The door clicked open, residues of hot steam emerged from its crevice, and the gap widened once Namjoon pushed the doorknob and began walking out towards the hall. He patted a small towel over his damp hair while he stepped further away from the bathroom, a yawn escaping his lips once he reached the living room.

After their long dinner, the gang leader had dropped Yerin off at home and then returned back to his apartment with Taehyung. Or rather, truly, it was Taehyung's apartment, that Namjoon had just happened to make himself a tenant in, every now and then.

And after a long shower Namjoon poured a fresh glass of milk for himself and began to chug it, hand coming to rest over the marble countertop in leisure. When he then lowered his head and sighed in audible satisfaction, his gaze settled over a small prescription bottle that had laid tipped over near the sink, pills splattered over the counter.

The man blinked slowly, turned his head to look out across the empty living room and then back toward the scattered pills, pupils quickly growing wide.

"Taehyung?" He suddenly called out, making one swift movement to place his glass down and dash out from the kitchen.

He made a beeline towards the younger male's bedroom and burst through the open door without time to knock even once, only to find that the man wasn't there.

"Taehyung?" He called again, kicked open the door to the bathroom that was directly connected to the room, and wasted no time in turning back around once he'd found that who he was looking for wasn't there either.

Namjoon's heart rate began to pick up while he sped down the hall, teeth gritting subconsciously. When he finally reached the living room again, he heard the balcony door swing open, and Taehyung emerged from the glass panel.

"Taehyung, for fuck's sake.." Namjoon mumbled under his breath, then watched attentively as the man's unfocused eyes settled over him.

"Hyung?" Taehyung spoke in a raggedly deep voice. Namjoon instinctively froze for a moment, allowing the male to continue. "I.. can't really see.."

He saw the way Taehyung's eyes squinted at him, his stuttered steps, the way his hand remained over the wall as if to stabilize himself. And that was all it took for the older to take immediate action.

That being, he plunged forward, secured an arm over Taehyung's hip and used every bit of strength he had to haul the man back down the hall; towards the nearest bathroom.

"Lean over, Tae. Quick." Namjoon commanded quietly beside his ear while settling the male to his knees over the open toilet. And with no time to waste he shoved two fingers inside Taehyung's mouth, pushed deep in, and retreated them just as quickly, right before the man was spewing up chunks of vomit down the porcelain toilet. Namjoon slapped a firm hand repeatedly over Taehyung's back, urging the man's puke out and watching the distress over the younger's face. The shut eyes, green complexion, scattered hair strands.

He ignored the ache in his chest.

"You're alright.." he whispered, the slams now becoming gentle rubs on Taehyung's back. "It's okay now."

"F—," a curt cough escaped the man, "Fuck..." After what felt like a long moment of waiting, and the occasional residual vomit, Taehyung soon gripped onto the sink counter beside him and hauled his body up slowly. "Shit, I just.. threw up our entire fucking dinner."

Namjoon lifted himself from his squatting position and reached to flush the toilet. "Really, that's a small price to pay to make sure that shit was out of your system," he huffed, and wiped a hand over his forehead. "I'll make you a quick dinner and some tea. Then it's off to bed, alright?"

Taehyung stared down at the floor, almost as though to recalibrate himself from the nauseous feeling that lingered in his stomach.

"Who was... fronting before me?"

Namjoon looked at him, watched as the man switched the water on and began to splash his face with cold water.

"Vante." The man said firmly, one hand digging to his pocket. "I suppose... he found out where the pills are."

Taehyung showed no reaction, his stagnant facial expression persisted while he grabbed his toothbrush and began to coat it with paste.

Namjoon continued. "And he told us about Jeongguk."

Taehyung kept quiet still, brush scrubbing over his teeth, body leaned forward over the sink while his bangs cascaded down his face. Namjoon stared for a while longer, a disheartened breath left his lips, and he turned to exit the bathroom altogether.

※ ※

Yoongi waited, outside the auditorium, on a spacious hallway with marble flooring so polished one could see their reflection on the surface. He pressed his back against the wall, admired the high ceiling and the delicate decor that complimented the concert hall's overall architecture. The place itself was prestigious, sure. But after having witnessed Park Jimin's performance with his own eyes, he thought surely whatever reputation this place had was no match to the blond boy's true worth.

"Hyung! Hey, sorry I kept you waiting," said blond boy called out from a distance beside him, and Yoongi lifted his head to see Jimin approaching him with a sheepish smile. He was back to his regular clothes, his large duffle bag seeming too big for his small body, and the strands of hair clinging to his face was proof of the exhaustion he underwent for his big performance.

"That's... alright," the older replied gently, hands digging into his pocket while he detached his back from the wall.

"What did you... think of the performance?" Jimin was quick to ask, a somewhat timid tone to his voice, one that Yoongi could only think to be adorable.

"It was..." he trailed off, looking off to the distance as though to think of a word that would most appropriately convey what it was he truly thought of the dance. "Breathtaking, really. I truly think that was the best piece of work I've ever laid eyes on, in my entire life."

A deep crimson blush crept up over Jimin's face, his small hands moving to cling onto his bag strap. "What... Seriously..?"

"Seriously." The man's response was firm. Solid.

And just like that those very words seemed to circle around Jimin's mind in a constant loop; even as they walked out under the night sky, Jimin's feet following after Yoongi's step while he guided him to wherever his car must've been located. But before they could barely get even ten feet away from the concert hall building, Jimin heard a strangely familiar voice call out to him.

"Jimin! Hey, Jimin!"

He stopped and turned to look over his shoulder to see a man approaching him with waving arms. Yoongi, too, stopped to assess the situation, and it didn't take long for both of them to recognize just who it was approaching them.

Jimin's jaw dropped. "Hyung, what—... What are you doing here in Daejeon?!"

"Oh, I..." Hoseok slowed down once he approached the boy, his wide grin gently dissipating once he took a look at the man who stood beside Jimin. He paused for a moment, looking between them before his smile returned to his face. "I see.. So this is how you managed to make it on time. Yoongi drove you?"

Jimin swallowed while nodding slowly, watching how Hoseok bowed lightly towards Yoongi, who returned the gesture.

"Apologies, I... got into contact with Gguk who said you found a means of transportation for the performance. I just assumed you took the train so I drove out here to come pick you up.."

The blond's eyes enlarged. "Y-You... drove all the way out here..? For me?"

"Of course, Jiminie!" The red haired flared his radiant teeth while digging to ruffle Jimin's hair. "Really sorry I couldn't make it in time to watch the real performance. I'm sure you fucking killed it out there."

"He did," Yoongi spoke up, and both males' eyes were on him while his own stared directly towards Jimin. "He was absolutely stunning."

The younger opened his mouth to say something in response, but not a single word could make it past his lips.

Hoseok looked at him with an unusually earnest stare. "He always is."

The breeze swept over Jimin's flushed cheeks, and the three males stood there for a brief silence, until Yoongi reluctantly spoke up.

"Hey, so... It's pretty late to be driving back to Seoul for hours, don't you think?"

The red haired scratched the top of his head while watching the older pull out his phone and begin to navigate to some site. "Yeah, I guess so."

Yoongi lifted the device, "I'll look for some hotel we can stay at in the meantime. Then we can just drive back early tomorrow morning, no?"

Hoseok nodded. "Good idea. You lead the way and I'll follow behind in my own car."

"Alright," Yoongi's cold breath left his lips, and then his eyes were on the blond boy. "Jimin can go ahead and join you."

"What—," Jimin's brows rose. "What about you?"

"Yeah, that's nonsense, hyung." Hoseok waved a hand in the air. "You two came out here together, so I can manage a short drive by myself."

"That's alright. I'm sure your drive here was lonely, so.." The older trailed off, moving on ahead down the street to find his parked vehicle.

Jimin and Hoseok stole a glance at each other, to which the blond looked away shyly and smacked his hand lightly over the older's arm. "Well...? Hurry up and lead the way to your car... It's freezing out here."

Hoseok cracked a small grin and nodded. "Mhm. Let's go, Jimin-ah."

※ ※

Jimin stared out the car window, the light sound of pop music seeping through the car speakers, and he found himself glimpsing over at the red haired man who was focused on the road ahead, eyes attentive to Yoongi's vehicle that drove in front of them to guide them all to a hotel.

His fingers fumbled together, a gentle clear of his throat became audible before he spoke up to make light conversation.

"Hey, hyung.." He began in a quiet voice.

"Hm?" Hoseok hummed.

"Remember last year? At the start of summer? That road trip we took, all four of us?" He smiled gently at the memory. "Gguk and that jerkface Seojun were off being a dumb couple so you and I spent a while walking across the beach shore."

"Yeah. Of course I remember."

That was the day I fell in love with you, was what he had really wanted to say. But of course, how could he possibly say such a thing? He couldn't believe that in that moment, he kind of envied his best friend's boldness. Because, for Jeongguk, it didn't take much too long for him to confess his feelings for the guy he loved.

But Jimin was different. He knew that about himself, and yet he couldn't help but feel frustrated at that truth.

"We hadn't known each other long, and yet... It felt like I've always known you."

Hoseok was quiet for a while, though Jimin could see the faint remnants of a smile upon his lips. "True... We talked a lot, laughed a lot. Realized we had a lot more in common than we would've thought..." the male trailed off. "I was so happy to have met someone like you. I remember thinking, 'wow.. my lonely days are finally over'..."

Jimin let his gaze linger on the other, his heart warm. "Oh right, that was when... Yerin-noona was overseas with Namjoon, no?"

"Right," Hoseok nodded. "I knew the gang is important to her, but... I couldn't help but miss her. All the time. You and Gguk were my life saviors." He let out a soft chuckle. "It sounds cheesy, but it's how I felt."

Jimin finally turned his head, looked down at the palm of his hands. "I felt that way a lot, too." A small pause. "And actually, I..." he smiled, "I still feel that way, even now."

※ ※

"A room for three, please." Yoongi, being the oldest, took upon himself the initiative to secure their hotel rooms. The place they had found must've been a popular choice, considering the ceiling was almost as high as the concert hall, and chandeliers hung within the lobby space, a delicately warm lighting to the atmosphere.

"One second, sir," the woman at the counter nodded and began to tap over a tablet screen, navigating through the system for a while before her brows furrowed, lips pouting out. "Oh, I'm sorry... There are only 3 available rooms left. Two of them are single bedrooms, and the last is a two bedroom..."

The three men all eyed each other, a quiet sigh leaving Jimin's lips. "Seems a lot of people from the show crashed back to this place."

"Makes sense," Yoongi scratched the side of his head. "The other locations were all pretty far from here."

Hoseok glanced between the two and then signaled towards the counter. "Let's take the two bedroom. Hyung and I can share a room and Jiminie gets his own, yeah?"

"I'm good. I'll take the couch," Yoongi snorted, causing Hoseok's jaw to drop.

"You tryna provoke me?" He flared his nostrils.

The oldest grinned. "Maybe. It's funny seeing you frustrated."

Jimin smiled widely while watching the two. Now that he thought about it both men were gang captains, so perhaps having great chemistry only made sense. Despite their credible reputation in the underground world though, he found them to be quite adorable like this.

"Either way, hyung, I can't leave you sleeping on some couch. Take the other room."

Yoongi raised a finger with one hand, and began to pull his wallet out from the other to tend to the lady at the desk. "No way, dipshit. I sleep surprisingly well on couches."

Hoseok visibly frowned and gave up the argument, knowing he'd never win against this man. And soon enough the three were on their way through baroque-style halls and found their room at the end of floor two.

Upon entrance, they all headed to their respective spaces; Hoseok and Jimin went off to the bedrooms at opposite sides of each other, and Yoongi settled his things in the large living room right in the middle.

"Wow.. the rooms are really nice," Jimin mumbled to himself while scanning every corner of the tidy space, then immediately hauled his body over the mattress and landed with a small thud.

One by one, they took turns with the bathroom to wash up, and one by one the three males all bid each other goodnight.

Except, Jimin could only sit up and stare out the window toward the dark night sky and unfamiliar street lights. His thoughts were racing a couple hundred miles per hour, mind restless despite his body practically begging him to settle down for bed.

He wondered; about himself. About the two men scattered in different spots in the darkened hotel room, and about his best friend and the man whom he had fallen for.

It all seemed clear in his head and yet, everything was much too complicated. He wanted Hoseok; but no, he can't have him. He wanted to change his heart for Yoongi's sake; but how could he, so easily? He hoped Jeongguk wouldn't keep getting hurt; but the boy was deep in love.

Nothing made sense to him.

Nothing at all.

Thud, thud.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Jimin flinched before turning around just as Min Yoongi peeked his head in through the door frame.

"You're still awake?" The man asked with an amused smirk, and watched as Jimin's lips puckered out adorably.

"You scared me, asshole..." The blond murmured, then heard the older man chuckle gently before slipping inside the bedroom, the door shutting quietly behind him.

"You sure you want to be calling me an asshole right now?" Yoongi rose his brows while showing the boy two small shot glasses and a bottle of rum. Jimin's eyes widened.

"You're an angel!" He clasped his hands together and lifted himself from the mattress, approaching the man with small steps. Yoongi laughed again, but made no effort to deny the boy his first attempt at snatching a glass cup from him. "Where'd you get this from anyway?"

"It's complementary with the room, I suppose," Yoongi hummed with a shrug of his shoulders, letting Jimin take hold of both shot glasses while he popped the bottle cap open. "Found it around inside the cabinets, so."

"Good find." The blond smiled meekly and handed the older his glass after the bottle had been placed over the nightstand. They took a seat, beside each other, atop the mattress and looking out the large window—the same view Jimin's mind lingered over.

"Is it alright? Taking a room for yourself and not sharing it with Hoseok?" Yoongi then spoke up, eyes set firmly over the view of the highway over the distance.

Jimin's teeth skid together briefly. "He has a girlfriend, you know."

"Of course I know." A pause. "But has your heart accepted that?"

The words rendered the boy quiet, and Jimin merely responded by pouring himself another shot.

"And what about you?"

Yoongi exhaled gently. "What about me?"

"Why do you like a guy who only ever clings onto false hope?"

The other washed down his throat with the alcoholic drink and waved the glass, asking for seconds. Jimin poured him a refill.

"There's a lot of reasons I like you, Park Jimin. I can't really list them all." Yoongi's eyes were now firmly on the younger, who looked back at him with flushed cheeks. Be it from the alcohol or his words, he supposed he'd never know. "For starters, your senseless fixation of holding out for the man you love only shows how big your heart is. I'm not sure why, but that... really made me intrigued by you. On top of that, you have an adorably innocent personality, despite me being fully aware you must also have some sort of defiant, complex side to you."

Jimin's lips parted. The man's thumb settled beside his cheek.

"Besides. You, of all people, must understand that your heart is the only thing that truly knows the answer to that question; the why."

Jimin gulped quietly, watching the older's bright eyes despite the dark shadow casting over his face, as though the moon held a spotlight just for him.

And as more silence fell between the two, Jimin's body moved on its own.

It made no sense, really. The way he had cupped Yoongi's neck with careful hands, pressed their lips together in a gentle kiss. No sense, the way their empty shot glasses fell to the floor, the shock of the impact absorbed by the soft carpet, keeping them in tact while Jimin moved to straddle the man's hips. Incomprehensible, really, the way his breaths staggered over Yoongi's while they made out profusely with lips that he thought perhaps had always longed to meet.

Nothing ever made any sense to him.

And that became apparent to him with the way Yoongi touched him so precisely, undressed him flawlessly, kissed over his skin with delicate pressure. Became clear to him with the way he'd hold back his grunts while the older hovered above him, giving delicious thrusts while they merged their naked bodies together—became one. And Jimin felt as though he were back on that stage, locked eyes with the older, moving his body gracefully along the tempo of music that had only fallen silent now, instead replaced with gasps and moans that left their lips in quiet breaths.

Nothing made sense to him.

Nothing at all.

※ ※

Jeongguk's eyes scurried across the page, skimming line to line over his lengthy notes. His left leg shook impatiently, one hand dug into his hair as he mouthed some words silently, under his breath.

This went on for what felt like a long few minutes, until a sudden voice abruptly cut him from focus.

"You're hard at work already, aren't you?"

The boy lifted his head, looked up from where he sat next to a long table at the school library, the early morning sun seeping through one of the windows a few feet away from him.

But standing across the other side of the table, was none other than his English partner, Kim Taehyung.

"Oh, you're... here early."

Taehyung snickered softly. "Could say the same for you." He lowered himself upon the wooden seat and looked over at the scattered notes in front of the younger. "You haven't memorized your speech yet? You understand we're presenting today, right?"

"Of course I know it's presentation day," Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "I've been cramming nonstop, day and night, for this exact moment." There was a hefty whine tone to his voice, which the older couldn't help but internally coo at. "And don't worry, I have everything memorized, I just... like to overdo it sometimes. I really need good grades."

"Hm. Why, to make mommy and daddy proud?"

"And myself, too." Jeongguk narrowed his eyes at him, then reached toward his bag to pull out a small book. "Oh—here. I got the books made to be printed. You can read the poems off of this one."

"Ah," Taehyung reached forward and grabbed it. "Thanks."

"We really went all out for this, didn't we?" Jeongguk gave a bright smile, one that Taehyung couldn't resist returning.

"Mhm. We've got this shit."

The boy nodded cutely and shut the open notebook closed, then began to pack up the scattered pens and highlighters from the tabletop.

Just like that the two were then off to their class, side by side, Jeongguk's cheeks flushing every time Taehyung's shoulder grazed his.

In truth, his heart felt heavier the longer he pretended like he hadn't just confessed to the man how he really felt about him so recently; though he understood that Taehyung had mentioned he'd take the time to think on it.

Thinking on it meant... it wasn't a solid 'no' right?

If Taehyung really disliked him, if he held no feelings for him in that regard, Jeongguk was sure he would have no problem rejecting him the minute his true feelings had left his lips. But the fact the older hadn't shut him down just yet made him... hopeful.

"Morning, hyung."

"Mornin', Tae."

"Taetae, good morning!"

As soon as they had walked in, some classmates greeted the older male, and Jeongguk was only reminded of how popular the man was around campus. Granted, he'd always known, and of course such a thing made sense. But perhaps he had ignored it in hopes Taehyung only ever had eyes for him.

Such a naive way of thinking; he was aware of it.

As Taehyung approached his usual seat while greeting the others back, Jeongguk gave him a knowing nod and proceeded to the back of the classroom where he usually sat with Hoseok and Jimin. Two of which were still not present, much to his surprise. When he then settled down over his seat and began unpacking a few things, he had taken notice of how the seat beside Taehyung, too, was empty. Rather, Yoongi's seat, who was almost always occupied since the man always came in so early.

Weird, he thought. But decided to pay no mind to it. That is, until class started and about six minutes later, three men stumbled past the doorframe.

"Sorry we're late!" Jimin piped up while dashing straight towards his seat, avoiding the gaze of his best friend who looked skeptically over at him.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Jeongguk whisper shouted while blond and red strands of hair took their seats beside him.

"We'll explain later—it's presentation day!" Jimin said, out of breath. And Jeongguk decided to just accept that for now, mostly because the professor was already picking which groups should present in what order.

First, was a presentation over popular locations, which two girls had centered their project on England. A typical choice, Jeongguk thought, seeing as it was an English project, after all.

The second, was a theme of contrast, to which some guys had done the topic of juxtaposition between English films. Jeongguk quite enjoyed the presentation.

Next was Hoseok, who had done his project with an underclassman, over English 80's music. The class had gotten a few laughs and dance moves from it.

And later came Jimin and Yoongi, with their theme of affiliated words. They had done a storybook, much like a children's folktale, which had most of the class cooing at how adorable and well put together it had been. Jeongguk couldn't help but notice their chemistry had been particular good now.

Then, nearing the end of presentations, the professor had called the names Jeongguk had been anticipating from the very beginning.

"Next up is Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jeongguk; and their theme of Symbolism."

The two men stood, and Jeongguk was quick to haul a bag to the front of the classroom, where he then pulled out a stack of books.

"So Taehyung and I made a book of photography and poems in conjunction. They're a bit delicate so do handle them with care.."

He began to pass down the books, which had gotten distributed from desk to desk, and soon Taehyung had pulled up their presentation on the front screen.

The first slide read;

apollo & hyacinth,
the fated lovers.

narration & photography by jeon jeongguk.
poems & photography by kim taehyung.

Jeongguk cleared his throat, and after the class had settled their focus toward him, he began his speech.

"A story of fated lovers, who ceased to be together, stopped by a forlorn destiny."

Just like that Jeongguk began the initial story of the greek god Apollo and his human lover Hyacinth, as he had told Taehyung back when they had first begun conceptualizing their project. He did his perfectly rehearsed storytelling alongside the presentation, which showed images of the flowers they had taken, and Taehyung's poems to match the page beside it; the English pieces with a Korean-translated equivalent.

He recounted the story perfectly.

How Hyacinth was an incredibly stunning man. How Apollo was infatuated with him. And of course, the fated demise that came of the day Apollo attempted to teach his lover a game by throwing his discus—one that flew great lengths, even tearing the clouds within its paths. And how Hyacinth had tried to impress him by chasing after it.

"The discus recoils," Jeongguk told, "It springs back and bashes straight into Hyacinth's head. An unforeseen death."

Quiet gasps scattered over the classroom as the presentation continued.

"Apollo props his lifeless lover upon his bosom; and utters a woeful sermon."

Following Jeongguk's narration, Taehyung proceeded to read out the next poem;

"O heavens, who craft the earths,
tell me it untrue.
thy skin was warm, and velvet; tough,
and now it seems so blue.

upon a lifeless clone of you
i long for thy embrace,
those eyes no longer look for me,
nor lips, nor ears, nor face."

All lips were sealed, eyes attentive to the two males who spoke with fervent voices, their hearts investing themselves into the story of the fated lovers.

And Jeongguk continued. "His lover is dead, and Apollo feels he, too, had died with him. For, how could he live without him? Perhaps they were meant to be. Perhaps they were thus written into the constellations long since the creation of time. But upon this forlorn moon, the stars could not bring themselves to align in time to spare them their inevitable calamity."

Across pages of beautifully shot photography, there came a photo of a hyacinth flower of a rich blood color.

"Life without his lover could simply not be, and Apollo could not dare let the memory of Hyacinth pass him by. Using the blood of his lover, the god created a flower—the most beautiful flower known to Greece. And legend says that with it, they were reunited. For all of eternity."

With great depth, Taehyung read out the final poem;

"i deny this reality of you and i,
through tear stains, i fret.
but beneath a full moon i
may meet you again, yet.

though i spoke in truth
of loving you always,
could you have believed me
and counted the moon-phase?

'til we reunite
and i'll tell you i love you,
and you'd give a smile;
for it's true, you love me, too.

and forever, we'll shout it;
that i am yours, and you are mine.
and together, my darling,
we'll stir the glass; our tarnished wine.

drink my blood and
i'll drink yours;
and know that forever
my love for you roars.

'til the end of time,
my darling,
i'll kiss you.

'til the end of time,
darling,
i'll miss you."

The students fell silent, in awe of Taehyung's soulful deep voice that had recited the very poem that rested upon everyone's hands. Words that were delivered with every single ounce of precise emotion, scattered over a page alongside a photo of a hyacinth flower in full bloom, captured under a stark ray of sunlight.

And somewhere, among the classroom, an eye shed a single tear.

✱