♥ you're DOING IT WRONG! ♥

♥ PARK JIMIN ♥

♥ you are a horrible dancer! ♥

♥ LEFT STEP, RIGHT STEP! ♥

♥ l#ft step RIght stEp!!! ♥

.

"I'm fucking trying! Leave me alone!" Jimin tries to do the left step, right step in the bright showcase box he's trapped in. But whatever controls Jimin tries, Melonaju keeps stumbling over the dance moves and flailing his arms like a helpless child. Not even Pluto can help him on this one...Pluto is stuck in his own conundrum on the other side of the circus display box.

.

♥ JEON JUNGKOOK ♥

♥ CLIMB FASTER. ♥

♥ CLIMB HIGHER. ♥

♥ The AUDiENCE is WA1TING!!! ♥

.

"You fucking be patient, I can't climb this shit that fast...i-it's too fucking high, oh god...WHY IS THE FLOOR SO FAR AWAY UGGGGHHHH JIMIN YOU'RE SO FAR AWAY DOWN IN THAT BOX..."

Jimin bites his lip, his legs tangling for the umpteenth time in the difficult dance he's supposed to do for this stupid circus level. The audience members scowl murderously at his wiggling body through the glass, their tormented monkey faces drawn in warning. For some fucked reason, the full-house audience of this packed circus consists only of monkey-human hybrids, their features twisted with hair, and frankly, disturbing to behold. 

Over the emphatic chimes of the swirling circus music, they chatter amongst themselves passionately in primate tongue. Jimin considers asking Pluto what these creepy monkeys are spewing, but he decides to hold off. Jungkook is struggling too much with the tight rope task he was given to translate. Jungkook hasn't even climbed halfway to the platform yet!

.

♥ JIMIN! ♥

♥ The audience is NOT pleased. ♥

♥ The audience is VERY angry. ♥

♥ your ability is LACKING. ♥

♥ your worth is QUESTIONABLE. ♥

.

"YOUR WORTH IS MORE THAN THE ENTIRE GALAXY, MELONDANCER!" Pluto shrieks out in encouragement despite the shake in his voice, interrupting the game's hurtful message. From his spot in the circus display box as bearded lady who can dance! Jimin finds the yellow ant that is Pluto97 already halfway up the tall ladder. "PERILATION IS JUST JEALOUS OF YOU!"

"Thanks, Plute." Jimin snorts, trying once more to press A, then B, then the back analog stick bar in a swirl so Melonaju can spin in place-

"Shit!" His pawn's head slams against the glass, vision dots smearing across the visual field in the headset. Damn it! I fucked it up again! Come on Melonaju! Don't get dizzy on me. These monkeys are gonna break open this glass and throw bananas at me.

.

♥ JUNGKOOK! ♥

♥ CLIMB. ♥

♥ FASTER! :) ♥

♥ or else, the audience ♥

♥ W1LL TEAR 0UT YOUR USeLESS THR&OAT! ♥

.

"I'll tear out all of their throats with my own teeth before they can climb up to get you, Kook! Don't worry!"

Jungkook laughs nervously in the mic. Jimin shoves his thumb down on the controller, his pulse strips beating with an inclining rate. A, then B, then spin...DAMN IT!

"How are you supposed to get those monkfucks if you're trapped in a glass box?" Pluto slowly rises on the gray shaking ladder, the circus spotlight bright on his yellow body. Demented monkeys squeal harping insults from the packed stands, raising their fists in unison. Jimin frowns at their mounting agitation. Did they just understand him? They're pissed about monkfucks, haha!

"I'll make 'em mad enough at me to break the box so I can get out and fight 'em." Jimin asserts, falling again during a blundered pirouette. "These monkfucks already seem pre-tty angry at me for failing this bearded woman dance. And by the way, I do not have a beard, MONKFUCKS! I shave every morning, and I can bet you my face is as smooth as a baby's bottom!"

"I don't doubt it!" Pluto launches himself up the final rung of the ladder, landing on his sponge stomach at the top. Jimin can't see Pluto's pawn anymore--the bottom of the tight-rope walking platform is obscuring his view. "I've a baby's ass face too, MONKFUCKS! So soft!"

"You do?" Jimin punches his arm out, trying to express his inner, dancing Hoseok. However, Melonaju doesn't know Hoseok, so his dance moves are weak, ill-timed, and tasteless. The monkeys probably have a right to be pissed off--they paid good monkcurrency for this performance, and all they get to witness is a creepy sponge whining in rebellion and a purple-haired man twisting and crashing like a dented dreidel into the glass. "You should send me a picture to prove it so we can compare who has the assier face."

"Yeah I shoul--Ohhh no I won't! I see what you're doing..." Jungkook is invisible to Melonaju, but by the bloodthirsty restlessness of the monkeys, Jimin can assume that the sponge is just sitting up there doing nothing. What a show! What a circus! "You're clowning me! The assier face! Gosh, why do I talk to you."

"Correction, why do you yell to me?" Melonaju totters on his feet, skimming the corner of the glass with his foot and inevitably crashing onto the ground after another dance move. Jimin rolls his eyes, standing back up in the display case as the monkeys raise their arms. The circus music slowly molds into a booming minor key, the level's BGM amping up with the monkeys' chitters. "Jungkook, I think you need a volume switch sometimes. Your poor mother probably gets scared all the time when you're playing this cuz of how loud you scream."

"Naaaahhh." A sponge head suddenly leans over the platform in Jimin's sight. Waving out a squiggly yellow hand, Jungkook seems to be enjoying his lax time up on the platform, ignoring the few monkeys that are now buzzing in anger at his incompetence. Jimin waves back at him. The monkeys start pounding on the glass of the case. "My mom's used to my noisiness by now. You should hear my older brother..."

"Oh?" Jimin puts his hand by down by his side. "You hardly mention your brother." 

Jungkook goes silent on the platform, his head slinking back out of sight. Jimin frowns, now completely ignoring his dance and the stupid monkeys screeching at the glass. The circus music grows louder, trumpeting its warbled tune of joviality in a haunting manner. 

"Yeah..."

Jimin doesn't know if he should push it. Why hope for an answer if he's not gonna give it? But he asks anyway.

"Do you still film videos with him--your older brother?" 

"I..." 

(OOOH HOOOHH HOOHSaaoOOAHH!!!)

One monkey pounds ruthlessly into the glass, shattering it down the center. Jimin screams as the glass shards impale his character, blood squirting out of Melonaju's chest and stomach.

"Melonboy!"

.

♥ You two are awful ♥

♥ FAILURES. ♥

♥ THE AUDIENCE ♥

♥ is UpsET now. ♥

♥ fix it. ♥

♥ FIX IT. ♥

♥ FIXFi IXX fixXX iT!!! ♥

.

(OooOOH ooH ooo oOOHHAAHHHRRR!)

The monkeys pull Melonaju's injured body out of the glass encasement, holding his arms and legs as Jimin mashes the controller in an attempt to free himself. As he looks down at his body in the headset, he can see exactly where each glass shard enters his virtual flesh, maroon liquid draining from him. The brown, shaggy fur of the monkeys begins to splotch with red as they drag him away.

"HOW DO I FIX IT?! AAAAAHHH MONKFUCKS, LET ME GO!!"

.

♥ Jungkook needs to ♥

♥ FIX IT ♥

♥ with a performAncE! :) ♥

.

Melonaju is dragged to the center floor of the circus--arms and legs held by strong primates with devilish, hooting cackles. Within his ear, Pluto whines in fear, fake crying as his sponge head spots Jimin. 

"Melonnnhearrttt NOOO! You're all...bloody..."

"Yeah. It happens." Jimin sighs, trying but failing to unleash his body from the vice he's in. A chittering monkey shrieks at his behavior, slapping Melonaju across the face. "Ouch! Screw you, Monkfuck!"

"Uuuugggghhhhh...Jimin...I can't do this..." The sponge stands unconfidently at the edge of the platform, eyeing the extremely thin rope that extends in front of him with dread. "My...my controls...won't..."

Jimin senses the worry in Pluto's voice and takes a deep breath. If they're going go beat the level, then they have to stay calm. Stay calm and think this through. "You don't have to use the normal controls. Who says you have to walk across the tightrope? Can't you just use your arms? Or hang off of it like a koala?"

Jungkook hums in thought. "Oh, I didn't think of that. Sexy brain, Melonnerd! Wish I could have your mind!"

Jimin would blush, but a monkey hoots obnoxiously in his ear, ridding his urge to become flustered. Jimin would much rather receive compliments about his personality or abilities than about his appearance--although those are appreciated too--so Jungkook saying that about him warms his heart. Jungkook is really too nice.

.

♥ get out ON THE ♥

♥ TIGHTROPE, PLUTO97 ♥

♥ your audience wants ♥

♥ a SH0W! :) ♥

.

"You should probably hurry, Pluto." Jimin resists the urge to fight against these stupid monkeys. They're just going to keep slapping him, or worse. They could easily grab one of the glass shards and end Melonaju's life in the level...would that count as a failure? "My character's losing blood and my screen is starting to get fuzzy."

"Your voice is getting fuzzy too...damn it! Okay, Jungkook, you got this...fuck...fuck!" The sponge crawls forward onto the rope, instantly slipping to only his yellow hands. Jimin sucks in a nervous breath as Pluto dangles from the rope, inching forward with shaky fingers . "This is so fucking dangerous!!! What if I fall?! Ugghhh!"

"Just don't look down and keep moving forward! You can make it to the end, Kook." In his headset, Jimin swears he hears a tiny inhale from Jungkook's line at the nickname. Jimin thought of the name yesterday when he was mowing the front lawn, determined to set things straight about Pluto in his mind. 

We are only online friends. He has a crush on me, but lives in Busan, and he doesn't tell me anything about him. How does he expect me to...why is he mad that I'm not...ugh. Jimin had speed-mowed his entire grassy lawn under the sun, sweat pooling on his forehead. Thoughts of Jungkook and their awkward conversation fueled his stamina, and the lawn was finished in record time. 

Jungkook is really...really sweet to me but...he has to know that this is only for a game. Isn't that why he made the 'no personals' rule? We live separate lives. We are only online friends. Does he expect me to admit that I like him back and then...what? It's going to go no where. No, I think he wants me to say I don't like him so that he can move on because he even said himself it--it's impossible...but...I can't just lie to him...

"You can do it, Jungkook!! You got this!" Jimin tries to put as much enthusiasm in his voice as he can. Inside, he feels the unspoken tension between them since that phone call a few days ago, but neither of them are letting it show on the outside. They're beyond it; when it comes to Perilation, they put everything aside for the ongoing challenge. "I believe in you-"

.

♥ THE AUDIENCE ♥

♥ DOES NOT ♥

♥ BELIEVE IN YOU, ♥

♥ JEON JUNGK00K. ♥

♥ THE aUdiENce ♥

♥ HaTeSHATESs!HATES!! ♥

♥ YOU !!!!! ♥

.

"I'm the only audience member here that matters, and I don't hate you, Jungkook!!"

"Th-thanks..." Jungkook falls silent again with focus, struggling across the tight rope dangling from his hands. Every once in a while, the sponge's hand slips and regrips the rope, drawing sharp inhales from its human counterpart.

.

♥ Oh, MELONAJU... ♥

♥ We KN0W--CaL^cUlatINGg ♥

♥ you DON'T LIKE JUNGKOOK ♥

♥ your PULSE StriPS ♥

♥ tell all te♥ll all tell ..allTtell alL  ♥♥

.

"What?" Pluto wobbles on the wire. Jimin feels dawning horror as the blurry monkeys hustle to grab shards of glass off the floor, coiling their arms back. He kicks his legs out as the first circus monkey aims for Pluto on the wire.

"Stop!! Stop you fucking MONKEYS! DON'T THROW THOSE! STOP! Pluto, hurry up!"

At Jimin's frantic yelling, Pluto looks down at the far-far-far-off ground to check up on his friend. "What! What's--oh MY FUCKING GOD AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"DON'T LOOK DOWN! JUST IGNORE WHAT THE GAME SAID AND MAKE IT TO THE END!"

Pluto freezes on the wire, and in his headset, Jimin can hear quick breathing out of Jungkook's mouth. "Ignore what the game said? How can I? It literally just told me the person I thought was my friend doesn't like me."

"THE GAME IS LYING, JUNGKOOK! IT'S TRYING TO SPLIT US UP--TO RUIN OUR TEAMWORK! IT'S LIED SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT NOW! WHY WOULD YOU THINK I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND!"

Jungkook sighs, lifting his gaze back up to the rope and edging forward. "How do I know you're not just being nice to me and telling me what I want to hear like that Jinyoung of yours? To you, dealing with me could just be business as usual for you, just like tending to one of your customers--I could just be another variable for you to deal with in order to beat the game!"

"Jungkook, that's not-"

"How do I know you don't just pity me for having an unrequited crush on you and you actually talk smack about me to Jinyoung behind my back? How do I know-"

"Jungkook would you shut the fuck up! Shut up! We both know if you just lived in Seoul and I could actually fucking see you that I would totally go out with you!"

"...wh...what?"

(OOOOH AAAH Oooo oOOEEHUGH!)

At the same instant Jungkook is dumbfounded beyond his mind, the monkeys cajole a wartime song, chucking their sharp glass pieces at the sponge. Jimin angrily yells in his mic, both at the monkeys and the fact that he just fucking admitted liking Pluto back. He's been telling himself not to get too attached and to try and keep only the idea of them being friends in mind, but how can he? Jungkook basically knows him as well as Hoseok--they talk everyday, both in the game and outside of it--and no matter how mysterious Jungkook tries to be, Jimin still has a wealth of knowledge in his sparkly purple notebook about Pluto97 and all his weird habits.

"JUNGKOOK, MOVE!"

Jimin struggles against the constraints, breaking his left hand out of a monkey's grasp and using his freed fist to punch the face of the other monkey creature on his right. The primate shrieks in agony, releasing Melonaju into the circle of the circus tent right underneath Pluto. 

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Glass shards embed themselves into the sponge and his hands. Not long after Jungkook screams out, the sponge is plummeting towards the ground. Monkeys caw out random words of jubilation, all but forgetting about Melonaju's bleeding and dizzy form on the ground. A gasp leaves Jimin's glossed lips, and he raises his head to watch the sponge falling through the air, bloody and aggrieved. 

"PLUTO!" With the blurry, blood-loss graphics, it's difficult for Jimin to estimate depth in the headset. He rushes forward nonetheless, the dissonant circus music wailing from the speakers of the vast tent. Jimin reaches his virtual arms up, praying that his pawn can cushion the sponge's fall. "SHIT! I GOT YOU, JUNGKOOK! I'M RIGHT H-"

"AGH!"

A thunk echoes in Jimin's headphones and his vision cuts to a black screen. Pluto is silent on the other end...did the game cut his mic? Did he do it?

"Pluto? Jungkook? Did I catch you? Did I-"

.

♥ TA DA! ♥

♥ BEUAiTFUIL FIN4L AcTT!! ♥

♥ GReaT Sh0w! ♥

♥ Level 34: THE SPOTLIGHT ♥

♥ complee T?E! ♥

.

The cool, yellowish lights of the cathedral softly melt into his headset, and Jimin sighs. How getting bled out and screamed at by crazy monkeys is helping him overcome his fears, Jimin can't guess. But at least they finished the level! It was one of the more disturbing ones--they didn't laugh as much as they usually do today, but the task is completed. That's all that matters. One step closer to the Winner's Circle.

"We...did it?" Pluto is face down on the other end of the cathedral, his sponge face pressing against the cold marble floor. Jimin snickers as he approaches--Pluto looks so silly face down on the floor--then stops. Oh shit...he's going to ask me about that uh, confession, shit! 

"Uh, yeah. Hurray! We beat the level! Now, uh, I should really get going-"

"Oh no you don't." The sponge bends itself off the ground in an alarming, The Conjuring type fashion, pointing an accusational finger at Jimin's face. "No ho...nuh uh, not on my watch, not today folks, never in a million years, nada yada, zip, zilch, zero! chance of you leaving this town, no way outta this game, no permissible action to take, no way in heyday are you going to-"

Jimin signs off of Perilation, laughing his ass off. 

No way in heyday, Jungkook said. One button away, I say!

Jimin waits triumphantly, counting the seconds in his mind before his ringtone shouts out into the empty duplex. Giggling like a sassy child, Jimin runs to his room, answering the phone in a second. He brings it up to his ear like a shy teenage girl, fisting his crop top with the joy of his ruse.

"GOT YOU!" He chuckles, waiting for Pluto to start laughing. When he doesn't, Jimin gets worried he has just scared some poor telemarketer or spam caller. Shit, I probably should have checked the caller ID...

"The. Disrespect." There he is! Jimin laughs harder at the feigned disappointment in Jungkook's voice, launching himself on his bed. Eventually, Jungkook giggles a little too, glad that he made Jimin glad to be talking to his glad self. 

"You actually left me! Haha!"

"You asked for it. Why would you go off on a long paragraph of why I can't leave under your watch and expect me not to?"

Jungkook clicks his tongue. "I knew you would leave. I wanted you to."

"Pffft, no you didn't."

"Yes, I did! That headset is mighty itchy. Talking on the phone is better--I can hear your voice better. But it does kinda suck that I can't see pretty Melonaju in front of me."

This time, Jimin blushes and blushes hard. He's glad that Jungkook can't see him right now--can't see just how much this little comment affects him. "Hmm. I can't say the same about that sponge character. Kinda creepy, Plute. Kinda glad I don't have to see him."

"Oh, come on, you like him."  Jungkook says in a teasing voice. Jimin knows he's not just referring to the sponge...he's including himself.

Now there seems to be a stronger hint of confidence from Jungkook's end, and Jimin knows exactly why. "I also knew that the game was lying right when I got the message about you not liking me, but I wanted to see if you would defend yourself and...hah...and...admit..."

"Admit to liking you back?" 

Jimin's face is on fire, heart beating in his chest like a jackhammer. His hands nervously wring the bedsheet as he bounces in place, trying to keep a steady voice. Remember, this can't get too serious...he's just a friend, just an online buddy. "That doesn't mean I'm gonna speak to you any differently or give you the pleasure of telling you that everyday. You overstepped the bounds this time, Pluto." Your like for him was bound to come out sooner or later, Jimin! Who are you--who am I kidding?

"I don't care! I'd step over that bound again and again! Park Jimin likes me back, and even if I can't ever see him, it melts my heart to know that he likes me!" Jungkook laughs moronically on the other side, and Jimin tries really, really hard to picture what Jungkook might look like. He has some ideas in his head, based on the vague YouTube silhouettes and the single picture that was sent to him. Jimin really wants to see Jungkook's real smile, hair...and eyes...

"Since you snaked some personal info out of me-"

"You do that to me all the time, Melonsnake! You think I don't notice when you do that? I'm not as dumb as you think."

Shit... 

"Anyway, since you know I hate your ass and the feeling is mutual, can we video call? I know you said you're never going to see me, but like...you can? Not in person of course, but in video! You basically already know what I look like anyway...I'm a copy-paste of Melonaju."

"I bet you're prettier in real life."  Jungkook chimes without his usual joking tone. He's dead serious.

Jimin holds his chest dramatically, urging his heart to stop pumping so hard. If he gets too close to Pluto, it might be risky. It might hurt their friendship. And he doesn't want that. Having Jungkook as a go-to whenever he wants to rant about work or have someone tell him he's an awesome Melonboy is not something he wants to give up. 

"I could say the same about you. But for all I know, you're a nasty-lookin' sponge, dwelling at the bottom of some river in Busan-"

"I sent you that picture of me! Does that look like an ugly sponge!"

"Maybe that wasn't you in the picture...maybe it was someone else. Or even your brother!"

"No, it wasn't my brother. He doesn't live with us."

"Oh." Jimin makes a mental note to jot that down in his notebook later. He decides to steer the conversation back to them, so as not to upset Jungkook. "Well, if it was you in the picture, then I want to see more of your brown hair! And your black shirt! And your finger heart! And that fan in the background! Why not a video call!"

"Because...uggghh..."

"Because why? Are you self-conscious or something? Even if you're the most malformed, scary, monkey-faced sponge on the planet, I would still treat you the same, Jungkook. I'm not a meany."

"Uugghhh...why do you make this so hard for me..." Jungkook seems to be debating with himself. Deciding whether or not he wants to go through with it. "I know you aren't a meany, but...I'm not ready...uh...there's just...yeah, I'm not ready."

"Okay...yeah, okay." Jimin feels his heart drop, but Jungkook has considered it. That's a huge stepping stone from the 'no personals' days when Jungkook didn't even want to admit that he was Jungkook. "If we video call you could just show a black screen. I'm fine with showing my face, I mean, you pretty much see it virtually every day. Or you could just show your hands...and draw me a picture?"

"Draw you a picture!" The excitement in Jungkook's voice makes Jimin squeeze the pile of blankets harder. Jimin's cheeks hurt from smiling so much...he might actually get to video call Jungkook for the first time! As a friend, of course...two friends...with crushes on each other...who live in different areas of Korea... "That sounds fun! What should I draw!"

"So you're agreeing to this? Like seriously, honestly, no way in heyday you could be messing with me right now?" Jimin bounces higher on his bed, biting his lower lip in excitement. "Please say yes."

"_.__ . ..." (Yes.)

"WOOO!! YES!" Jimin scrambles out of bed towards his personal bathroom. If Pluto's going to see him, he needs to apply another few coats of shadow and gloss. And maybe change crop tops...he should wear his yellow crop top! Wouldn't that be ironic! "Okay, you wanna video call me in 10 minutes? I have to uh-"

"Doll yourself up?" Jungkook snickers, clapping his hands together once. "You know you don't have to do that for-"

"Yes, I do. Aaaahhh! I'm so excited to see you drawing! Oh wait, we didn't decide on what you should draw...oh! You should draw one of those shitty monkeys from the level we just beat. Except spice it up a little, draw us in the picture holding glass shards to its neck."

"MY GOD! Okay. That sounds awesome, and I'm so glad we're on the same page...OHAHAHHA-"

Pluto breaks off into an ecstatic giggle, and it's contagious. On Jimin's side, he's laughing while trying to rummage through his makeup bag, smiling graciously at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. After a few seconds of laughing in anticipation, Jimin says goodbye and hunkers down to dolling himself up. 

He knows he shouldn't be allowing himself to do this...hope is a very dangerous thing if left untamed...but he'll just have one fun day with this intangible crush. Just one video call with Pluto. Just a friendly talk. Just...

His phone starts ringing, but not with Toxic--with the ringtone of someone who's trying to video call him. Jimin's heart explodes in his chest--he quickly applies some sparkle gloss to his lips before rushing out of the bathroom, shrieking with nerves. Pluto is going to see him! Why is he so nervous!

Jimin's fingers fumble with his hair for a few moments, adjust his purple crop top in place (he couldn't find the yellow one with the time constraint) and unlock his phone. The screen Pluto97 wants to videocall... makes him so nervous that he presses the answer button and quickly tilts the camera up at the ceiling. He's too worried to show his face to Jungkook right away.

"Um...hello? What am I looking at..." Jungkook's voice is quiet over the speaker, and Jimin snaps a diagonal glance at the tilted screen to see the phone positioned on some kind of desk surface. Jimin lifts his chin, trying to make out the words on a note sitting in the middle of the screen. He furrows his brow...is that an h? Oh yeah, it says...'hello Melonb-'

"I can see your purple hair! Jimin?"

"Shit." Jimin quickly ducks back down out of the screen, his nosiness giving his hair away. "Well, I get what you mean when you say you weren't ready to show yourself...ugh! I'm so nervous! What if you think Melonaju is prettier?"

"I won't think that! I bet you're going to look..." Jungkook says something else, but the phone volume is too quiet. Jimin lifts his other hand up to the phone to try and raise the volume, but it's at such an awkward angle in his hand that he drops it.

"Dumb phone!" Jimin watches the phone bounce off of his mattress and cross the floor, managing to slide underneath the dresser. "Aw nooooo! Damn it! Jungkook, I can't hear you right now because I dropped my dumbass phone under the dresser...ugh, hang on, let me get it!"

Jimin drops to his stomach, squinting under the heavy piece of furniture. Way at the back of the crevice, he spots a tiny bar of light. That must be his phone, face down. 

"Okay, there's no way I can reach that. I'm gonna have to move this whole fucking dresser. Just my fucking luck! I'm telling you, Jungkook...all this week I've had bad luck! I've been losing bets at work, getting stuck with more hours...stupid dresser! Why won't you move! Ugh, it won't move...well, now what. God damn it. If only you were here to help me move this-"

("JIMINNNN! YOUR SAVIOR IS HOOOMMEEE!")

"Yes!" Jimin bends down to the bottom of the dresser, shoving his face in the open area. "Okay, Jungkook, Hoseok just came home and he's going to help me move this dresser. If he asks, I'm telling him you're Pluto97, 'kay? I don't wanna tell him about your identity yet because he's going to scold me for breaking Jinyoung's heart if he knows that I actually like someone else-"

"HI JIMIN!" Hoseok bursts in the room, bringing his sunshine energy with him. "Why are you on the floor, Thick Stuff? Dropping it back so early in the day? Or did you fall during your squat reps?"

"That's not what I was doing, damn you, Hobister-" 

"Hey!" Hoseok raises a fist at the nickname, but lowers it at the sight of Jimin's desperate face. "What's wrong?"

 "Okay, so...I dropped my phone under the dresser and now I can't reach it. Can you please help me move this fat ass dresser so I can get it?" 

Hoseok quickly nods, shuffling over to the dresser. Jimin gets an awkward hold of the tall piece of furniture, and soon him and Hoseok are struggling to pull it away from the wall. "How'd you get your phone so buried under this thing?"

The dresser wobbles, slowly scooting towards them. Hoseok nudges an object with his foot and gasps.

"Well, I was trying to turn up the volume and-"

"Oooh! You're video calling someone!!" Hoseok bends down to retrieve the phone, filling up the screen with his bubbly presence and wide smile. "HI WHOEVER THIS IS! I'M HOSEOK, JIMIN'S ROOMMATE!"

"Stop Hobi, you'll scare-"

"Hello Hoseok!" The voice is soft, and Hoseok speedily turns up the volume, giving Jimin an 'I bet you couldn't turn up the phone volume this good 'kind of look. Jimin rolls his eyes, listening in for Jungkook's voice. "It's Pluto97! Just trying to chat with Jimin. How's school going, Hoseok?"

Hoseok gives Jimin a shocked expression--the real Jinyoung doesn't really ask about Hoseok much. Jimin can't help the smile on his face at hearing Jungkook's interest in him and his friend's life. "Oh, uh...good! I just finished my last chem final! I think I did well too! But do you have a cold? You sound a little nasally. And why aren't you showing your face?"

"Ah, I'm afraid I've caught a bug at the law office...so I'm not looking too hot today, haha! Jimin wouldn't want to see me like this, I don't look half as nice as I do for him at Radon."

Jimin cheers internally, applauding Jungkook's stellar improv skills. Jungkook even remembered that Jinyoung is a law intern--not to mention the name of the bar! Ah, Jungkook...you're truly something else.

"Oh, I'm sure Jimin doesn't care how you look--my Jiminie isn't shallow like that." Suddenly, Jimin's cheeks are squashed between the hand of his friend, and Hoseok zooms the camera in right to Jimin's smushed face. Eyes widening at this less-than special introduction, Jimin quickly jerks out of Hoseok's grasp and ducks out of sight of the camera.

"Oh, come on." Hoseok laughs at Jimin's restlessness and points at the hue of pink now dusting his cheeks. "Jinyoung has seen you look muuuccch worse, Jimin...haha! Get it? Cause you two had-"

"SHUT IT!"

 "Am I right, Pluto97?!"

"Um...yep." Jungkook mutters through the speaker.

Jimin tears the phone out of Hoseok's grasp, reeling on his friend. "I swear Hoseok! Stop trying to embarrass me or else I will break both of your legs so that you can't do Pilates anymore."

Hoseok pales at the comment, slinking out of the room with a wary look on his face. "Fine, you win this round, Thick Stuff. But you better not be doing anything kinky over video call now that I'm home-"

Jimin swats at the air. "HOSEOK!"

Hoseok leaves with a shit-eating grin, shutting the door quietly. Jimin is so enraged by Hoseok's behavior that he doesn't even notice that he's been pointing the camera at his face this entire time. When he comes to his senses, he blinks in a daze at the phone in his hand. A high-pitched, wheeling laugh is spilling sweetly from the speaker.

"HAHaAHhA! Please don't break both of his HAHAHAAH legs! Ohh...whew...oh okay. No, I swear I'm HAHAHAH fine...whew..." When Jungkook collects himself, he says something that makes Jimin's knees weak. "Well hi there Park Jimin. Nice to finally see you! You're twenty billion times more gorgeous in real life, and I didn't realize anger looked so good on you..."

"Uhh...um-"

"And that blush! You're stunning! You look nothing like Melonaju! That gloss! That eye shadow! Do I have the right person on the line--am I video calling a Greek God? Is this truly Park Jimin?"

"Ohhhhhh my Gooooddddd sttooooopp..." Jimin settles on the bed, sitting against the backboard with the phone propped in between his knees. He covers his face in embarrassment at Jungkook's admiring words...never has he enjoyed someone telling him he looked good as much as now. No crazed, drunken bar stragglers' words could compare to this moment, to Jungkook telling him how pretty he looks. Jimin is a full tomato now, face burning with the onset of praise. 

"Take your hands away from your face, I can't see the merchandise!"

"No!" Jimin peeks out from between his fingers. "How about you start drawing, yeah can you start drawing?"

"Ugh, fine. I love that hair color on you by the way. And...wow! Your hands are so tiny! Why are your hands so small?"

"So what if they are?" Jimin tears his hands out of the frame self-consciously, choosing not to look at the screen. He stares at the wall instead, trying to ignore the burning pleasure radiating all around him. Jungkook thinks I'm stunning...? But he doesn't like my hands-

"Small hands are cute! Look at mine, they're way bigger than yours."

Jimin leans foward, staring at the two hands that appear in the frame. They're the same hands that Jimin has seen before on a few YouTube videos, although these ones are a bit larger. The owner has surely grown (and matured? not really...) during that time, including his hands.

"I like your hands, yep, I like them, so handy! Now you should show me your face."

"HAHA! That wasn't subtle at all."

"I don't care if I'm being subtle. We both know now that I secretly hate you, and-"

"You actually like me-"

"I like you and-"

"You want to see my face-"

"Yes, but-"

"You're really cute-"

"Hey! That's not what-"

"I was going to say!"

Jimin tosses his phone across the bed, giggling happily as Jungkook's soft AAAAAAAAHHH flies away from him. It's almost like he's throwing a miniature Jungkook across the room. When he crawls over to the phone on the other side of the bed, his torso gets into the frame and Jimin flinches back at the squeal that comes out of the other side. 

"You really are wearing a crop top!"

Jimin blushes, snatching the phone and bringing it back to his face. "Yes...yes, that would be me."

"Can you do a full body shot? I wanna see if you are really as bad a dancer as the monkeys in the level seemed to think."

"Why haven't you drawn those monkeys yet?" Jimin avoids the question. He feels his entire body buzzing in both excitement and nervousness at the idea of showing Jungkook his whole body. Why? He doesn't know.

"If you do one twirl for me, just one, Meloncutie, I'll draw a thooouuusand monkeys."

"A thousand? No you won't."

"Haha! No, I won't. Can you please twirl for me now?"

"Fine...okay..." Jimin's eyes crinkle in a whipped smile as he looks around for a good place to set up the phone. "I'll twirl only once!! Only once! But you have to draw the monkey right after so I can judge your artistic skill, mmkay?"

"Okay, Melonheart."

Jimin grins, propping the phone on his dresser and getting in a spinning position. Jungkook hollers and whoops him up a bunch before he starts, making him feel all warm and jittery. Jungkook finds Jimin's outfit super cute! and complements his exposed tummy as icing on the cake.

That night, Jimin ends up doing dozens of twirls in his purple crop top outfit, soaking in Jungkook's claps and cheers for his lovely performance.

...

...

...

A/N:

WOah, guess I popped off on this chapter a little (5.9K words!)

my minD is BOGgled! i'm all giggly and oh god,

what's happening?

ANYWAY! I hope ur liking the story so far and I have PART TWO PLUTO ROOMS TRAILER up for you, but don't expect it to be any good, it's just for shits and giggles, okay? Don't judge my laughable editing...it's for entertainment purposes only... :)

alas. I love you all, thanks for reading! Keep smiling today--don't let any circus monkeys attack you!

.. __.. __.. _.__ (izzy)