A week had passed since Jimin brought Taehyung's attention to the cute baseball captain, and Taehyung had not been able to take his eyes off of him since. It was after one particular practice that Taehyung decided to just bite the bullet and introduce himself, after seeing Jungkook standing alone on the baseball pitch, mindlessly tossing a ball up and down. However, the moment he started to walk over there, he got interrupted by his name being called out from behind him.

"Where are you off to, then?" Hoseok's voice curiously chimed, smirking the moment Taehyung turned to face him.

"I thought I'd introduce myself to the baseball captain; he seems lonely over there," Taehyung casually shrugged his shoulders, attempting to act less bothered than he actually was.

Hoseok scoffed loudly, "you don't want to talk to him; the guy's a real loser."

"Well, I've never been one to prematurely judge a person," Taehyung bit his tongue to avoid pulling a face before turning around to leave, only to have his wrist grabbed and his entire body harshly yanked back.

"Why don't you come out with me instead? Practice is done with; let's go get some food."

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"Coffee then?"

"I hate coffee."

"Well, someone's playing particularly hard to get today," Hoseok laughed. "What about a milkshake? I know for a fact you love them."

Taehyung rolled his eyes, hating the persistence. Why couldn't he just take no for an answer? "I'm really not in the mood. Could you please let go of me?"

With an angry huff, Hoseok dropped Taehyung's wrist. "Some other time then." It was more of a statement than a suggestion, unsettling Taehyung. Taehyung only nodded in response, glad to have the ordeal over with and the chance to head off, which he did the moment Hoseok began to stride in the direction of the locker rooms.

However, his mood instantly shifted the moment he made his way over to Jungkook. There was a bounce in his step, a genuine smile on his face, and a cheer in his voice as he greeted the other from a slight distance away.

Jungkook startled, dropping the ball he was holding and immediately flushing red with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Taehyung laughed as he crouched down to collect the ball and returned it to an open-mouthed Jungkook. "It's nice to meet you; I'm Taehyung."

"I- I know..." Jungkook mumbled before awkwardly clearing his throat, as if his brain had only just caught up with his mouth. "I uh- I'm Jungkook."

"What a cute name for a cute boy," Taehyung teased in his naturally flirty manner. He sat down, patting the space beside him as an indication for the other to join him. "So, you're the baseball captain, huh? You must be pretty good to land that title in your first year."

Jungkook swallowed hard before reluctantly sitting down. He stared at his hands, trying to figure out what to say, completely at a loss for words. "I just have a lot of experience..."

"Lucky for you I like a guy with experience." Taehyung watched as Jungkook's eyes widened, biting the inside of his cheek to suppress the laughter bubbling within him. How was it possible for a guy to be this cute?

Meanwhile, in Jungkook's head, everything was blank. He couldn't believe this was really happening. THE Kim Taehyung, the boy he had been infatuated with for months now, was sitting down beside him and flirting. It was impossible in his mind that this was real life; there was no way this was real, not a chance in the world.

"Everything okay? You seem to be spacing out."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just- I'm fine." Jungkook awkwardly forced a smile, but he knew there wasn't a chance that Taehyung bought it.

"You don't have to be scared of me. Jimin told me you were shy, and that's fine; I'm not expecting you to act as if we've been friends for years." Taehyung smiled brightly, an action that slightly eased the tension overtaking Jungkook's entire body.

"Jimin talked about me?"

"Yeah! That weirdo told me to take a look at you last week; he was so determined as well. Maybe you remember me waving at you? Although you didn't wave back..." Taehyung pouted.

Jungkook could barely speak, "you were actually waving at me?"

"Of course I was! But it's okay, I'm not mad at you for not waving. Not everyone is as comfortable with strangers as I am. I do hope we can be friends though; you seem sweet."

Jungkook nodded, flashing a smile that looked much more genuine than the earlier one. Being friends with Taehyung would be a dream come true; there was no way he was going to turn down such a brilliant offer.

"I like your real smile," Taehyung said as he stood up, brushing the back of his skirt down as he glanced down at the other. "Unfortunately, I have to go; I have this annoying essay I have to get started on. But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh- yeah... I'd like that." Jungkook quietly replied, a pretty blush still gracing the apples of his cheeks.

"Great! See you then, Jungkook." Taehyung smiled wide before strutting off, purposely swaying his hips as he left, hoping the other boy was watching him.

A small giggle left Taehyung as he walked back to his dorm. He was happy with how the interaction went. Jungkook was intriguing; something about him made Taehyung eager to know more. There weren't many people in his life who could make him feel this joyous after a simple chat. But all that joy was drained out the moment a familiar face emerged from the shadows beside Taehyung's building, almost as if he had been lurking in wait for him to come home.

"You following me, pretty thing?" Hoseok had the nerve to say, as if he hadn't been standing beside a building he didn't live in this entire time.

"Clearly, I'm just trying to head back to my dorm; if I was following you, I would be on the other side of campus."

"Well, since I'm here, could I join you up there?" Hoseok smirked.

Taehyung sighed as he rummaged around in his bag for his keys; why were they always so hard to find? "I have an essay to do, so no."

"Wow, what's wrong with you today? Did someone piss in your cereal this morning?"

"I'm just tired. With practice and deadlines creeping up on me, I can't afford to waste my time," Taehyung bluntly said, rejoicing the moment his hand scraped the cold metal of his keys. About time he found them.

"I'm a great stress reliever-"

"I'll bear that in mind," Taehyung cut him off mid-sentence. He quickly unlocked the door of his building and stepped in, forcing a sweet smile as he spun around. "I'll see you at practice."

Not even another second passed before Taehyung closed the door in Hoseok's face, relieved for the exchange to once again be over. He briskly ran up the stairs, as if he was scared the other would somehow gain access to the building and trap him in yet another pointless conversation. The sooner he got into his own room, the better.

He was met with the sight of Jimin giggling at his phone as soon as he opened the door to his dorm, the sound settling his frustration right away. "Tae! Where have you been? Practice finished ages ago."

"Hoseok wouldn't leave me alone... twice. Oh, and I had a little chat with Jungkook," Taehyung nonchalantly said as he threw his bag onto the floor and flopped onto his bed.

"You spoke to him!" Jimin squealed happily, running over from his own bed and flopping down on top of the other. "Tell me everything."

"He was cute. Shy, which was expected, but cute. I flirted a bit, I didn't exactly plan to, but I couldn't help myself when I saw how red his face was."

"You flirted?! Oh my God. This is amazing."

Taehyung raised a brow, curious to know what the big deal was. "Care to share with me why you're so happy?"

"Jungkook is a great guy. Besides, it's great you're flirting with someone other than that dick Hoseok." Jimin shrugged, calming himself down. There was no way he was going to spill Jungkook's secret crush so quickly.

Taehyung hummed in agreement. "I didn't really see that until today; that guy is so pushy."

"Pushy? Did he hurt you?"

"No, nothing like that. He's just overly persistent. He kept pushing for a date, and then when I came home, he was lurking in the alley just waiting for me."

"He was lurking?! That's it, I'm reporting him." Jimin rolled off of Taehyung, storming back over to his bed to grab his phone, brows furrowed with anger.

"Don't you dare!" Taehyung lunged forward and snatched the phone from Jimin's hands. "You'll make things worse."

"Or he'll finally get the message," Jimin huffed as he tried to snatch his phone back.

"I can handle myself."

"Fine. But if he does it again, then I'm reporting him."

Taehyung smiled as he handed his best friend back his phone. "Now, I have an essay to write, so how about you cheer me on, give me some motivation."

"HERE WE GO TAETAE, HERE WE GO!"

"Okay, on second thought, just go back to texting your boyfriend and doing that cute giggle of yours."

Jimin pouted, "meanie."

"But you love me," Taehyung laughed.