The sound of keys rattling and the doorknob turning made Namjoon swing his head towards the direction of the hall from where he stood in the kitchen, then he watched as the door opened and Kim Taehyung strolled on past the frame.

"Daddy's home!" The man called out, flicked his shoes off and proceeded to the kitchen. Namjoon picked up a set of chopsticks to his left and began to stir inside a pot atop the stove.

"Hey kid, dinner's almost done." The older replied with his back still facing the other, and Taehyung gave a curt hum while he proceeded down the hall to his bedroom.

And it was precisely in that moment when he walked in to find a familiar woman, half naked, standing right in the middle of his room.

Yerin squealed out in shock, instinctively grabbing a pillow from the bed and throwing it directly at the male. Taehyung laughed loudly as he dodged the incoming attack with ease.

"What the fuck, Taehyung!"

The man whistled, stepped towards his desk while he removed his jacket. "Hey now, it's nothing I haven't seen before, darling."

Yerin shot him a glare. "You're such a creeper."

"Nice bra."

"Pervert."

Taehyung threw his jacket onto the nearby chair and huffed. "You're the one changing in my bedroom. The fuck are you even doing here?"

Yerin scoffed, making hurried movements to slip on the dress that had been laid out across the mattress. "I have a date with Hoseok, asshole. And I left my good dress stored here in the remaining luggage I have."

Taehyung nodded slowly, then began to remove the remainder of his clothing, starting first with his shirt.

"Uh, now why the hell are you undressing?"

"Shower," he hummed, now in mere boxers while he reached for a fresh towel from the closet. "You look pretty in that dress."

"You haven't even taken one look at me since I put it on."

It was then that Taehyung lifted his head to make eye contact, an upwards tilt at the corner of his lips. "I didn't have to, to know that you look good." He stared for a moment. "And it seems I was right."

Yerin's eye twitched. "You're so annoying."

"I know," the man grinned and spun around to make his way towards the bathroom, but before he could completely exit, Yerin's voice called out again.

"Oh and—Taehyung?"

He stopped, turning back to look at her with a rather indifferent expression. "Come on now... there's no one here but us, you know. Won't you call me by my name and not his?"

Yerin let out a quiet breath, fingers reaching to clasp together as she gazed at the man's dark eyes. Eventually, she gave a faint nod.

"Sorry, V..." she corrected herself.

The male's lips lifted. "Good. Now what is it?"

"I was going to say... thank you."

"For?"

Yerin turned to grab the clothing she had just changed from. "You know... For the compliment on the dress. Even though it was kinda lame, cheesy, and made you sound like an old man."

Taehyung chuckled softly. "You're welcome. Have fun on the date."

With that he disappeared from the bedroom and Yerin heard the shower switch on. She let out a long breath and walked back over towards the living room where she began to store the clothes into her bag.

"You won't stay for some ramen?" Namjoon's voice called from the kitchen, causing the woman to instinctively shake her head.

"Nah, we'll be going out for dinner anyway. Thanks, though!" She called back, then heard the doorbell go off soon after. Yerin zipped up her bag, strolled over to the front and swung the door open to see a wide-eyed cute boy on the other side.

"Noona?" Jeongguk spoke up with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"My favorite little bunny!" Yerin squealed, reaching to wrap the boy in a hug. "I just came here to get changed for my date! You here for Taehyungie?"

The boy returned the hug and nodded cutely. "Yeah, I just finished a class and all, so..."

"Well he's in the shower," Yerin said, stepping to the side to allow the boy in before she shut the door. "And, uh... My brother's in the kitchen."

Jeongguk was halfway down the hall before he came to a full stop at her words. "Your-... Wait, Kim Namjoon? He's here?!"

Yerin gave an amused giggle. "What's with that reaction? A little gang leader scares you?"

"No, I just, I-... I've never met him before and all I know about him is that he's the leader of Bangtan, and... and he's your brother, and... apparently he means a lot to Taehyung, so—"

"So you want him to like you?" Yerin cracked a grin.

Jeongguk's face heated up. "No! Well, yes, of course, but.... But not because—"

"Ramen's ready!" A husky voice came from further inside the apartment, and Jeongguk squeaked out in response. Yerin laughed at the boy's agitated reaction and grabbed onto his shoulders to guide him towards the kitchen.

"Relax, child. He's not scary at all," the woman whispered, then soon the two were standing behind the kitchen counter, and Namjoon turned around with two bowls in his hands. "Joonie! There's someone you should meet~" She gave the boy a back hug with a large smile on her face. "This is Jeonggukie! He's my son."

Namjoon gave a quiet chuckle as he settled his gaze at the smaller boy, then his eyes narrowed while he stared profusely at him. Jeongguk blinked repeatedly as he gave a shy wave, then his eyes progressively became large while the two men both came to the same realization.

"Oh, you're—"

"Hey, aren't you—?"

They both began their sentences at the same time before suddenly falling silent, and Yerin slowly detached herself from the younger as she gazed between the two in confusion.

"What's this? Do you two know each other?"

Jeongguk hopped in place. "You said your name was Joon, but— I didn't think you were Kim Namjoon! You're Yerin's stepbrother!?"

Namjoon laughed again, a handsome dimple appearing on his cheek. "And you're the infamous Jeon Jeongguk."

"Hello? Can anyone answer my question?" Yerin spoke up again with a scowl on her face. Jeongguk grabbed onto her arm excitedly.

"Your brother saved my life!"

Yerin scratched at her head. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"When we came back from the US, I stopped by here to see Tae and saved some distracted little man from almost getting hit by a truck. I didn't know back then that it was Jeongguk here," Namjoon explained, placing the bowls down onto the counter. "Will you join us for ramen, Mr. Jeon?"

The boy shyly nodded his head, a crimson blush on his cheeks.

"What the fuck, Ggukie, you need to watch where you're going!" Yerin scolded from beside him. "What do you think was going to happen if Namjoon wasn't there?"

"Sorry.." Jeongguk mumbled, taking a seat over a tall stool and tapping the one beside him. Yerin raised a finger and shook it.

"Can't stay. Late for my date. You boys have fun," she spoke the words quickly before moving to retrieve her bag, though not before she gave Namjoon a knowing look. "When Tae comes out of the shower, make sure he behaves, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Namjoon grinned, "I got him under control."

Yerin raised a brow. "You sure?"

The older man waved her off. "Yeah, I always do. Now go."

Jeongguk glanced between them, a bit confused over their conversation, but he was far more distracted by the man with silver hair and bulged biceps in front of him. To think that this whole time, the handsome stranger from back then turned out to be Kim Namjoon, the leader of the Bangtan gang. Surely, the boy hadn't had enough time to process it all.

"Mwah, goodbye! Catch up later!" Yerin called off as she disappeared down the hall and soon the apartment altogether. And when the door shut the two men were left alone in a peaceful silence.

"I'll pour you some ramen while we wait for Tae."

Jeongguk nodded at the older's words and watched as the man did just that, the delicious aroma filling his nose. Straightening his posture, he tried not to stare at the muscled man while he filled his bowl with the freshly cooked noodles. Namjoon then took a seat across from him and flashed him a friendly smile as he readied to dig in.

"So I suppose you know," he began after having slurped some noodles into his system, "About me being RM, leader of Bangtan?"

"Yeah..." Jeongguk replied in a quiet voice, stared directly at his bowl in order to avoid eye contact. "I won't tell anyone, though. I promise."

"I know you won't." The male had a faint smile on his lips, which made Jeongguk feel oddly trusting of him. Hoseok, Yerin and Taehyung all trusted this man. So despite the scary reputation, he did too. "Does Taehyung treat you well?"

"Oh, um.." Jeongguk looked up at the question, his heated cheeks becoming warmer. "Yeah. He does."

Namjoon hummed to himself, leaned forward to continue eating the noodles, then looked to the boy calmly. "You're lying."

Jeongguk blinked. "W-Well, no, I—"

"You mean he doesn't do anything—not anything at all, that makes your heart waver?"

The boy became silent, somewhat understanding what Namjoon had really meant to ask him. He shifted a bit in his seat and mustered up a smile. "Taehyung means well. I know he does."

Namjoon stared intently at him, scrutinizing the boy with every second that passed. And eventually he let a short chuckle slip out.

"You're right," he caught noodles between his chopsticks. "He does."

Jeongguk let his gaze on the man linger before he, too, got back to eating. Then, after a few seconds of the two taking time to chew, the boy spoke again.

"So how do you know Taehyung? Um... when did you two meet?" His eyes seemed eager, an innocent curiosity to hear such a story.

Namjoon leaned an elbow over the counter. "We met in juvie."

Jeongguk's half smile faded, surprised at such an answer. Though he knew perhaps he shouldn't have been. "Oh. Really? That's... I'd say it's unexpected but I guess it's really not." Another pause. More chewing. "What were you in for?"

"Eh, I did some dumb shit. I was in another gang back then, since... at the time, of course, Bangtan didn't exist. They practically blackmailed me into stabbing someone they wanted to get back at. Some real stupid youth shit, really. The guy turned out fine, though."

The boy listened, then slowly asked his next question. "And... Taehyung? What did he do?"

Namjoon leaned back and chugged some water into his system before meeting the boy's gaze. "Well, that's... something you should ask him directly," he answered, a somewhat serious expression on his face. "But... not today. Maybe someday. I don't know how long you two have known each other but it certainly hasn't been long enough for you to be asking him such a thing."

Jeongguk gulped quietly. "W-... Why not?"

"He doesn't like to talk about it. That's it."

The younger watched as Namjoon then finished his bowl and proceeded to get seconds. He looked down at his own half eaten noodles and resumed eating. Then, just as he was about to direct the conversation towards a new topic, a deep voice emitted from behind them.

"Jeon."

The young boy turned to see Taehyung standing a few feet away, dressed in sweatpants and a dark t-shirt, hair wet. A simple look that somehow managed to make the already handsome man seem even more drool-worthy.

"Oh, hey Taehyung," Jeongguk smiled timidly. "I just wanted to drop by and see you."

"What for?" The man stepped in rather casually, flicking at his damp hair.

"To apologize again... for your camera," the boy spoke, and watched as Taehyung plopped down on the seat across from him, beside Namjoon.

"My camera? Why, did you break it?"

"No, um..." Jeongguk raised a confused brow. "You just seemed a little mad at me for giving it back so late..."

"I did?" Taehyung chuckled, dark eyes filled in amusement. As though the situation they spoke of was about someone else rather than himself. Jeongguk was a little perplexed by that. "That's fucking dumb. You gave it back when you could, so... It's fine."

Jeongguk forced a smile, not quite having expected such a cool reaction from him. Then, he hesitated before giving a slow nod. "Oh. Okay. That's good, then."

"So hey, remember when I told you I saved someone's life?" Namjoon suddenly cut in, giving a shove at Taehyung's arm.

The man laughed. "No?"

"Well it turns out it was Mr. Jeon over here."

Taehyung's brow perked up. "Shit, so that means you two knew each other already?"

"Apparently.." Jeongguk gave a short, timid laugh.

"Right, though I only know the things I've been told about you from others. I'm sure it's been the same for you." Namjoon stood from his seat and began to clean up after his meal, then moved to secure his phone into his grip and look up at the other two boys. "Gotta run now. It was nice meeting you, Jeongguk."

"Ah—already?" Jeongguk's big eyes enlarged, causing the older to coo gently at him.

"We'll have more time to talk later on, kid," Namjoon grinned at the boy he'd found to be absolutely adorable. Jeongguk gave another shy nod. "I'll message you later, Tae."

"Yuh-huh."

And soon after the man had exited the apartment, the other two males were left alone at the kitchen isle. There was a stagnant silence that fell in the room while Jeongguk watched Taehyung slurp at his noodles quite loudly. Eventually, Jeongguk's soft voice interrupted the lull in the atmosphere.

"I also... came here for another reason, you know..." The boy poked at his bowl with the chopsticks in hand, unable to look directly at the guy sitting across from him.

"Yeah?" Taehyung munched, "And what's that?"

Jeongguk's hands formed fists, a fiery determination rising in his eyes. This time, he was able to lift his gaze. "To see if I made the right choice or not..."

Taehyung's head tilted in curiosity, unable to read into the boy's intentions.

"And to... recalibrate myself? Yeah... Uh, s-something like that."

Taehyung lowered his head, slurped in more noodles, and was back to staring at the younger. "I don't understand. Explain."

Jeongguk moved quickly to devour the remainder of his food, then made a sudden movement to stand up. "Just-... just wait here a second." Just like that, he grabbed his bag and disappeared down the hall.

Taehyung's prominent brows tilted in raw confusion, unsure of what the boy was getting at, but decided to pay no mind to it while he returned his attention to his meal. He lifted the noodles, chewed on them, lifted, chewed, repeated the process, until there were none left. Then he brought the bowl up to get the broth too, and as soon as he put it back down onto the counter Jeongguk had reappeared in front of him, a few feet away.

He licked broth residue from his lips, his eagle eyes locking on to the younger's new appearance.

Jeongguk still wore the same white t-shirt over his chest as he did when he'd came in. Except now, much to Taehyung's surprise, the garment hugging the boy's small waist and drooping down his perfect milky thighs with grace was none other than a pale pink, pleated mini skirt.

Taehyung's jaw nearly dropped. Jeongguk's cheeks were an identical color to his skirt, a shy demeanor to his stance while he struggled to maintain eye contact with the man who suddenly only seemed hungrier now, despite just having finished a meal.

"S-So..." Inevitably, the pitch of Jeongguk's voice was slightly higher now, perhaps from the flustered state he was in. But he knew. He needed to commit to this all the way through. "W-What do you think, daddy...?"

✱