"Don't look now," Taehyung rushes out as he slides into his seat opposite Jungkook, "but– I said don't look!"

His reappearance at the table is quite dramatic, even for Taehyung. Jungkook and Jimin both startle, turning their full attention to their friend.

While Jungkook looks at Taehyung in confusion, the older has his eyes fixed on Jimin who is sat next to Jungkook in the booth.

He moves his eyes between them, observing their silent conversation.

Jungkook hasn't known Jimin for very long– Taehyung having introduced them just over a month ago when Jungkook moved to Seoul to live with his childhood friend– but these two do this silent conversation thing often enough that he recognizes when it's happening.

He learned quickly that he is nowhere close to being able to participate in these silent dialogues, so he just lets them do their thing, knowing it won't be long before one of them will fill him in.

Except, it is a long time that they keep silent. Annoyingly so.

When several additional seconds pass with more unreasonable silence his patience starts to slip.

"What's happening?" He asks.

With a sigh, Jimin stares at the plate of half eaten pancakes before pushing it away with a small frown.

"He's here," Taehyung says, voice lowered and laced with annoyance.

"Who?"

"Him," Taehyung frowns.

Jungkook squints his eyes in confusion.

He keeps them on Taehyung, his annoyance growing as he notices Taehyung looking at him as if his answer was all the context Jungkook needed to understand what was happening.

Clicking his tongue, Jungkook repeats his question.

"Who?"

"Jimin's ex," Taehyung sighs, looking at Jimin. "I saw him come in just now when I left the bathroom. I tried to get here as fast as I could to warn you..." he looks at Jimin apologetically before he pouts. "Am I still not allowed to kick him in the shin?"

"You are still not allowed to kick him, Tae," Jimin answers with a smile that is way too gentle for the fact that he is denying permission to assault someone.

"He deserves it," Taehyung grumbles.

Taehyung is sitting across from Jimin and Jungkook– Jungkook isn't sure why he's the one sat by Jimin because again, he doesn't know him all that well– but it's about to work in their favor. Mostly.

In Jimin's favor at least.

"Fuck," Taehyung suddenly hisses lowly, looking quickly between Jimin and over Jungkook's shoulder.

Jungkook has no time to ask what's happening as Jimin begins squirming in his seat.

Staring at Taehyung, panic clear on his face, Jimin lets out a squeak as he begins to slide down on the pleather bench.

"Hide me," he whisper yells, keeping his eyes forward as he tugs at the bottom of Jungkook's shirt.

Jungkook stares down at Jimin in astonishment because what in the hell is happening right now, until he hears Taehyung speak.

"Huh?" Jungkook frowns.

"They're coming over."

They're? As in multiple people, not just one?

Suddenly Jungkook realizes that he's been so busy trying to get out of these two what's going on– who Jimin's ex is– that he never actually saw who they were talking about.

Taehyung is looking past Jungkook again and– ignoring the kick Taehyung gives him when he sees Jungkook follow his line of sight– Jungkook turns around.

He doesn't need either of them to specify that the guys walking their direction are the "they" that are being referenced with the way the men seem to have zeroed in on Taehyung.

Taehyung who he assumes is a familiar face to them because they have no reason to be walking towards Jungkook, a stranger, with the amount of intent their expressions portray.

There are two men striding side by side and Jungkook's biggest question now is which of them is Jimin's ex because, although they are both extremely good looking, one of them is absolutely captivating.

He's shorter than the man with the red hair, his hair dark in color like Jungkook's, but the way he's walking– shoulders back, chin held parallel to the floor with confident steps– with a badass fucking leather jacket he is wearing the hell out of, he looks so much larger.

So much more intimidating than his physical size would make you believe.

Jungkook hasn't realized how openly he's been gawking at the guy until the two newcomers are practically standing next to him.

When Jungkook moves his eyes from his legs (noting how slender yet shapely his thighs are in his ripped, black jeans) to look up, he gulps.

Judging by the amused smirk on the man's face, he saw the whole thing.

Saw how Jungkook was eyeing him. Checking him out.

Before Jungkook can feel embarrassed, he watches as the guy lazily drags his eyes over Jungkook as well.

The tip of his tongue runs across his bottom lip shamelessly and oh... oh- Jungkook seriously hopes this isn't the ex Taehyung wants to assault.

If it is then Jungkook is fully prepared to throw himself in front of the pretty ravenette and take the blow himself.

When their eyes meet again, Jungkook finds the corner of his own lips ticking up, matching the smirk the man is giving him.

It's strange. Jungkook isn't someone who's known to be forward if he takes interest in someone.

Isn't one to outwardly flirt or even start casual conversations with people, but his skin feels hot and he wants nothing more than to sit down with the man standing above him and learn anything and everything about him.

Before dragging him to the bathroom to get his hands on him, of course.

Jungkook's eyes move down to his lips– which he now notices are pouting out as he begins to speak and-

Oh, shit. He's talking. And he's still looking at Jungkook, so... he must be talking to him?

Jungkook levels his eyes with the man's again, seeing his brow raised in question.

Before Jungkook can ask him to repeat whatever he'd just said he feels Jimin suddenly pressing against his side, sitting much closer than he was seconds ago, before he snakes his arm around Jungkook's.

Jungkook's shoulders tense as he snaps his head to the side to look at Jimin.

What the hell? They do not know each other well enough for this to be happening!

For him to practically be climbing onto Jungkook's lap.

"He's your boyfriend?" Jungkook hears distantly.

He keeps his eyes on Jimin only to see the older looking not at him, but past him.

"Yes," Jimin answers, chin jutting out stubbornly.

Jungkook's brows shoot up as his mouth drops open.

He gawks at Jimin, probably looking more horrified than anything– definitely not playing it as cool as he's expected to– before he locks his eyes with Taehyung's.

Jungkook nearly throws himself across the table at his oldest friend when he sees him with a painfully forced smile, nodding like an idiot.

The feeling to pounce intensifies by ten when Taehyung speaks.

"Yes. This is Jungkook, Jimin's boyfriend."

Jungkook unfreezes long enough to kick Taehyung under the table, but his friend only kicks him back, expression never changing from his unsettlingly fake smile.

"I see" Jungkook hears a new voice speak up.

He directs his attention to the taller of the two strangers, the one he had honestly forgotten was even there.

"It's nice to meet you, Jungkook-sshi," the man smiles.

It looks polite enough, but Jungkook can tell it is nothing more than that; polite.

This guy doesn't think it is nice meeting Jungkook at all.

"My name is Hoseok," he bows his head, again, politely, before gesturing next to him. "This is Yoongi."

Yoongi. Yoongi. Yoongi.

Jungkook commits the name to memory immediately as he levels his gaze back on Yoongi.

He deflates a little when he sees Yoongi isn't looking at him, but at Jimin as he continues to slot himself next to Jungkook.

He has a much more hardened mix of emotions in his eyes when they flash back to meet Jungkook's than he'd had before.

Some sort of wall that's been put up since seconds ago.

"Jungkook," Yoongi drawls and said boy almost preens at the way his name rolls so soothingly from the man's tongue before his elation abruptly ends. "...Park Jimin's boyfriend."

He instantly opens his mouth, ready to deny the title and disown the two hyung's that drove him there publicly, but is stopped when Taehyung kicks his leg at the same time Jimin gives his thigh a pinch.

Jungkook hisses at the sudden attack, clenching his jaw shut.

"Anyway, we didn't mean to interrupt. You three can get back to your meal," Hoseok comments with a forced smile.

Jungkook doesn't miss how his eyes linger on Jimin a little longer before he is stepping away from the table.

To his disappointment, Yoongi doesn't say another word, only bowing his head before he too backs away to take his place next to Hoseok.

When the two are a fair distance away, Jungkook turns to Jimin, eyes ablaze, ready to get to the bottom of what the hell just happened.

"What the fuck was that!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked!" Jimin answers, words a bit too loud as he pushes away from Jungkook, sitting even further away then he was before he'd glued himself to the younger.

"You panicked and your first instinct was to declare me as your boyfriend?!"

"I didn't want Hob- Hoseok," he corrects, "to think I was still hung up on him."

Jungkook huffs, turning his glare to Taehyung, silently telling him he can jump in anytime.

Instead of coming to Jungkook's aid, he ignores him entirely.

"Are you?" He asks and although Jimin doesn't answer, his silence speaks for itself.

"He's an asshole, Chim," Taehyung sighs with sympathy. "You deserve so much better."

"He is not an asshole!" Jimin defends. "He just... he got overwhelmed with school and work and- it was amicable. W-we both agreed on taking a break."

Jungkook wants to point out how stupid this whole situation is.

Bring up how Jimin could have done dozens of things besides introduce Jungkook as his boyfriend, but the glare Taehyung gives him– the warning to keep Jungkook's comments to himself– causes him to scowl and keep his mouth shut.

Jungkook knows Taehyung must understand by his expression what he was thinking when he mouths to him that they'll talk later.

We better Jungkook mouths back, picking up a few fries and stuffing them in his mouth angrily as he glared down at his plate.

Park Jimin's boyfriend?

There better be a good fucking reason he'd been embarrassed the way he had just now in front of the most beautiful man he's ever seen.

.......

It isn't until hours later when they are back at their apartment that Jungkook gets any sort of insight into what compelled Jimin to lie.

Apparently, Jimin and Hoseok had been high school sweethearts.

Hoseok was a year older than Jimin in school and they met when Jimin made it onto the high school dance team when he was in his last year of middle school.

Hoseok and Jimin got on right away, becoming best friend before they'd started dating during Hoseok's Junior year and Jimin's Sophomore.

They'd been together ever since.

Hoseok even put off going to college for a year so he and Jimin could go together.

Jimin was going to marry Jung Hoseok. He'd known that within weeks of them meeting.

They were now starting their third year of college and he was thinking Hoseok was going to be proposing soon as Jimin had been dropping some pretty heavy hints that he thought they were ready for that next step.

But, Hoseok thought differently.

He thought balancing work and school was becoming overwhelming, amongst other things.

Or so he'd told Jimin.

The couple had never really been without each other before, each other being their first real boyfriend.

Hoseok wanted them to have free time to do the things they'd missed out on.

Jimin agreed because what else was he supposed to say? He wasn't going to push Hoseok to do something he wasn't ready for. Something he obviously didn't want at that point.

So, "they"– Taehyung had made it a point to do air quotes as he stated the word– agreed on a break.

What Jimin assumed would last a week or two, a month at the most, has now turned into nearly five months and every day apart makes Jimin more and more anxious. More disheartened as well.

After some silence, Taehyung giving Jungkook time to digest the story, Jungkook exhales through his nose.

"That doesn't excuse that one of the hottest guys I've ever seen now thinks I'm in a relationship. Any chance I had with him was ruined in fucking seconds!" Jungkook scowls, annoyance settling in his chest.

"Who, Yoongi?" Taehyung's brows shoot up in surprise. "I hope you mean Yoongi because if you were eyeing Hoseok I might have to kick you."

"Yes Yoongi. And what's with you wanting to inflict violence on people?" Jungkook scoffs, a teasing edge to his voice. "Such an angry man all of the sudden."

"Am not," he pouts, crossing his arms over his chest as he drops onto the couch next to Jungkook.

"Are too." Jungkook pokes his cheek. "An angry man ready to kick everyone who crosses him."

"Only Hoseok." Taehyung frowns.

They don't say anything else after that, both staring at the black display of their flatscreen, lost in their own thoughts.

After picturing a scene of Taehyung gearing up to fight someone– which causes him to have to physically bite back his giggles because he's seen Taehyung try to punch a punching bag when he's gone to the gym with Jungkook and it's comedy gold– his mind drifts to Yoongi.

The pull he'd felt when he'd seen him.

How soft his features were– the round tip of his nose, his smooth skin and the delicate slope of his lips. How they made his sharp eyes even more captivating.

He really is likely the most beautiful man Jungkook has ever seen.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Taehyung voices suddenly, looking over at Jungkook. "Hoseok probably doesn't even care. He didn't seem very bothered by the news."

Jungkook swivels his head in Taehyung's direction, perplexed.

Jungkook would beg to differ on that. Hoseok seemed very affected by it all. Instead of sharing that with his friend though, he just nods.

He's suddenly much too tired to talk any more about this.

Apparently Taehyung seems to be tired too, yawning as he adds, "He'll forget about it soon enough. Just give it a few days."

It isn't Hoseok I want to forget about me being introduced as Jimin's boyfriend... Jungkook thinks, but again, he's too tired to speak more on this.

Besides, Hoseok and Jimin are who this is about, not Yoongi.

Despite his grogginess, Taehyung really sounds like he believes that Hoseok didn't care. That he doesn't care.

Jungkook can give Taehyung the benefit of the doubt. He obviously knows Hoseok better than he does.

Maybe Jungkook read the situation wrong and Hoseok really doesn't care.

Maybe.

With a groan, Jungkook stands up from the couch, announcing he's going to get ready for bed.

He's done talking about this. Who cares if Hoseok is concerned or whatever about what happened tonight or not.

Jungkook doesn't know the guy. Probably never will.

Besides, why should he waste his time thinking about Hoseok when he could be thinking about Yoongi?

Seems like a much better way to put his brain– his imagination– to work if you ask him.

So yeah. He'll forget about Hoseok.

He'll probably never see him again anyway.