Yoongi hated actually feeling disappointed when Jimin left the McDonald's. Circus music was playing full-blast in his head at this point.

It wasn't like him. Yoongi had never really cared for making conversation with people other than his two friends, not even his co-workers, even though they weren't bad people - Yoongi just didn't hold an interest. But Jimin. The neon dancer. That boy was like a novel that Yoongi didn't want to put down, as cheesy as that sounded to him. At this time in Yoongi's life, meeting and speaking with Jimin was the most interesting thing that could happen to him.

He knew his parents wouldn't be happy to hear it. In his senior year, their "darling" son had earned a scholarship as a result of his impressive success in school and the extracurricular courses he had participated in (though unwillingly so), and he hadn't even batted an eye. As though the accomplishment didn't matter to him. And it didn't. Yoongi's parents had never been pleased in learning their son treated education as a nuisance, rather something he didn't fully appreciate the value of and never experienced passion towards. The only benefit Yoongi ever truly saw from earning that scholarship was that now he only had to worry about paying for living expenses.

Going through the motions.

Lucky for him he had managed this far thanks to Jeongguk being so enthusiastic about life that Yoongi didn't have to be.

Not having much to look forward to, to be even remotely excited about aside from Jeongguk's vivid storytelling and outgoing nature encouraging Yoongi to try new things, to do something, anything to break the monotony of his daily lifestyle.

It wasn't that he didn't feel grateful. If anything, Yoongi felt he owed Jeongguk the world.

But at the same time he couldn't help but feel like Jimin was that little kickstart he needed.

Either that, or again, Yoongi was letting himself be fooled by that boy's good looks and smooth words.

For all Yoongi knew, Jimin might not have the same type of interest. Maybe he didn't want to be bothered, to have his precious time taken by someone he had spontaneously chosen to dance with one night. Evidently the boy had a lot he was dealing with in his own life, his sad, misfortunate circumstances, which, if they kept up for too long, could result detrimentally for the dancer.

These were the thoughts on Yoongi's mind. Concerning himself, perhaps too much, with another's business. He was helpless to it. Helpless to the fact that he wanted to know more, to be a part of Jimin's life even if in the slightest way.

At least Yoongi knew where the dancer lived now. Jimin and Taehyung, that is. However, he wasn't sure he could bring himself to simply waltz into their neighborhood and invite himself to their home.

A fortunate piece of knowledge Yoongi possessed now, though - Jimin danced at Cat's Eye on the weekends. Today was Saturday. He would be there tonight.

And Yoongi, not having plans aside from a bit of Christmas shopping, could also be there tonight, should he decide to do so.

The thought crossed his mind - well, more than just crossed. It hammered itself into his brain as he attempted to go about his shopping peacefully, relieved to come across a shirt and scarf that looked perfect for Hoseok and some workout gear he knew Jeongguk would make good use out of. He had hoped by the time he left the mall that his ridiculous idea of going back to that club would have vanished, poof, gone far away as it should be.

Worse, Yoongi was seriously leaning towards agreeing to his own suggestion.

By 7:30 p.m. he finally returned back to his apartment feeling more mental exhaustion than physical - which surprised him, because for Yoongi, there had been an awful lot of walking done today. Good for me, he thought before collapsing on the living room couch.

Unsure whether or not he wanted to take a nap, Yoongi lay awake, staring at the ceiling as he began to balance the pros and cons of going to Cat's Eye tonight. Pros? He could see Jimin again, maybe even dance with him - no, stop, get a hold of yourself. Cons? He wasn't fond of the atmosphere clubs provided, but then again, when he had stopped to watch Jimin dance, the unpleasant aspects of his surroundings became nulled.

So basically pros > cons.

Great. I'm really doing this, aren't I?

Groaning in frustration, Yoongi got up off the couch to go take a shower. If he were going out tonight after all, he would at least give himself a little time first. No need to rush.

After a quick shower he changed into a new pair of jeans and slipped on a black t-shirt, furiously drying his hair with a towel as he went to check the time on his phone.

First thing he noticed, however, wasn't the time, but a missed call from Jeongguk. Yoongi called him back.

"...hey, Guk, sorry, I was in the shower. What's up?"

"Yoongi hyung, I'm dying."

His instinctive reaction to his friend's nonsensical phone calls was usually to hang up. But Yoongi tolerated Jeongguk's dramatics this time upon hearing the coughing fit that followed. "You okay?"

"No, I'm dying, on death row," the younger choked out. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"You do know that means you're being set up for an execution, right?"

"Execution by the flu-"

"So you're sick, then?"

Jeongguk groaned in response.

"What, then, you want me to go take care of you or something?"

"Hyung, you know I don't like to bother you on your day off-"

"Guk, it's fine, I'm only kidding. Have you eaten?"

"No. But if you wanted to-"

"I'll make you something."

"Really?? Yoongi, you're the best! I—"

"Stop coughing into the phone, I don't wanna catch your cold."

"Wh-...hyung, that's not even possible..."

Yoongi hung up first. He stared at his phone for a moment before releasing a prolonged sigh. Guess Cat's Eye will have to wait till next time.

As he was already dressed to go out, all he had to do was pull on his combat boots and head out the door. Jeongguk lived in this same apartment complex, anyway, so Yoongi didn't have to go through the internal debate whether to walk to his destination or drive. He arrived in but a few minutes.

As usual, Jeongguk hadn't bothered to lock his door. Yoongi sighed and knocked once, announced his presence, then invited himself in.

He found Jeongguk reclined on the couch, arm draped over the cushion so that his fingertips brushed the floor, legs too long to comfortably fit between the armrests so they, too, had to drape over the side. The TV was turned on and playing some children's cartoon Yoongi didn't recognize.

"Hyung, you made it," Jeongguk greeted happily. His voice was hoarse and Yoongi almost laughed.

"What'd you think was gonna happen, someone would jump me in the halls?"

"I dunno. Scary world. But exciting."

"Mm."

Yoongi made his way over to the kitchen right away to check out what ingredients he had to work with. Much to his surprise, the younger actually kept his apartment fairly stocked, and not just with junk food. I'm impressed. "Is samgyetang okay?"
—a/n: it's like chicken soup

"Yeah, that's fine," Jeongguk called back. "But no scallions, please. Or garlic. I don't have garlic, anyway. Garlic shouldn't be eaten, it's only for warding off vampires."

Such a kid. "...fine, I'll make it without garlic."

"And scallions."

"Scallions are good for you. I'm helping you treat your cold, not spoil you."

"...thanks, Yoongi hyung."

"Yeah, yeah."

It was a simple enough recipe that Yoongi didn't need to refer to a cookbook. Boiling water and adding chicken, then ginseng and scallions, cooking rice separately and finally adding it to the mix once the chicken was finished cooking. There were other ways to prepare the dish, but this was how Yoongi had always done it. Besides, he knew Jeongguk would like it anyway.

"Here." He held out the bowl carefully to his friend, who accepted it with a big smile on his face. "Do you want ginger tea, too, or—ew, don't pucker your lips at me, you're disgusting..."

Jeongguk giggled at the exaggerated reaction. "I'm just kidding, hyung." He set the soup bowl on the small table to his right, then moved his legs off the couch so Yoongi could sit down. The blond made himself somewhat comfortable but chose to remain silent as his friend ate the food prepared for him.

"...Yoongi?"

"Hm?" He faced Jeongguk half-heartedly. "What's up? Something wrong with the soup?"

"No, it's good. But are you good?"

Puzzled, Yoongi furrowed his brow at the younger then turned to look at the TV. "Yeah," he said, also half-heartedly. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno, you look like something's on your mind."

Clever kid. "Well, interesting day, I guess."

"Interesting?" Jeongguk repeated the word with emphasis. "You rarely say that about anything. Unless you're being sarcastic. What happened?"

Yoongi exhaled deeply and leaned against the back of the couch. "Got hit by a bike, ran into someone I haven't seen in a while."

"Who??" In his abrupt burst of enthusiasm, Jeongguk nearly spilled his soup on his lap, thus triggering Yoongi to turn towards him in alarm. "Hyung, you gotta tell me—"

"It's not important," the older blurted as he reprimanded Jeongguk with his eyes. "Besides, you should rest—"

"It wasn't the dancer again, was it?"

"Where'd you come up with that assumption??"

"Well, was it??"

Out of nowhere Yoongi's word bank was robbed. "Uh...well...I mean..."

"YOONGI, DID YOU?!?"

It was at that moment Jeongguk's throat ejected an aggressive series of coughs in protest to the energy the boy was expelling, rather than saving. Yoongi scoffed in frustration with him. "See?? You're being careless now."

"Hyung, you have to tell me everything—"

"There's nothing to tell, calm down, will you?"

Jeongguk shook his head vigorously in opposition to his friend's claim. "I don't think you're telling the truth, Yoongi hyung," he began, voice trickling with amusement, "I think a little something something happened, you're blushing~"

The blond could feel himself getting flustered again. Not something he was fond of. "I—no, I'm not, you're sick, you can't see properly."

"Nothing's wrong with my vision. So did you guys discuss marriage yet??"

"Boy, if you were at full strength right now I'd slap you into next week."

For some reason this was the cut-off point, where Jeongguk finally sat back, relaxed himself, and of course, pouted, because it wasn't what he wanted to do. His puppy-dog eyes drifted over to Yoongi sadly. "You really don't wanna tell me, hyung?"

"...thats a dirty trick you're playing, kid."

"Mhm. So tell me what happened."

Headache in a dessert shell. Always living up to your name...

Facing defeat, Yoongi summarized the day for him. From Taehyung hitting him with his bike, to being treated to lunch, then invited over the strange boy's sad excuse of a house and being introduced - rather, re-introduced - to Jimin, that captivating masked dancer that Jeongguk had also been a witness to pulling Yoongi out from the crowd. And Yoongi even mentioned buying Jimin lunch; however he did leave out the flirtatious remarks the dancer made towards him.

Tried, anyway.

"Did you guys flirt? I'll bet you flirted, didn't you?"

"Where on earth are you getting these ideas?"

"Aha! Your cheeks are red! Hyung, I see you~"

"Yeah, well, you're not gonna see me in a minute if you don't shut up and eat your soup."

"Yoongi, no..."

—-

end of chapter seven.