Saturday

You have 3 new messages from Jimin.

You have 1 new message from Joonie.

You have 18 new messages from Hoseok.

It hadn't even been twelve hours, and Yoongi already wanted to report Hoseok for spam. But blocking his number so soon, especially after what had happened the previous day, well...Yoongi couldn't bring himself to do that. So he grudgingly sat up in bed that morning, picked up his phone, and checked all 22 messages.

Hoseok: Mornign friend!!

Hoseok: Guess who s going out fora morning run??

Hoseok: [image sent]

Hoseok: Me

Hoseok: so do i look cute 2day or what yyongie

Hoseok: I know i do but i thought id see what u think

Hoseok: Also can you belive what makeup can do

Hoseok: works magic u cant even tell i lost blood in the face yesteday hahahah

Hoseok: anywayyyyysss

Hoseok: my hairs super messy rn lmao but it's super soft and smells amazing

Hoseok: took a shower at six am, used my sis's fancy schmancy shampoo, and boom

Hoseok: flawless

Hoseok: so waht time u get up yoongi

Hoseok: early riser?? that would surprise me ahahahha

Hoseok: i can imagene u sitting on a porch on a rocking chair with a cup of black coffee

Hoseok: at like twelve pm

Hoseok: hahahah i kid i kid

Hoseok: well im about to leave now

Yoongi: don't get assaulted

Hoseok: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Hoseok: okay!

Too much. Hoseok was too much for him. He went to check Namjoon's message.

Joonie: yoongs jungkook sent me a meme at 4 am im crying do u want to see it

He ignored him and opened Jimin's messages.

Jimin: Good morning Yoongi!

Jimin: I keep forgetting to ask when u usually get up in the morning.

Jimin: don't wanna wake u up with my texts haha

Yoongi: its fine. they don't wake me up

Jimin: u sure?? well thats good then. wouldnt' want u mad at me

Jimin: random thought, but we should hang out sometime yoongi

Jimin: i mean like outside of school of course ha

Jimin: only if ur comfortable with it, that is, don't feel pressured to say yes or anything

He was so thoughtful. Yoongi held back a smile, but at the same time he felt nervous. Hanging out? With Jimin? Did he mean just the two of us?

Yoongi: its alright i guess as long as theres not a big crowd

Jimin: u mean it? awesome! is there anything in particular u wanna do?

Yoongi: not that i can think of

Jimin: thats fine i'll figure out smth!

Jimin: r u free at all this weekend?

Yoongi: today and tomorrow, miraculously. must be a late birthday present

Jimin: that works gr8 then! hey, I have a shift from 12 to 7 today, but after that and tomorrow is good for me

Jimin: i'll let u know when i have smth planned

Jimin: ah, is it ok if Tae comes too?

Yoongi's fingers hovered over his phone. Of course, he thought. Why wouldn't he want his best friend to come along?

Jimin: u can invite Namjoon too if u want

Jimin: unless thats too many ppl

Yoongi: i dont rly care

Jimin: ok! I'll text u later then, k?

Yoongi: yeah

He didn't know why he felt disappointed all of a sudden. If anything, he should have been relieved. Being alone with Jimin was something he couldn't quite do easily yet. Those kind eyes and that sweet smile, trained on him and only him...

Wait. Why the heck am I thinking about that? He waved a hand in front of his face to dismiss the thought, but it lingered for a moment. He set down his phone, threw off his covers, and got out of bed, then slugged to the kitchen to get something to eat. His hand tugged at the freezer handle to open it; a box of toaster strudels fell out. Perfect, he said to himself. I'll have those.

Yoongi spent most of the day relaxing on the couch in his living room, lazing around with some coffee and watching whatever happened to be on TV--mostly garbage, but he had nothing better to do. So he found himself lackadaisically commenting on the overall appearance of chefs' final dishes, the poor acting in reruns of old shows, the ridiculous lengths of commercial breaks for items he would never buy. At some point in the afternoon, he made a pot of coffee and drank the entire thing. A quiet and boring day, though Yoongi wasn't really complaining.

He had fallen asleep on the sofa and was still sleeping when his parents arrived home from work. His mother, seeing her son resting peacefully, smiled and draped a blanket over him. Then she disappeared to the kitchen to cook dinner. At six o'clock when the meal was just about ready, Yoongi was greeted by the aroma that drifted through the house and found its way to him. That along with the low volume Japanese voice acting from the latest Naruto episode brought him to full consciousness.

"Morning, sleepyhead," his mother said with a laugh as Yoongi entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"It's not morning, you can't fool me."

"Have you been watching TV all day?"

Yoongi glanced at the digital clock on their oven. "I guess so."

"Hungry?"

"I guess so."

"Could you get your father for me?"

"I guess s-...okay."

-------

Yoongi took a shower right after finishing dinner. Then he went to his room and lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling for a few long seconds before something caught him off guard. His phone, which had been sitting on his nightstand for quite a while, suddenly started to ring. Fantastic Baby by Big Bang played loudly. Startled not only by the volume of the music but also by the fact that someone was calling him at all, Yoongi seized the device and frantically looked at the caller ID.

Park Jimin. Yoongi swallowed his breath. Why is he calling me? I hate talking on the phone...but I can't just ignore him.

So with unsteady hands he pressed the answer button.

"Yoongi?"

Jimin's voice came through immediately. But why did he sound panic-stricken?

"H-...hi," Yoongi replied. "What's-"

"I totally freakin' forgot about the project."

Yoongi froze. "What?"

"The geometry project!" Jimin blurted. "I haven't worked on it at all, because I forgot it even existed, so unless you did anything on your own time, we have like nothing done. And it's due on, what, this coming Monday??"

He had no words. Jimin was absolutely right, and Yoongi almost felt guilty when he whispered, "I forgot too."

In reality, it wasn't all his fault. Meeting Jimin and then Hoseok had distracted him from...well, the things he should have been focusing on.

"I...can take care of it," Yoongi said tentatively.

"No way, I can't let you do the whole thing yourself," Jimin argued, and Yoongi could almost see him shaking his head. "It's a group project, not a 'let the smart one do all the work alone while the stupid one sits on his butt and sucks his thumbs' project. Anyway, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come over so we could actually work on it together. I stopped by the library after my shift for books, and I already have some supplies at my house. Ah, and so it's not a hundred percent boring, maybe we could watch a movie afterwards or something? I have snacks too. I-it's okay if you don't want to, again, I would never want to put you in a situation that would make you uncomfortable."

Panicked, Yoongi ended the call. But then he realized Jimin might get the wrong idea, so he called back right away.

"Sorry, that was an accident. I'll...I mean, that's...fine. I, uh, don't know where you live-"

"I'll text you the address. Question: do you like buttered popcorn or are you more of a pretzels and crackers kind of guy?"

Yoongi blinked slowly. "...either."

"Perfect. Guess I'll see you in a little bit. Bye!"

He hung up. A minute later, Yoongi received a text from Jimin. The address. Followed by, see u soon, Yoongi.

I need to tell Namjoon.

Yoongi: joon are u working

Joonie: yeah lol but im on break u have incredible timing

Joonie: whats up

Yoongi: Jimin invited me to his house

Yoongi: i didn't have the heart to turn him down

Yoongi: i know i shouldn't be but im rreally freakin nervous

Yoongi: we're gonna be working on a project but also watching a movie?? its so sudden i didn't prepare for this

Yoongi: namjoon dont u dare ignore me

Joonie: sorry i spit out my water and had to clean it up

Joonie: all i can say is YOU ACTUALLY AGREED???

Yoongi: did you miss the part where i said i didn't have the heart to turn him down

Joonie: im squealing

Yoongi: wtf

Joonie: have fun yoongs

Yoongi: i hate u

He honestly didn't know why he mentioned it to Namjoon in the first place. Deep down, maybe he had expected his friend to offer some advice, maybe remind him to do breathing exercises, but no. Namjoon found enjoyment in all this. That devil.

So Yoongi decided to change into some casual clothes, obviously not wanting to show up at Jimin's house wearing his pajamas. Looking through his closet, he caught sight of the outfit Namjoon had given him on his birthday. Not casual enough, he thought. Additionally, his mind replayed the compliment Jimin had given him, and he felt too embarrassed to wear it around the boy again. Curse my shyness.

He eventually decided on a solid color t-shirt and jeans, along with a light jacket since spring wasn't here just yet and it was still a little chilly outside. Nervously, he informed his mother of his plans for the night. As he expected, she was quite surprised, but mostly happy, happy that her son was willingly doing something like this for a change with a person other than Namjoon. Not that she had anything against Namjoon, of course. She loved that boy like a son. But knowing Yoongi had other friends now was comforting to her. It was just one of the things she and Namjoon had in common.

Yoongi's mother offered him a ride but he insisted he would rather take the bus. And he did. The ride there was too short, he said to himself. Too short, and it didn't give him adequate time to brace himself. He stood in front of a red door with the address number in faded gold. He checked the text Jimin had sent earlier. This was definitely the right place.

Am I seriously doing this?

He clutched the straps of his book bag. I am. I'm going to be social and productive at the same time. Min Yoongi is becoming a changed man. Min Yoongi is--

"Yoongi, you're here!"

Nonononononononononononono.

The door was opened abruptly by Jimin, who appeared as happy as he was relieved that Yoongi actually came. He had on a loose white shirt and gray sweatpants, orange hair puffy and a bit messy due to just having been blow-dried. Cute. He looks cute without even trying.

"You can come inside now."

"Is...is this okay with your parents?" Yoongi asked, closing the front door gently once he had stepped into the house.

"Hm? Oh, I live alone."

Silence followed Jimin's response. Because Yoongi was too terrified to say anything else. It all seemed too risky. Luckily Jimin noticed the air of nervousness about Yoongi's head, and so he saw the need to clarify.

"My mother passed away when I was really young, and my dad's been working in Seoul for about a year now. We're on good terms, don't worry. He even asked me to move there with him." Jimin paused for a moment, recollecting. "But I couldn't leave," he said softly. "Leaving here would mean leaving behind Tae and the city I grew up in." He chuckled. "I'm too sentimental a guy to do that. Also Tae would cry. He can be a big baby sometimes."

Yoongi took five minutes to slip out of his shoes. Jimin had been staring at him for about four and a half of those minutes. It was so obvious that he felt bad for ever having asked about the boy's parents, and though he didn't actually do it, Yoongi kind of wanted to hide his face right now.

"Don't you get lonely?"

"All the time."

Yoongi met Jimin's gaze. He was smiling. Of course he's smiling.

"But everyone gets lonely sometimes, I'm not special. I really am happy you're here, though, Yoongi."

"But you are special."

It slipped off his tongue. If his voice had been a touch quieter, Jimin wouldn't have heard him. Since he was heard, however, there was no way for Yoongi to cough and pretend he had said something else. Jimin was looking at him especially closely now. Neither was sure of what to say next. Eventually, a thought struck Jimin, and he remembered why Yoongi had even come over in the first place. Well, the main reason, anyway.

The two of them got right to business. Yoongi became the unofficially appointed leader of the group. He claimed to have no problem with doing the majority of the work, but that didn't satisfy the eager-to-help Jimin, who, as politely as he could, begged Yoongi to teach him in the areas he was most hopeless in. And both found themselves enjoying the other's company without even realizing it. Jimin admired Yoongi for his smarts and his easy to understand method of explaining concepts that were once so difficult to grasp. Yoongi unknowingly cracked a smile every time a light bulb went off in Jimin's head; the boy's eyes would light up, and he would let out a loud, drawn-out, "oooooh!" which was usually followed by, "that makes so much sense!" In the end, the two made incredible progress, finishing everything save the cover for the report, which they agreed to complete on Monday. As Jimin had so intensely stated over the phone, Monday was indeed when the project was due. But on the day it was assigned Mr. Lee had informed the students they would have that class to finish up.

And now that that was all taken care of...

"Okay, I borrowed, like, twelve movies from Taehyung. I'll let you pick while I go make some popcorn. That alright?"

Yoongi nodded without thinking, and before he knew it, he was seated on the small tan couch in the living room, staring mindlessly at a dozen DVDs Jimin had spread out on the floor. He was meant to choose one. Pretty much every major genre was being represented, from horror to romance to crime and comedy. Yoongi had no preferences and still hadn't made a choice by the time Jimin came back with the popcorn.

"Having trouble deciding?" He set the large bowl on Yoongi's lap and sat down beside him.

"You can pick."

"You don't mind?"

Yoongi shook his head.

"Well, alright. If you insist."

Jimin ended up picking a movie called Haunters, which Yoongi recalled seeing previews of a while ago before it was in theaters. Though he had never watched it, the previews certainly did interest him, presenting borderline horror but with a deeper plot to it than a bunch of thickheaded teenagers stumbling across an abandoned warehouse. Receiving Yoongi's approval, Jimin inserted the disc into his DVD player, soon to reclaim his seat on the couch. The lights were off now and all was dark. All except the brightness of the TV screen illuminating the boys' faces.

And despite wanting to focus on the movie, Yoongi spent the majority of the time trying to avoid the cliche of accidentally brushing Jimin's hand when simultaneously reaching for the popcorn bowl.

What he didn't manage to avoid, however, was becoming drowsy in the middle of the movie.

He fell asleep on Jimin's shoulder.