue, Jimin mostly liked his company of two. He had peaked in high school with his amazing grades, received many offers, and taken up a corporate job for another three years. Until he decided to give up on that monotonous life for something more his type– atleast that's how the story goes for everyone else around him– That's how he ended up being a martial arts instructor.
Things changed. He changed.
It was a little rough to adapt to a lifestyle that was no longer ruled by boring autonomy. And more so, for someone like Jimin who loved interacting with people. But, that was the Jimin of three years ago. Now, he was a whole new person with differing and conflicting opinions within him. He could no longer stand being in a crowd, more less filled by obnoxious adults. He could hardly maintain eye contact with someone for longer fifteen seconds. He was easily irritated and upset by things. There was always some uneasy feeling settled deep in his bones which didn't allow him to set free. But it wasn't all that bad.
Or so he consoled himself.
"Hey, Jimin-ah! Take up the evening class instead of Misung. He has to attend to some family emergency."
The older man, in his fifties, spoke with much authority in his voice.
Jimin, who was leaning against the wall adjacent to the mirror, gave a curt nod read as accepting the duty. He usually didn't mind covering up for someone else's class. Afterall, there was nothing in his life that needed attention. He didn't have someone waiting back home for his arrival. He was just there. It had been as bare as he remembered from years ago. The only few times he went out of his same routine of taking up martial art classes was when his two friends pulled him for a night out in the bar.
The next hour passed by with Jimin getting fixated over the thread loose on his ratted out, yet sturdy bag. And that was where it all mattered, despite being this put-off and rude™ person, he was still a silly guy with little hobbies of his own and easily distractable processing of the brain.
"Hello? Is Misung-ssi not present?"
A small voice of a boy, who was hardly out of high school came through.
Jimin jerked away from his dainty black backpack and schooled an expression fit for professionals. The small, adorable pout that was seen a few seconds that disappeared into a tight-lipped smile.
"Oh. Misung had some emergency so, I'll be covering the class. Let's wait for the others to grace in and meanwhile, you can start with the basic stretches."
Jimin spoke, as he saw the boy tightened his red belt across his Keikgo.
In the next ten minutes, various voices filtered in. All of them eager to learn and practice hard for the next belt exam coming up in the next three weeks. Jimin personally preferred his shift which consisted of children around 6 or the high level black belt ones who just needed polishing. It was just that kids were more curious and happier at that age. Unlike the teenagers in the crowd today who were here to bulk up and put their stronger self out there. The younger ones were mostly innocent and unaware, only here for the fun of it.
He wished he could have gone back to his childhood and lived it thoroughly instead of rushing to adulthood which was and is still pure shit.
"Just push your leg out like you are doing split, except in a vertical posture."
Jimin commented, as he held his hand pad as high as the kick could go.
The swoosh of the leg came in quick, but Jimin maintained his stand against the powerful kick by the lady in front of him.
"Good. Go at it again and then you can take a break."
Jimin murmured, before getting back into his posture.
The evening passed by rather quickly. All his students bowed their heads and with a quiet bid of goodbyes, they were out the door. Jimin heaved a sigh, as he faced the mirror to see his weary eyes once again. He needed a break. Needed something that could put him under for a while. Needed some sort of escape from living for a little time. Rubbing his fingers across his face, he got to the dressing room to get changed into comfortable sweats. Skinny jeans wasn't an ideal option after a training session.
"See you on Monday, boss."
Jimin waved off a quick bye and took a step outside the building.
The walk back home was about 20 minutes or so. He pulled out his headphones and switched on a rather calm toned music. There was enough loud sounds and chaos in his life. He didn't need more in the form of boom bass songs. The colours of the sky faded and mushed together in his wired brain. People walked past him quickly. Everyone being in the rush for something back home or somewhere to be. Jimin had nothing of that sort which made him look forward to reaching home.
Home.
The word sat heavily on his tongue. He hadn't been home ever since...yeah.
Uneventful at best, he unlocked his apartment door to be greeted by the plain sight of nothing out of the ordinary. He kicked off his shoes and then his clothes as he headed straighter to spend time in the bath tub of his. Today was another of those days that needed him to stay afloat, even though it was hard. The warm water filled up to a height that was preferable by the blond haired male. Sinking into the water was easy. It was always so easy.
"Should've put a bath bomb."
Jimin muttered to himself, as his eyes caught the unicorn multi-colour bath bomb sitting by the cabinet.
Silence crowded in too soon, as Jimin closed his eyes. He remembered how easier it was back then. To let go and just be him. But now, it was all but keep up a form that intimidated others. He enjoyed being that way. That person. One who commanded respect. One who didn't let anyone trample them. One who was just confident in everything they had. But there were days, he just wanted to curl up like a lounging kitten and purr in the lap of someone who saw him past all this. The thought still clouded his mind on special days like today.
Relaxed muscles and pruned skin was all the outcome he had from the bath.
Pulling over a fluffy bathrobe, Jimin sat on his bed with a towel on his head. He didn't really have plans on getting sick anytime soon and that meant thorough drying of his wet locks. The best thing about being blond is that there's no colour to fade so no frequent touchups except when his roots grew out. Lost in thought, he jerked away from himself when he heard the loud ping, from what he assumed was his phone.
Only five people maintained contact with him. Two of his best friends, two of his co-workers (his boss being one of them) and the last one of his family. Seeing the name pop up, it was definite choice that this was his older brother.
|Hyeon|
Hey, Jimin-ah?
|Jimin|
Yeah. What do you need?
—Hyeon is calling—
"What do you need?"
Jimin repeated the same words, as he heard an exasperated sigh on the other side.
"Can you stop being so difficult?"
The other male's voice roughly cut through.
"No. Just get to the point."
Jimin snipped up, irritation bubbling under his skin.
"Just need you to meet me at the club this weekend."
Hyeon muttered quickly.
"And what do I get from that?"
Jimin asked, clearly not as irritated as before. But it was always fun to tease his brother.
"Look, I just need you to be there for me. Mom wants me to get married. Well, she wants any one of us to bear her grand children and you aren't an option."
Hyeon spoke up again, except the previous aura of the conversation was lost.
The bitter taste settles down quickly on Jimin's tongue. It prickled through his throat like thorns grown within.
"And why would you need me there? Also who in their right mind meets in a club for their first date?"
Jimin asked, half confused and half concerned.
"You know how I get with meeting new people in new settings. I don't know but the girl chose that spot so, I went along."
Hyeon shrugged off, as he paced up and down his room's length.
Jimin was well aware of how his brother had anxiety issues in the form of panic attacks in places he wasn't familiar with. They had always stuck together in high school for this reason. Jimin, though not as open with his feelings, was very protective of his older brother. But he also suspected that 'this' wasn't the only reason for pulling Jimin along. His relationship with his family was a little strained as he changed his course of career. Only three of the people in his life knew what had changed, and his parents weren't part of his inner circle.
"Alright."
Jimin agreed, still thinking about 'the' reason as to why his brother was so adamant on him accompanying like a third wheel.
"Jimin-ah. Thank you. Take care for now and eat well. I'll see you–"
Jimin ended the call right away, unable to process further. His day was exhausting, which mostly concerned physical aspects of it. He wasn't possibly ready to hear his brother tell him more words of affirmation and love. Ones that would numb his body beyond control movements.
He had changed.
The Jimin that everyone knew was a fond, lovely mess of giggles. That little kid was honest to his heart and wore his emotions on his sleeve unlike the current man in the reflection who seemed to only mask it all up in the pretext of anger and distaste. This one in front of his own conscious was marred with bruises of everything that was thrown at him. It wasn't his fault. Not their fault either– over the past years, he had made himself believe that it wasn't theirs– but all the fault in time and universe. His cautious self never slipped up, atleast not in front of anyone.
That Jimin still existed within him. The sweetest boy to exist with magical touches. Despite his snarky remarks waiting on the top of his tongue, he always had the softest fingers soothing the wounds that burned on the skin of others. Despite his roughed up attitude, he had the heart of a kind soul that was always ready to give. The contradictions in himself were so varied and vast that some times he was confused by his own behaviour. And it only made it worse that no one took out the time to ever understand these peculiarities he owned. He was always the good tomato gone bad and rotten in their eyes.
Everything was a blur.
"Here sir."
The waiter said, putting the glass on the clear table in front of Jimin, whose attention was on someone else.
Jimin had come in a minute after his brother. He had worn his leather pants and a silkish dark purple shirt. It was the only fancy shirt he had in his closet and it made sense for him to come in one. Hyeon had simply flashed a smile to Jimin's nod, before taking the seat in front of the prospected date of his. He could see how the girl's eyes flickered around as Hyeon sat on the bar stool. There was a wave of 'hey' exchanged between them. Jimin was in close vicinity, not enough to eavesdrop on their conversation, but enough to know if his brother needed help out.
Apparently, not.
Pulling his gaze away from them, he sipped on the alcoholic drink in his hand. The taste was a little sour at the edges but nonetheless a nice one. It was weird being a wingman. The best way to describe it was being a third wheel intentionally. Lamenting his thoughts, Jimin just tipped his shot glass for more. Soon enough, they were settled in pretty well and Jimin was sure he was no longer needed. Thus the conclusion of this entire evening being a boring one.
It wasn't like he would go out and bag a man on his own. It had been years since he even put himself in the dating field. Jimin just wasn't into the commitment that came through later. There was a time when he found much hope in that prospect, but right now it was worse than a bleak deserted land. He had learnt it right away that if he were to survive then he would be doing it on his own, cautiously.
"Would you like anything else?"
The bartender asked, as Jimin simply stared at the half-empty glass.
"Nothing."
Jimin said, with the slightest of smiles, before getting up to move to the washroom.
Letting the tap run gently, he kept his cold hands under even colder water to wash the non-existent dirt. The greenish-blue tiles by the sink were surprisingly clean, as Jimin focused on the walls rather than his image in the mirror. The door whipped again as a man entered to finish his business. Taking that as the cue to move out, he strayed a little to see that the crowd inside had significantly increased as the clock neared 10.
Contemplating of whether he should be leaving right now or wait for his brother, he stood by the hallway that led to the washrooms yet again. In the next two minutes, he was sure that he wished to go home. Jimin couldn't bear with the stink of buzzed out and sweaty people any longer. He was about to whip out his phone and send a quick message to his brother that he'll be out, until someone cowered his space. His view of the people inside the bar was cut off as the only thing separating him was the person in front and the door.
"Hey pretty thing. Waiting for someone?"
The man from the washroom spoke in an excruciatingly deep voice.
"Yeah. If you'll excuse me."
Jimin replied, to which the man quickly grabbed his right forearm.
"You've been waiting alone by the bar since a long time. I can show you a better time in bed than the guy who ditched you."
The guy spoke and for the first time, Jimin took notice of how he appeared.
He was a broad guy with crooked teeth and short hair. Jimin wasn't one to judge by their appearance, but by the manner he addressed Jimin didn't quite sit well with him. It had been years since he had been in a club, but he knew this was how others picked up for one-night stands. And clearly for one, he wasn't interested in this business. Second, by the way this man was invading his personal space didn't feel right.
"Sorry, I'mma have to pass. Now if you'll excuse me."
Jimin replied, trying to be as polite as he could—though his patience was running low. He always hated when assumptions were made. Especially in the form of pity.
From the corner of his eyes, Jimin could see the two of them slipping through the main entrance, giggling away like teenagers. He didn't need Hyeon for the ride either, so it was all good. He hoped it went well for his brother with the said date, unlike how he was dealing with this hefty braindead guy.
"C'mon, it's just gonna be 30 minutes."
The man persisted again for sex. And Jimin was starting to re-think all his decisions as to why he came here.
"Look, I told you clearly. NO, all in caps."
Jimin breathed out angrily. He was done giving him the doubt of benefit.
"Oh...I get it. You are being hard to get."
The guy smirked cockily.
"Is my language that incomprehensible to you?"
Jimin said, looking at the slightly taller man with raised eyebrows.
"Gutsy, eh? I love it"
He chuckled in a manner that gave Jimin chills down the spine.
"Uh huh. You'll love it even more when my fist is in your face."
Jimin said, looking at ways to outrun this monster.
He wasn't one to confront people, even though he knew most of the time he had an upper hand if it ever turned physical. Jimin's body might be a little on the dancer figure, but all of it was pure muscles. And he maybe a lot of things, but never a rogue to beat people purple.
That was until they crossed boundaries he had set on his own terms.
"Listen here boy, try not get too smart. You think anyone here would ever spare a glance at you?"
The guy decided to open his mouth yet again.
Jumbled senseless words. Unnecessary bullshit. And Jimin had enough of it.
"Oh poor thing. You think I look for validation from stupid creatures like yourself?"
Jimin said, this time, plainly cutting it off. No one except him (of course, duh) was allowed to put him down. Especially, not some drunk guy at the club.
In hind sight, maybe Jimin should've just kicked him in the balls and ran off.
The rough hand that had loosely gripped his wrist tightened within seconds and the other was creeping up to his throat. Jimin clicked his tongue in distaste, as he twisted his body in a way that pushed the other guy onto his back. Delivering a chop to the guy's side across his ribs, Jimin was able to free himself from the vice grip. He allowed himself time to rub at the pained wrists that would soon bloom purple and red. Ice would eventually fix this, and that meant he had to go out of the club right now. His wish of enjoying the night would end with no luck, but his body needed more attention. It was no big deal, right?
Wrong.
By the time he took the next step, he was tackled to the ground by the heavier man, who had fox eyes trained on Jimin's face. For the first time since then, he felt disgusted at the look he was receiving. Of course, he was desirable and he knew it. But never like this. Never in the eyes of sick bastard who couldn't take a no. Not in the gaze that objectified him. There was no time for such nonsense, as he could see the other bring a hand up in the air to swing it across Jimin's face. He swore he could feel the metallic taste of blood swirl in with the taste of tequila from earlier.
"Fuck. You are a fiesty one, aren't you?"
That nail-scratching voice made Jimin's intoxicated mind flinch harder.
"Stay still."
The man on top of him growled.
It was an oscillating battle within him. His body was reacting to the alcohol quicker than he expected and here was a whole ass 80 kg man trying to force his way with Jimin. His limbs were on the lost end of coordination to act quick. His tolerance for bullshit was at an all-time low.
Soon, he was pulled up from the floor and was pressed against another vertical surface. It was most likely the wall, since he could feel the cold tiles under his palm. Tethering across the rope of wanting to fall flat and breaking the neck of this asshole in front of him, Jimin pulled all his strength as he swung a harsh punch to the jaw that clacked loudly, signifying a possible break in the bone. The guy clutched onto his face, screaming and cussing at Jimin who stood smiling like a crazy fool. The bloodied lips settling for wide smirk as the red bled across the pearly white teeth of his.
"Never try that stupid shit on me."
Jimin thundered out loudly.
Taking the last shot at teaching this absolute idiot to never mess with the Park Jimin, he mentally prepared for the kick that would have the other on the floor for the next hour. His drunk state had made him miss the knee kick aimed for the crotch. Instead it ended up hurting his own shin at the misplacement. Recovered from the previous attack, the man pushed his fist towards Jimin's eye making him howl in pain. Jimin had lost senses with the pain and the intoxication getting him bleary eyed. Another slap echoed through the washroom. The slap stung worse with the darkening bruise under his eye.
*Swoosh*
Jimin registered two things: whatever that sound was, costed him a bone-deep chill and that the weight on his body had finally disappeared. He let himself lay on the dirty ground, heaving heavily. There was a lot of chatter beside him, but his eyes were more on the verge of going to sleep and possibly wake up with a hangover.
Today was a Friday.
This meant two things to Jung Hoseok. One, classes for the week was done. Two, he had to, absolutely had to do something that can take his mind off. This week being a little more boring than miserable, Hoseok had decided to add a little bit of the fun quotient before ending it. Thus, he had pulled along his friends for a night out at the club nearby. If it ever any other week, he would be more inclined to curling up in bed and watching a romcom, but he needed this outside, carefree crowd stimulation.
Though he loved his college and the fun it came with, he couldn't help but wait to get out and employed. By next year, he would be done with his masters in sociology. And mostly begin with the assistant professor job at any institute or get under his teaching assistant's research team. Either way, he was tired with studying late nights and the headaches that stopped by frequently. The only thing that kept him afloat were the weekends, where he just let his body get all its rest.
"Yo Jung, our wallets are basically empty. We just tagged along."
Haerin teased, with her hand over Hoseok's shoulders.
"Ehh... I just saw you get your internship payment yesterday."
Hoseok remarked with a sly smile.
"Rent's too high, man."
Haerin replied, soon joined by Minsuk on Hoseok's other side.
"So, shall I announce to the others that the drinks are on you?"
Minsuk asked, looking at Hoseok expectantly.
"Sure!"
Hoseok laughed loudly, soon getting two hoots from Minsuk and Haerin.
"Attention guys, drinks on Hoseok!"
Minsuk declared loudly to the group of 10 tagging behind them.
A chorus of hurray's went by, as the crowd moved through the entrance. With their ID's safe in their pockets for precautionary measures, 13 of them dispersed in all directions. Sone on the dance floor, some by the bar, sone seated by the tables, and so on. Hoseok quickly made his way to the bartender and told her that if anyone says the drinks on Hoseok then, the tab should be added to him.
The song had changed to a quick up beat funk one, which urged Hoseok to follow his crowd of 13 onto the dance floor. Rhythms aside, this was the first time in this month that he could enjoy his bones relax. Good music and company was always welcomed. Kihun had taken the spot in front of Hoseok as their bodies moved on its own accord. Haerin shouted aloud, trying to grab the boy with honey brown dyed hair's attention.
"I can't hear you!"
Hoseok tried even loudly.
"Want me to get any drink?"
Haerin repeated, moving closer so her words were heard.
"One root beer I guess."
Hoseok answered, flashing a smile.
He wasn't that well-adapted to his friends' drinking limits. So, he stuck to the ones that tasted less bitter and less intoxicating. Moreover, he was usually stuck with the drunk homies driver job, except today Daehyun and Iseoul were also part of the taking the crew to their dorms.
"Thanks, babe."
Hoseok spoke over the music, as Haerin passed his glass of yellowish bubbling drink. The girl gave a wink with a smirk towards the taller boy as a response to the nickname.
After about ten minutes, the song changed into a more slow, ballroom sweet dance one. Tired after the previous popping off bones, Hoseok excused himself to the washroom. Except his short trip seemed to be obstructed by something(s) moving with harsh breaths. His mind still fuzzy with all the flashing disco lights tried to figure out the lump on the floor. He rubbed his eyes a little to find a man forcing himself on another, who was leaning towards the unconsciousness state.
Not wasting another minute, Hoseok used all the strength he could possibly gather at the moment to pull the short-haired man away. He never learnt the art of self defence and never thought he would be using his limbs in this way. The man on the floor gruntled under the weight being tussled over. Hoseok put in the last bit to push the 'bad guy' aside.
"What the fuck dude?"
The man angrily questioned, though he didn't move his feet any further.
"Quit talking"
Hoseok ordered, not even glancing at him.
"Hey, hey open your eyes for me."
Hoseok asked, gently patting the laid down man's cheeks.
"What's your name?"
Hoseok asked, sensing questions were most likely better to keep him awake in this context.
"J-Jimim..."
The other said, blinking up with great difficulty.
By another moment, the bulky dude by the side got up to pounce at Hoseok. Sighing heavily as to how he got caught on this when he was supposed to have a fun night, he jerked his head backwards, effectively making the man lose his chokehold on Hoseok. Another elbow hit and he was down on the floor splayed out like a street dog.
"Come at me again and you are dead meat."
Hoseok warned, pulling his arms up in a defensive stance.
"Break it off, man. Or else I might have to put you both outside."
Another unlikely voice piped in.
Jungkook's day had started on a sour note.
It was mostly a series of wrong events that culminated to this mess of a day.
First he had woken up to a blaring alarm which effectively led him into an awful headache, then his favourite red-coloured toothpaste ran out. Later, he had to bath in cold water since his boiler had decided to go on an uninvited break. His phone wasn't charged anywhere to the levels that could help him last the next 18 hours. Upon all this misfortune that had occurred in the past 30 minutes, was when he realised he was running late to his day job as a library assistant.
And there goes his empty breakfast!
He knew that being a quiet, book-lover at day and a strict bodyguard was like leading a Spiderman life. Two lives, each with their set of truths. He didn't really love the night job for one, he was almost always too tired as the sunset prevailed over the skies and two, he had to deal with aggressive men or full memory wipe-out kids. He much preferred the rustic setting of a silent library with the scent of old wood and ink filling the space than whatever disorganised clutter came out of the club.
"Jeon, please take note of the new stocks!"
The head librarian, Mrs. Kim called out, just as Jungkook entered the premises.
"Coming right up."
Jungkook answered back.
There were a few University students studying and a bunch of elderly men with their daily newspapers. Soft sunlight peeked through the slits of the age-old windows. Setting aside the two boxes which had an assortment of wonderful books, Jungkook opened the register to record the book, edition and the author. Everything felt so right even if his morning had been utterly wrong. If he had a choice, he would stay here for the rest of forever.
The only reason for going to that shitty night job as a bouncer was the money. He knew he couldn't survive just on his undying passion for books and quiet environments. He needed the cash to keep himself afloat. Library assistant hardly made peanuts to live in such a boisterous city like Seoul. He knew he could try putting his art out into the void and hope for the best, but he wasn't as brave as he appeared. Maybe one day, he'll be able to do something he truly loved. But for now, being around books was the second best option.
"Jungkook, good morning!"
A man, in his late 70's with big glasses and grey hair voiced out.
"Ah! G'morning, Mr. Lee."
Jungkook greeted back with an enthusiastic bow.
Mr. Lee was a regular here and had been a great friend to Jungkook. The older man would tell stories of his glorious past and how his wife had asked for eggs today. It could be the most mundane things, but Jungkook really liked the company of Mr. Lee. He was one of the few who knew of his artistic passion and encouraged him lots.
"Guk-ah, I'll have to go to my sister's place for a week, so you'll have to open it in the morning. The spare keys are on the table. Just don't mess anything up."
Mrs. Kim said, before patting the boy on his back.
Signing off the job, Jungkook pulled his sling bag up his shoulder. His lunch was basically an iced cappuccino and half a bagel that his boss had saved for him. He replied to a few messages on his phone and took the path to his favourite cafe. But apparently, it was too filled with Friday evenings being a hotspot for all meet ups. Not wanting to deal with all the crowd, he went to the convience store down the lane, to get himself some strawberry milk and rolled gimbap.
"Your total is 3000 won. Will you pay by card?"
The cashier monotonously asked.
Nodding, he took out his card to tap it on the machine. He dumped the two of the packaged items into his bag and got back to his apartment. There was an hour left till he had to go to the club. Settling down all his belongings, Jungkook switched on his soft playlist as he washed his face a minute later. The calming tunes of a guitar and the voice of Chris Martin filled in the gaps of his soul. Taking out the yesterday's kimchi rice– which was today's breakfast – he heated it on the stove.
'Home, home, home, where I wanted to go'
Taking his metal chopsticks he slowly ate his food, as the orange sun with all its magnificent rays set below the horizon in the background. Soft notes, delicious food, warm winds, and comfortable clothes compassed little by little into his best life. After about 15 minutes spent, he washed the vessels and sipped onto the cold strawberry milk– kept in the freezer for faster cooling.
"Hey Jungkook!"
A voice cheerfully sounded near his ear.
"Oh! Mina noona."
Jungkook replied, hugging the bartender.
The club had just opened, with everyone cleaning the tables, glasses and every surface possible. The speakers were connected yet again for another night, while the kitchen had amped up its fries section for the overload of customers to come.
"Aish. You need to sleep more."
Mina lamented upon seeing the faded dark circles around the younger's eyes.
"Will do."
Jungkook smiled as small as he could possibly muster.
And in the next two hours, people came in in groups of 2, 3, 4 or more. The music amped up inside, as Jungkook simply checked the entering customers. Some who seemed too young were required to show their ID's. Though, Jungkook hardly looked intimidating with his scrunched up face and bunny smile, he did a good job to give an impression of a bouncer by the front door. It was a big feat for someone who was always soft soft soft.
"Hello sir, can you help me with my cab?"
A lady asked, looking quite inebriated and out of mind.
"Oh...can you give me your address?"
Jungkook hesitatingly breached the topic.
"Uh yeah. It's here."
The lady gave him her phone as a whole.
With quick hands and a call to a trusted cab driver, Jungkook helped the lady board a vehicle back home. This was his first time coming across an incident like this, but Mina had done this before, so he knew what to do. Seeing that the rush hour had passed by, Jungkook took that opportunity to splash his face with some water. You wouldn't believe how sweaty one can get, standing by the entrance where the vents were also inconveniently placed. And Jungkook being someone who couldn't handle anything but clean, needed the refreshing water first.
Hopefully, he wouldn't have to hear people going at it in the stalls. It's surprisingly common to see humans wanting to have sex when they're drunk.
Except the setting in front of him, as he opened the brownish wooden door was even worse.
A man with pretty blond hair laid on the floor with eyes blinking towards the pair on the other side of the washroom. Another with honey brown hair was on top of another man who was hardly seen. Well, this was certainly not some mating feature that Jungkook didn't know. It was definitely a brawl, and so with a heavy sigh he moved forward to break them apart.
Hoseok's eyes flickered towards Jimin who stood with a blank expression. There was a reddish blue wound blooming under his eyes that made Hoseok scrunch his eyebrows in disdain. But he was better at keeping his balance. Jimin had pulled himself up and was strangely more awake than when Hoseok found him. Audible words with correct pronunciations were heard even though, it wasn't expected of him. Other than that Jimin most likely needed to check his bleeding spots up, but it didn't seem as urgent.
The three of them stood in front of the bouncer, who looked way young by face to even be in this job. Jimin had balanced himself against the green tiles with his head leaning more, while the said assaulter was on the opposite end of the washroom. Hoseok himself stood at a safe distance between them. It was like a weirdly shaped four edged polygon, maybe a rhombus.
"I'm letting you off, but next time I see you around I'll be sure to beat your ass to the ground, bastard."
Jimin scowled at the taller man who looked away with disinterest.
"Whatever."
The man clicked his tongue, walking towards the entrance and out of the club.
"I'm still gonna have to ask you to leave the club. Rules of the house."
The bouncer said, as he walked the two of them out.
Hoseok moved his gaze to see if his friends were there. Some seemed to have caught on the drama, but with a thumbs up from Hoseok, they turned back to themselves and enjoy the night. He felt a little somewhat as to how there was no query on his disappearance for over ten minutes, but he figured they were too out of the minds for the night.
"Fucker spoiled everyone's night."
Hoseok grumbled, as his feet lagged back.
"You know you didn't actually have to 'save me'? I could do that on my own very well. Literally have a black belt in karate."
Jimin mumbled with a nasty scowl on his face.
There were two constant thoughts in his head right now. He knew he was partially being unreasonable...okay, maybe well more than unreasonable to a stranger who 'helped' him. But, he did have under control. Maybe there would be a few extra broken bones, but eh it was worth it. Secondly, it was that this had caused another to lose his night of fun. A mix of embarrassment, shame, and guilt swirled in him that took the form of bad words.
A protective shield for himself.
"Would it kill you to just thank me and move on?"
Hoseok snapped back, though his initial thought wasn't to aggravate this situation more.
He didn't understand how quickly the atmosphere shifted to a more hostile 'attack and protect' one. But, Hoseok knew enough that being ungrateful was no way of going about something that had happened a few minutes ago. A fight he hardly knew the reason of. Not that he was nosy, but he needed to know if it was some past grudge on both sides.
"Thank you for what? For being my knight in shining armor?"
Jimin's voice increased in its volume, as he turned to the side to look at the older boy.
"Okay. Quit it, you both."
The bouncer tiredly muttered.
"Not your business to butt in."
Jimin glowered again.
"What is your problem? You were literally drunk. And still are. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You look like you were ravished by a demon. I just lent you a hand to get out of the situation. Or are you so stuck up in the masculine agenda of being an independent individual?"
Hoseok asked, furious with the direction of their ongoing conversation.
Jimin just tsked and stumbled towards his astray bag that held a clear bottle of water. His legs were dangerously close to tripping over each other. All Hoseok could do was tighten his fists until his knuckles turned white. He desperately wanted to give a shoulder to this boy in front of him, even after all the disrespect thrown at him. Something tugged his heart shouting that, the blond head in front was all but putting up a fight to protect himself.
Call him naive that he still believed that everyone deserves a chance to make a better first impression than the one given. It was no ulterior motive but his intuition just screamed that this frail, half-lidded guy in front of him, was potentially going to stick with him for longer than intended. It was no savior complex but, just Hoseok being the hopeful person he always was. Of course, this shortie had venom laced in his voice, a defensive stand, and twisted growl stuck in his throat, but something unknown made Hoseok to stay back with him.
Someone cleared their throat, dissipating the tension in the air. Jimin just glanced at the source, being the bouncer who had taken off his bomber jacket. Tipping his head backwards, Jimin gulped the water harsh enough for him to choke on it. But none of the boys in the vicinity made a move to grab the bottle. They just stared at Jimin, who soon used the back of his hand to wipe at his mouth.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Jungkook asked with a little hesitation.
"Huh?"
Hoseok made a noise of confusion.
"Oh sorry. My shift's ending in another ten minutes. And I know your night was cut short, but you can come with me to my hide out above the club."
Jungkook's mumbled all together, a little shy at all their attention being on him.
In all honesty, Jungkook didn't know where that came from. He had not let anyone into that place which was ridiculously named as a 'lair'. It was away from the public, but close enough to hear the traffic. There was some sort of comfort in knowing a place, other than home, where he could let everything loose. He spent most of weekend nights there, when he was too tired to get back home. But here he was, asking two strangers to join him there. One of them being a feisty little mouse and the other being a literal persona of happy vibes.
Where was he even going with this?
"So you can smother us to death? No thanks."
Jimin spit out, rolling his neck to relieve the pain that had settled from the manhandling earlier.
"Stop being so defensive, will you?"
Hoseok blurted out with a stinky eye pointed towards Jimin.
"No. But I have some non-alcoholic drinks stashed up and bandages to fix your wounds. Only if you want."
Jungkook shrugged, removing his earpiece.
Not getting a proper answer, he turned around to stash away his belongings in the staff room. He figured out, if they weren't going to join him, he could enjoy the night breeze on his own.
"Getting off early?"
His colleague, Jae asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah."
Jungkook answered, a little too tired as he locked his tiny cupboard drawer.
"Well, have a nice night, Jeon!"
Jae said, before walking out of the break room.
What a surprise it was when the two strangers followed him like two lost puppies! Jungkook wondered if they were a couple and they were just fighting, thus the heated words and nasty looks. Whenever he gazed back, he found them sneaking glances at each other. The taller of them had a tremble in his hand to reach beside the blond head and support his weight. It was painful to watch on Jungkook's part, to be quite frank.
Gazing away from them, Jungkook thought further as to how he didn't know their names or if they were potential danger to his own life, given that he had caught one of them in the middle of a physical fight. Though the nice aura of the almond eyed man was alluring, he pondered why did he ask a couple of all people to join him there. He really didn't like third-wheeling and here he was forcefully putting himself in such a situation.
And the bigger question was why were they even following him? Did they really want to spend time with a stranger? Or did they want him to become a therapist to give a proper solution to the said fight they had?
People did stranger things when drunk.
Except Jungkook hadn't drunk a single drop of it.
Jungkook was doing all this because he was exhausted out of his mind, unlike the others who just wanted a night out.
By the time he finished with half of his spiraling down, Jungkook had reached the door of his secret cave-in on the terrace.
The story of finding this place was purely based on luck.
A coincidence of sorts.
No one had noticed this shack at the top. Jungkook had sneakily enquired about it one day, only to get a dismissive 'no'. So, he set out to clean up the place with all his equipment. Bought a new carpet, kept a mini fridge he found on resale at half the price, brought his own old, ragged blankets that were too old to use, and painted it lavender with leftover paint he had. He had purchased a succulent that didn't need much watering, so that meant he couldn't accidentally kill it either. He even got himself some spicy and sweet snack packets that would keep him filled through the night.
"Oh wow!"
Sunglasses guy muttered in awe.
"Not a bad place you've got."
The blond mumbled, as his fingers grazed the plastered walls in pastel colours.
"Took me over two months to put this place into shape."
Jungkook answered, as he diligently removed his shoes.
"So anyone care to explain the fight downstairs?"
Jungkook started out, sensing the dull void of silence overtaking in.
He sensed a little small talk wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Uh... Well, that guy wanted me to suck his dick and I told no. Obviously. He went mad feral and wanted to force me into the act. So I fought him as much as I could. Then, Mr. Cool Guy here came in to help me."
The one with the burning wounds on his skin explained. He still seemed a little under the influence of a strong drink, maybe shots of tequila and vodka.
Well, that seemed to shock the other two, who hadn't dwelled on the thought of what had happened before. Jungkook had heard stories from other employees of how they some people were disgusting enough to take advantage of someone who was not in their right state of mind. But, it was still unnerving to hear about it first hand. Though, his mind successfully supplied to ask the pretty stranger if he's alright, he was cut off by the other man.
"You alright? Need anything?"
The other one asked, concerned for the injured man.
Though, he himself had little cuts decorating his knuckles, the man with honey tan skin looked more distressed over his partner... atleast according to Jungkook. Anger still ebbed with Jungkook who promised to have that man debarred from ever entering the club. It clearly wasn't safe.
"Nah. I'm okay."
The younger of the duo said.
"By the way, thank you for that stuff back there. Pretty dope thing to do for a total stranger. I'm a little rough on the edges, hope you don't mind."
The shorter guy again spoke, except this time with a tiny smile. The sunglasses guy gave a look that likely meant, he understood and it's okay.
"Wait, you guys aren't like a..."
Jungkook asked with a puzzled look on his face. His hands moved a little suggesting their 'relationship' that he had imagined in his head.
"Oh, you thought we...we were a couple?"
The other guy laughed loudly.
And oh so prettily. They sounded like jingling bells and melodious harmonies of heaven itself.
Gosh Jungkook! You should tone down with finding people attractive at odd times.
"I don't even know the dude's name."
The blond head snickered, mirth evident in his voice.
"Well, I do. But a better introduction between us three would do us all some good, don't you think?"
The guy with the shiny blue jacket aka the one with the pretty smile suggested.
"Well, if that's so then I am Park Jimin. 25 years and a martial artist by profession."
The blond spoke up, fully relaxed in his body.
"I am Jung Hoseok. 26, and still doing my Masters' in sociology. Pretty boring subject I know. But I kinda enjoy it."
The one with the sunglasses muttered with a wide smile.
"Uh, I'm Jeon Jungkook, 23. I work at the club and also as a library assistant."
Jungkook awkwardly introduced himself.
Neither his job nor his life was as splendid as the others present in this little shack of his. The hesitation that rooted from it didn't sit well with Jimin, who came forward to put his arm over Jungkook's shoulders.
(Jungkook later learnt of how Jimin was more perceptive to other's emotions than his own.)
"So, you are the youngest. Any cool drinks in the house?"
Jimin asked, a little mischievous glimmer in his eye. The limp in his leg was still quite evident.
Stars illuminated the sky like glitters across the marble floor of a mansion.
And this was the beginning of three strangers finding their way through it all. A little bit of soul-searching. A little bit of comforting each other. And hopefully a better start to this new turn of life.