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Yoongi’s head is fucking pounding. He is really and truly regretting coming to this party, especially since his rut just ended a few days ago and he’s still feeling the after-effects of the lonely, hormone-riddled escapade, but here he is. Besides, when Seokjin wants you to do something, you agree no matter what the mood is – he has far too much blackmail material he can use against Yoongi for him to risk not going. Although, in Yoongi’s defense, Jin promised a hell of a good party and free alcohol to christen his new apartment with his mate Namjoon, and technically he has delivered. It’s not the happy couples fault he’s suffering with a post-rut hormone haze that’s refusing to leave. It also doesn’t help that it’s been a while since he spent his rut with a partner, and they just seem to get longer and lonelier each time he doesn’t have anyone to share it with. Because of this, his mood hasn’t lifted much since he came out the other side of his rut, and the loud noises he’s confronted with as he enters the living room aren’t helping his case much either. He needs a drink. And a quiet corner. Fast.
He sees Namjoon standing alongside Jin with arms around each other gesturing wildly with their free hands to a couple Yoongi recognizes from some work event of Jin’s he was dragged along to. He notices Jimin across the room trying to sneak off hand in hand with Taehyung in what he’s pretty sure is the direction of the bedrooms. He keeps scanning the room for any isolated corners, but instead he sees Jungkook talking to someone from over near the balcony doors. He gets on well with Jungkook; the kid’s quiet but funny and usually lets Yoongi brood beside him in peace when he’s in A Mood, so he figures heading over is a safe bet. And Yoongi knows that as a young alpha, Jungkook looks up to him quite a bit for guidance about certain things which Yoongi is always there to help with. Maybe he can slip into the conversation silently and look only mildly invested so that he’s left alone for the night until its considered an acceptable time to leave. He passes by the drinks table and stops to pour himself some whiskey that will hopefully settle the remainder of this itch he can feel under his skin. He’s never felt such strong post-rut symptoms this long after the fact. He’s getting a little concerned that its more uncontrollable than he thought, because just today he snapped at a convenience store worker for taking too long to serve the guy in front of him. He’d felt so blindsided by his outburst that he awkwardly apologized to the employee and bought 5 packets of gum as a peace offering. Yoongi never makes his agitation known like that for such menial things, and he definitely doesn’t aim to be the Asshole Selfish Customer that takes out his frustrations on service workers. He feels like he might as well go ahead and get the ‘can I speak to the manager’ soccer mom haircut now while he’s ahead; at least it’d get people to steer clear of him.
He grabs his whiskey after pouring and slowly starts making his way toward Kook without being too obvious. The guy he’s talking to is lean and just a little bit taller than himself and has faded firetruck red hair that is actually a really nice colour despite probably being the result of neglect to re-dye it. He still has his back to Yoongi so he doesn’t have a hope of recognizing him, and the room is too full of people to try and pick out a familiar scent from this distance away, but Yoongi doesn’t think anyone he knows well currently has red hair so he prepares to introduce himself as fast as possible so that he can get on with his plan to drink in crowded isolation. He expects Jungkook will pick up on his hint not to bother him too much after the obligatory routine introductions are over with. He watches Kook’s eyes light up as he spots Yoongi moving towards them and he sees the other guy start to turn too. Which is unfortunate, because he’s probably the best-looking person Yoongi’s ever seen in his entire life. Yoongi gets a full look at his face, the big smiling eyes and his perfect nose and his heart-shaped smile, and promptly dribbles his mouthful of whiskey all over himself. He can feel his ears turn red as the guy’s smile drops a little having seen that, and he wants to physically kick himself for it. He’s going to blame the rut on this too. Yoongi quickly brings his sleeve up to his mouth to wipe away the alcohol and goes down the aloof route of pretending he didn’t just do something weird. He turns to Jungkook who smiles a bit unsurely at Yoongi but introduces him no less.
“Hey hyung, eh, how’re you?”
Yoongi grunts in acknowledgement, still a little embarrassed, but gives tries to redeem himself with a polite smile at both of them anyways. Up close now he can see just how attractive this stranger is, and he kind of can’t blame himself for drooling.
“This is Hoseok-hyung, he’s the director of the dance studio me and Jimin teach at,” Kook informs him. Hoseok directs another big smile at Yoongi and his heart melts a little bit.
“Hobi-hyung, this is Yoongi-hyung, the moody guy I was telling you about.”
“Yah!”
Hoseok lets out a big peal of laughter and Yoongi swears he’s floating at the angelic sound. He shakes his head, he’s starting to sound like a pining young schoolgirl. He needs to at least be less obvious.
Hoseok turns to him fully. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long for us to finally meet! Jungkook always talks about you!” Yoongi turns to smirk at Kook and he flushes red.
“Yeh well! I just tell him about how grumpy you are all the time!” Jungkook pouts.
“That’s hyung to you.” Yoongi smirks at him. To his left, Hoseok snorts at the exchange. Jungkook throw his hands up in exasperation and tells them both that he’s going to get another drink. Yoongi has a few seconds of internal panic over being left to make conversation with someone he barely knows but Hoseok is smiling at him again and he can’t help but feel endeared.
“Kookie tells me you’re a music producer? He actually played me some things you’ve worked on and I have to say, I was really impressed.” Yoongi looks away from his twinkling eyes, a little bashful at his words. He isn’t really one for talking about himself, especially at social gatherings where he’d rather live up to his title as an introvert by listening to others talk from the edge of the group. But, if this legitimate angel wants to hear him talk about his passion, then Yoongi sure as hell ain’t going to stay silent.
He clears his throat. “Uh, yeh well... it’s more like a hobby that I get paid for rather than a job. I’ve always played around with instruments and stuff since I was a kid so this was a natural progression. Thankfully people think I’m good at it.” He smiles and looks at Hoseok and Hoseok beams back.
“That’s so cool. You must really love what you do, Yoongi-sshi, having stuck with its since you were a kid.”
Yoongi shrugs and gives him a small smile. “It pays the bills. What about you? Director of a dance studio, huh? You seem quite young to have your own business.”
Hoseok laughs at that. “I’m 24, but I consider my outlook on my job the same as yours. Passionate from a young age and followed through as I got older. It was either be a backup dancer and fade into the background as I got older or stay in the studio while I’m at my prime. I just opened my own one instead, and I get to choregraph instead of just being in the background.” Yoongi swears the sun is shining in the room with how Hoseok lights up when he’s talking. He needs to respond though before he looks like a creep just standing here and staring at him.
He’s about to tell Hoseok to call him hyung since he’s older, when someone behind him stumbles into him and pushes him forward. His cup nearly slips from his hand but he manages to hold onto it. Yoongi can’t catch himself quick enough though, and he crashes head first into Hoseok, hitting his head off Hoseok’s chin and nearly knocking him over too.
Whoever started this human domino line moves away from Yoongi but it’s too late. What happens next will always haunt Yoongi as his most embarrassing moment, the thing that keeps him awake some nights when his brain is being extra spiteful. He wants to blame it on the post-rut haze, but Hoseok just smells so, so good , that he’s not sure he can say he wouldn’t have had a similar reaction had he not been already suffering with this hormonal nonsense. Yoongi ends up right next to Hoseok’s scent gland in the fall and the first thing he registers is omega. Then, he breathes in the scent of sunflowers and honey and something on the edge of too sweet, and his brain short-circuits and his pupils must be dilated because his alpha side takes over him before he can register what’s happening and he honest to god utters the words ‘I’m gonna fuck you full of pups’ in the general vicinity of Hoseok’s ear.
Where Hoseok has grabbed him to steady him, he lets go quickly as if he’s been burned. There’s no way he didn’t hear what Yoongi just said. Yoongi shakes his head and takes a step back but he’s still close enough to smell Hoseok and its making him a little woozy. He doesn’t realise how bad this actually makes him look until he glances up at Hoseok, who has his brow furrowed as if he can’t quite believe what he just heard. When his head stops spinning and he comes back to himself, Yoongi is mortified. He takes an even bigger step back and Hoseok is still watching him with this odd look on his face. He can’t believe he just did that, like he’s some stereotypical alpha with absolutely no self-control. He needs to get out of here quick before he can do anything worse and Hoseok retaliates by throwing his drink on him or something. He looks away from Hoseok and stumbles out an apology. “I-I’m so sorry I.. I’m not sure what came over me I.. just out of my rut.. and-“. He thinks this can’t get much worse and he might as well just cease to exist, so he quickly and quietly bows at Hoseok and turns to make a swift exit when he nearly walks into Jungkook, who looks more confused at the scene than anything. Fuck, Hoseok if going to tell him what Yoongi said and he’s going to think he’s some big creep and he’ll never speak to him again and- he needs go. He mumbles an apology to Kook and rushes past him, forgetting his coat in favour or getting the fuck out of there. He has his wallet and keys in his jeans anyways, so he just runs out of Namjoon and Jin’s apartment and tries to distance himself from this horrible nightmare as much as he can.
__________
Yoongi wakes up the following morning still in his clothes from the night before, his poodle Holly stretched out beside him on the bed. He hasn’t fully woken up yet, until he remembers exactly what happened the night before and then he promptly curls up in embarrassment. He could honestly kick himself. He’s a little scared to check his phone in case he sees a message from Jungkook telling him to never speak to him again, but he needs to know what time it is so he risks a glance. There’s no angry messages, no missed calls or anything odd, just one message from Jungkook that has him a little puzzled.
hey hyung!
hobi hyung said u didnt feel good last night so u went home
text me if u need me!
Ill take holly for a walk later if ur still sick
Huh.
It’s a bit strange he hasn’t been called out on being a total creep last night to Jungkook’s boss, but maybe his plan is to feign aloofness and chew Yoongi out over it later. Whatever, he deserves what’s coming to him if that’s the case; he really did act like a total pervert. He rolls to his side, careful to avoid a still-sleeping Holly, and gets up to stretch. He could wallow in embarrassment, or he could save dwelling on the whole ordeal for after when Jungkook comes to verbally kick his ass (and probably physically too). He needs to distract himself for a little bit, so he grabs his laptop and heads to the kitchen for coffee and to feed Holly, and then on to his makeshift studio to get some work done.
Its several hours later that he realizes he’s been so immersed in this new demo track he’s trying to nail that he hasn’t bothered to check his phone in a while. He stomps back towards his bedroom to rummage between the sheets for it, and sees that Jungkook texted him about a half-hour ago complaining that he hadn’t heard a thing from him so he’s on his way to make sure Yoongi isn’t ‘dead and lying in a pool of his own vomit’. Fuck, okay. Turns out today will be his day of reckoning. He’d hoped he’d have another few years but turns out he isn’t so lucky. He heads to the bathroom to splash some water on his face so he can wake himself up a little, and he hears a knock at his front door. It’s a courtesy knock; Jungkook had demanded a key to Yoongi’s apartment after one to many times of not getting replies to his texts and finding out Yoongi hadn’t eaten for nearly whole days at a time. Yoongi sometimes feels guilty that he’s older yet Jungkook is the one always bringing him food, but Jungkook has reassured him on many occasions that Yoongi makes up for it in more ways than he realizes by just being there for him all the time. He hears the front door close and an I brought food hyung! before he sighs and makes his way to his living room. Jungkook is behind the small kitchen island on the opposite side of the room unpacking several food cartons from a plastic bag and looking every bit as comfortable as if he lived here. Well, he might as well at this point.
“Hey! You look a little tired, how’re you feeling? I brought you something easy to eat in case you’d forgotten to feed yourself again, which judging by that look you have.” Jungkook grabs chopsticks and spoons from the drawer beside him and brings as much things as he can juggle with two hands to the coffee table opposite the couch. Yoongi’s a little confused as to why he needs to eat before he gets his ass beaten but if he can stall a direct attack from Jungkook’s muscle-y self for as long as possible, he’ll keep his mouth shut. Jungkook makes his way back to the kitchen to grab napkins, and then plops himself right down and looks at Yoongi expectantly.
“It’s soondubu jjigae,” Jungkook beams up at him. “Sit! Eat! Hyung!” He tacks on at the end.
“Uh.” Yoongi says dumbly and joins Kook on the couch. He slowly reaches for his food and makes a mental note to transfer money in Jungkook’s account for it later. Jungkook will be mad if he notices, but Yoongi feels like it’s the least he could do. Jungkook is happily digging into his own portion and fails to notice Yoongi’s bewilderment.
Yoongi dares to ask. “How was the party after I left?” He says slowly, looking away from Jungkook in case he decides to pounce. From the corner of his eye, Yoongi doesn’t register any hostility coming from him, but he acts nonchalant anyways.
“Good! I don’t think I left til ‘bout 4am with Tae-hyung and Jiminie-hyung but Jin-hyung had the party still in full swing by then. I have vague recollections of Joonie-hyung trying to bat him down from the bookshelf with a broom, and he may or may not have been butt naked, but I can’t remember too well. I was pretty wasted.” He grabs his napkin to wipe his mouth and turns his head towards Yoongi. “What ‘bout you? Hobi-hyung said you looked a little green after I left you two to get a drink, and then I just saw you running out like you were on fire.”
Yoongi can’t help the look of utter confusion that must cross his face, but he does his best to school his features as quickly as possible. Either Jungkook is playing dumb and waiting for Yoongi to admit to his stupid behaviour or… What? Hoseok, a total stranger, who Yoongi said something extremely inappropriate too, didn’t rat him out to Jungkook? Improbable, but not impossible. Technically, what he said to Hoseok could be considered sexual harassment, and Hoseok has seemingly just let him off the hook like that? Wow, the guy must be even nicer than he seemed. If Yoongi was in his position he probably would’ve retaliated with an upper-cut to the jaw of whoever said that to him, but Hoseok not only didn’t retaliate there and then but… didn’t even call him out for it. He’s confused, but grateful. He really is, because he’d always hope he isn’t that kind of person. The kind who makes lewd comments at omegas like some dodgy alphas he’s encountered before. The kind that like to treat omegas like objects and get away with all kinds of shit because they act untouchable. For a split second Yoongi worries that Hoseok didn’t say anything to Jungkook or anyone else out of fear, that maybe Yoongi would backlash. But Hoseok was taller and definitely stronger (if the muscles Yoongi briefly ogled through his shirt had anything to say about it), and Yoongi wouldn’t stand a chance against him with his own weak noodle arms. Technically Yoongi was still heavily under the influence of these radical hormones, and something in Hoseok’s scent had to have triggered that kind of visceral reaction because he’s never done anything like before, even when just out of a rut. But still. It wasn’t acceptable, and he’ll forever be grateful that Hoseok showed him some mercy when he didn’t have to. If they cross paths in the future (although Yoongi really would never like to subject Hoseok to his presence again), he’ll make sure to make a formal apology to him.
Yoongi comes too after about 20 seconds of staring into space, while Jungkook gives him a funny look that clearly means he still thinks Yoongi is suffering from whatever imaginary illness he contracted last night. Huh, so Jungkook must really be none the wiser to what went down then. Yoongi reminds himself to play it cool lest he exposes himself for the weirdo he is when Hoseok did him the favour of letting it slide.
“Uh, well I… I think I’m still dealing with these post-rut effects. Yeh I just wasn’t feeling like myself, still. Did, uh, did Hoseok say anything to you? Y’know. ‘Bout me seeming weird?” Yoongi chances a look at Jungkook and sees his lips turn up in a smirk. He raises his eyebrow and Yoongi realizes this must look like he’s interested in Hoseok. He could’ve been, before he made a total fool of himself. Yoongi can feel his ears turn red as he tries to backpedal and save himself from Jungkook’s knowing eyes. “I mean! ‘Cus I fell into him and nearly spilled my drink all over him! I made a terrible first impression and I just want to make sure he doesn’t hate me if I meet him again a-and... y’know what nevermind!” Rambling is the worst thing he could’ve done to try make himself look uninterested. Yoongi makes to get up from the couch but Kook holds him by the wrist gently to stop him from escaping. Yoongi can’t help but feel like he’s the younger of the two right now, but he’s flustered and he usually lets Jungkook get away with a lot anyways.
“No, no hyung I promise he wasn’t put off by you being a weirdo.” He laughs at that but Yoongi can’t join in. “He didn’t say much after you left and honestly he didn’t stay long either. I think he was just thrown off by your dramatic exit.” Fuck. Yoongi feels even worse now. His words had enough of an effect on Hoseok to ruin the rest of his night! There’s no way that him leaving early wasn’t because of Yoongi being an idiot. He kind of wishes Jungkook would kick his ass anyways for what he did.
“I mean. If you want. I can totally give you Hobi-hyung’s number. Maybe you can text him yourself and ask him if he thinks you’re an oddball.” Jungkook is smirking at him again, this time with both eyebrows raised and oh no, no, no, no! He can’t text Hoseok about this, he would seem like an even bigger fucking creep! Messaging someone you barely know after you weirdly and unintentionally hit on them! Jungkook is completely misunderstanding but he can’t exactly tell him why he doesn’t want Hoseok’s number.
“Nononono Kook its fine thank you though much obliged but I’ll take your word for it! Thanks anyways haha I really should get back to work now!” This time he successfully makes it off the couch and starts clearing away the food containers. He hears a smile in Jungkook’s voice when he says “suit yourself”, and he’s taken on a tone he reserves for things he sees as a challenge. Yoongi cringes with his back turned to Jungkook and feels a bit like last night with the urgency to remove himself from the situation. Luckily he knows Kook has a 4pm class to teach at the dance studio on Saturdays, so he doesn’t feel bad for cutting their get-together short. He spends a few minutes washing the cutlery that he used and throwing away the cartons as Jungkook gets ready to go. He gives the kid a wave as Jungkook makes his way out and makes a mental note to text him thanking him for thinking of him with the food and the company, and goes back over to the coffee table to gather Jungkook’s empty dishes. He’s about to crumple up an unused napkin when he notices there’s something written on it in black pen. It’s a phone number. And a winky face. And a name, Hoseok . He’s going to strangle Jungkook himself.
----------
The napkin is stuck to Yoongi’s fridge. It’s been there for a whole 24 hours. He hasn’t thrown it out yet. If ever. On the one hand, it’s the number of a really cute and funny guy. On the other hand, it’s also the same guy Yoongi hit on unexpectedly and in the worst way possible. He should at the least text Hoseok and apologise for saying what he said and making him uncomfortable. Yeh! He’ll just text him, apologise, and then never talk to him again! Simple. He stands from the couch where he had been brooding and glaring at the offending napkin and yanks it off the fridge to input the number. His hands are a little shaky but he pushes through because this really is the least he could do. Besides, maybe Hoseok will be forgiving and Yoongi will be able to somewhat salvage himself. Here’s to hoping.
From: Me
Hi
This is Yoongi, JKs friend from the party
I just really really wanted to apologise
For knocking into you and
Saying what I said
It isn’t something I do at all usually, be creepy to people I don’t know at parties
I’m really sorry again, and you don’t have to accept my apology or reply
Have a good night
He leaves it at that and hopes that it conveys his apology in a sincere way. He has work to finish for now, so he slinks off to his studio and tries to focus his mind elsewhere.
----------
Yoongi is roused by the sound of his phone vibrating on his bedside table. Holly grunts in his sleep and rolls over, annoyed at being disturbed. He runs his hand down Holly’s soft fur and grabs for his phone while trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes.
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
Im a lil worried bout the ‘usually’ u said
Like I ‘usually’ don’t do this implies u do sometimes lol but rarely
Anyways listen kookie said u had a rough rut
and u were still getting back on ur feet so its okay!
U seemed like a nice guy besides that
so ill give u the benefit of the doubt lol! XD
No hard feelings!!
Yoongi scrambles upright in shock. He’s… being let off the hook? For real? This guy is too nice for his own good. He sits and stares at his phone dumbly until he can figure out what to say back. The texts were only received about a half hour ago.
From: Me
I don’t! I don’t do anything like that usually or otherwise
I swear
Uh
Thank you
For being cool about it
And understanding
Although I’ll kill Jungkook for telling you that
But thanks
Again
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
dnt kill kookie!! If not for him I wdnt have let u off so easy Yoongi-sshi XD lololol
if ruts r anything like heats I totally get it
biology sucks :P
sometimes lol
Is… is Hoseok… flirting? With Yoongi? After Yoongi made a fool of himself? He can’t be sure but all of a sudden he’s nervous, because he fucked this up once and the universe is clearly smiling down upon him with this angel so he’ll be damned if he fucks it up again.
From: Me
Yeh sometimes hahahahahahahaha
And you can call me hyung
If you want
I was gonna say that to you the other night before
Y’know
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
okay Yoongi hyung!! :3
u kno u started telling me bout making music nd then u ran off into the night
I was kinda looking forward to hearing more tho :/
ur gonna have to tell me about it again sometime :D
This is a golden opportunity if Yoongi’s ever seen one. Hoseok is clearly letting the incident at the party go. Yoongi really wouldn’t mind if they got to talking about more interesting things than him being an idiot. He’s got a chance to take here.
From: Me
I mean if you want.. I can tell you more about it now?
If you’re free?
And if you want! You don’t have to listen to me ramble
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
I want to listen :)
From: Me
Okay
But on one condition
He cringes as he presses send. He hasn’t flirted in so long.
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
what :o
From: Me
You tell me more about your dancing
From: xxx-xx-xx-xxx
Deal! Id be happy to :D
So tell me Yoongi hyung
R u workin on anything atm??
From: Me
Well actually
This demo track I’ve been trying to nail down for a few days
…
----------
It’s been four days since first contact after the party happened with Hoseok. Surprisingly, the conversation has flowed so naturally between the two of them it’s like they’ve been friends for years. And okay, this is really only what Yoongi can tell through texting each other after less than a week, but still, they get on surprisingly well considering their first meeting wasn’t ideal. Half the time he’s talking to Hoseok, he doesn’t even remember the party. Hoseok is just so easy to talk to. He’s also decidedly ignoring the butterflies he gets in his stomach every time his phone gets a notification. He can only handle so much emotional turmoil a few times a year. He’s just back from grocery shopping and is about to feed Holly when he gets another text from Hoseok, continuing a conversation they were having earlier. Holly’s whining at him to give him his food bowl so he sets it down for him and reaches into the pocket of his jeans.
From: Hoseok
Ok ye maybe so but really whos to say cows aint monogamous
Im js that if no one has done the studies u cant say its not true
Its basic science hyungie ;)
Yoongi stomach jolts a little bit at the ‘hyungie’. It’s so cute. The way Hoseok texts overall is so cute.
From: Hoseok
oh!!!!!! I forgot to say to u lol
me n the other instructors have a lil open day every semester
for like
current students to show off their moves
and to bring in fresh meat XD
kook nd jiminie are doing a piece this year u should come along!!
Im doing a small solo piece too :D
Kookie told me yday that uve never even been to the studio before
We have to change tht lol!
he said he wud txt u but im reinforcing it
its not for like 3 weeks but don’t make any plans!!!!
The butterflies are gone and replaced with pure nerves. Shit. He needs a bit more time before he can show his face in Hoseok’s presence without folding like a lawn chair from pure embarrassment. He doesn’t really want to say no to the offer either. The chance to see Hoseok? Dancing in all his glory? He would be lying if he didn’t stalk Hoseok’s Instagram page the second he was in the clear from him, and the dance videos he had up on his profile were… mesmerizing, to say the least. Now he’s been given the opportunity to see it first hand and up close. He kinda really needs to see Hoseok dance. So he does the stupid thing and agrees.
From: Me
Sure! I’ll tag along :)
----------
Jungkook holds the door open for him as they make their way through the studio entrance. He can’t believe he actually came.
“I can’t believe you actually came.” Jungkook echoes. Yoongi just grunts at him in return. He’s giving him a look like Yoongi might bolt back through the doors at any second, and honestly he feels that way too. Hoseok mentioned that he never said to Jungkook why exactly he ran out of the party a few weeks ago, so Yoongi’s reaction to being inside the studio must seem very strange. Jungkook leads them down a corridor painted a light yellow, and they pass by a few glass doors that hold studios behind them, some in use and some not. Jungkook stops at a door on his right marked as the changing rooms.
“I gotta go change and then warm up for my piece, so just keep going down the corridor and the studio we’re all gonna be in is the last door on the left.” He gestures down the hall and then disappears off into the changing rooms. Yoongi hesitates for a second, before he mentally berates himself that he’s being an idiot and makes his way down the hall. He peaks through the glass door and spots Taehyung leaning against the far wall on the left-hand side, which makes him feel a bit more at ease. He slips into the room as someone is leaving, and everyone is still chatting away clearly waiting for the performances to begin, so he gladly goes unnoticed. He makes his way over to Taehyung who’s not so subtly ogling at Jimin as he stretches.
“Hey.” Tae startles and then looks at Yoongi with a hint of surprise.
“Damn, I didn’t believe Kookie when he said you’d actually leave your batcave.” Taehyung smiles at him, teasing.
“Why is everyone so shocked that I want to support my friends? I’m a nice person y’know.” He scoffs.
“Hmm. I don’t doubt that dearest Yoongi-hyung, but are you sure your sudden interest in dancing has nothing to do with a certain redhead? Jiminie says he’s never seen Hobi-hyung more engrossed in his phone since he’s known him, and it’s funny ‘cus Namjoon-hyung has said the same about you recently.” He gives Yoongi a big ol’ smirk at that, like he’s proud of his sleuthing skills. Yoongi mentally curses at himself. He knew he should’ve left his phone in his bedroom when Namjoon was over in the studio. He doesn’t have any reply to Taehyung which definitely doesn’t help his case, so he just grunts at him and turns to look out over the studio instead. It’s a massive space, probably the biggest room in the place, and one of the walls is covered in floor-to-ceiling mirrors. There are plenty of people, probably students and teachers and friends, etc. milling about and chatting away, waiting for the first dance. He still can’t see any sign of Hoseok, not that he’s explicitly looking, but he reckons he’s over the other side of the room setting up. Jungkook slips into the room at that moment and spots Jimin, Tae and Yoongi and makes his way over. He says hi to Taehyung, then begins stretching alongside Jimin where they start discussing various moves.
Several minutes later, whilst Tae and Yoongi are deep in conversation about their respective dogs, everybody hushes down and someone is making their way from the opposite side of the room to stand in the center. It’s Hoseok, who stands there beaming at the full room with freshy-dyed red hair and an outfit that would do better in a magazine photoshoot than for a dance performance. He claps his hands twice to silence the remainder of the whispers and gives the crowd a quick once-over. He catches Yoongi’s eye and there’s a flicker of surprise there, but then then he smiles and not-so-subtly winks and then turns away again, not before Yoongi blushes bright fucking red though and Tae nudges him in victory.
“Hi everyone! Welcome! To Hope World’s 2nd open day! We didn’t expect such a positive feedback from last year but the support was above and beyond from all you guys so I’m really excited to be able to do this again!” Hoseok is beaming with pride as everyone claps and there’s some loud cheers. Yoongi knows from both Jimin and Jungkook that this place is more than just a dance studio and more of a community, that all the students that join here are welcomed like family by the instructors and other students alike. He can’t help but feel his heart warm with fondness for them both to have a place like this.
“Okay guys, so! The way this is gonna work is that we have 8 different performances prepared, 3 by some of us teachers and 5 from different students, groups and solos. After that, there’s drinks and snacks and stuff and any newcomers here today are welcome to come up and talk to us and get a feel for the studio! It’s gonna be chill, there’s no pressure here today so don’t be nervous if you want to say hi!” Hoseok says, directing his smile towards areas where he seems to know newbies are looking on. “Without further ado, let’s get this party started! First up it’s a duo performance from our very own Taemin and Hyejin!” He skips off to the corner of the room again and suddenly a loud and heavy beat starts thumping from the speakers dotted around the room. Two individuals make their way from the crowd already geared up and start their piece.
The day continues like so. Students stand in front of the crowd and perform, Jimin and Jungkook coming in 4th in the lineup and doing spectacularly. It’s been a while since either of them have had a showcase, so Yoongi hasn’t seen them perform a full dedicated routine in a few months, but he’s still blown away by their talent as if it’s his first time to watch them all over again. They move to a slow and sensual beat that perfectly shows off how much control they have over their bodies, and he swears he can see Taehyung tearing up from the corner of his eye as he focuses heavily on the movements of Jimin’s hips. When their piece ends to thunderous applause, and another student steps up to perform, Yoongi begins to feel a bit nervous. He’s begun to anticipate Hoseok’s dancing to the point of nervousness and he’s getting a little restless that he’s yet to perform. Not to mention that despite the A/C blasting throughout the room, the congregation of people and all their various scents have started to make the room bit stuffy. He pulls at his collar from the heat and claps politely when the students land in their ending pose. Yoongi starts to zone out a little then and manages to come back to himself just as the last dance is about to begin.
“And now, our studio director himself, everyone welcome Hobi-hyung!”
A dark and heady beat starts playing over the sound system; something that’s intense and sharp that bleeds right through Yoongi. He doesn’t recognize the song but he’s already entranced. Hoseok begins on his hands and knees and slowly makes his way upright, popping his limbs to the beat of the song and keeping in perfect time with the music. Yoongi’s draw nearly drops at the sheer power behind the moves. Hoseok dances flawlessly, makes the whole routine look easy and effortless, barely looking like he’s breathing heavy or breaking a sweat at all. Yoongi can feel himself blushing just watching him move, but he knows he’s not the only one. Every pair of eyes in the room is focused on Hoseok’s lithe body moving in perfect sychronisation with the music. He doesn’t know why, but it’s like Yoongi’s body is already attuned to Hoseok, like they’re already bonded or something and its freaking him out a little. That he’s so affected by how Hoseok looks in his element, that it feels like it goes beyond the idea of casual attraction. He knows if he looked in a mirror his pupils would be fucking dilated, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away if he wanted. He can’t even pick up Hoseok’s scent from here, what the fuck is wrong with him. Hoseok moves into a series of quick steps, followed by a high kick and a goddamn fucking flip on one hand, and the whole room gasps. Yoongi is going to lose his damn mind. Hoseok finishes the piece on his knees as the song ends, and the whole room bursts into applause. Hoseok waits a few seconds then bounds up to give a bow, swarmed by some students who clearly want to discuss the piece. Beside him, Jimin, Kook and Tae are still giving their thunderous applause, but Yoongi hasn’t moved an inch. Someone bumps into him and brings him back to the present moment where he begins to clap a few times before turning around, away from the middle of the dance studio. He’s trying to catch his bearings and Taehyung is giving him an odd but knowing look, about to reach out to him when he hears someone behind him that makes him jump and spin around.
“Hey guys!” Hoseok is standing there, all smiles and still breathing a little heavily, fanning his shirt so as it doesn’t stick to him. Yoongi’s mouth is open and he’s staring but he can’t follow the command that is brain is giving him to act normal. The three younger boys start showering Hoseok in praises, and he gratefully accepts them with thanks, giving his own compliments to Jimin and Jungkook. Unfortunately for Yoongi, this stuffy room complete with a nearby Hoseok fanning his shirt means that Yoongi is subjected to the delectable scent that just pervades the air around Hoseok. His mouth honest to god starts watering from the sweet honey smell and he catches himself before he actually drools. Hoseok turns to him then, eyes lit up and smile never wavering.
“Yoongi-hyung, I’m really glad you came. I almost didn’t expect you to with the way Jungkook talked about you.” He gives a cute little laugh and pats Jungkook’s arm. It takes about, 10 seconds, for Yoongi’s brain to catch up with his mouth to realise the conversation is directed towards him, duh. Everyone’s waiting for a response, or at least an acknowledgment that he’s heard what’s been said, but he just nods and blurts out “youwerereallygreat.” Jungkook, the little shit, turns away to laugh into his hand. But to his utter surprise, Hoseok’s ears turn red and he looks a little bashful as he gives a kind “thank you” in return. He gets called away right at that moment but tells them he’ll see them all for food in a few.
3 pairs of eyes turn to him. Jimin bursts out laughing, not even trying to hide his reaction. Jungkook looks so smug and Yoongi kind of wants to slap the look off his face. Embarrassed enough as it is he just scoffs at the three of them and then leads the way out of the studio towards the door marked as the cafeteria.
The snacks are setup in what Yoongi assumes is the company lunch room, but it’s almost as big as the studio they were all in for the event, so it’s not overly packed if still a little too warm. He’s kind of impressed at the size of the few rooms he’s seen and the fact that there’s at least 2 other studios he passed on the way in. Jimin notices him looking around the room in curiosity and leans over to him. His fruity scent is strong after exerting himself in dancing.
“Hobi-hyung made a bit of a name for himself choreographing when he moved up to Seoul, lot of kpop groups looking for him to create the moves to go along with their hits.” He looks a bit fond as he talks about Hoseok’s success.
“How’d he pick up jobs like that just starting out?” Yoongi asks.
“Youtube, duh. And Instagram. Companies are always on the lookout for an edge and good choreo can really make or break a group. Especially rookies.” Jimin leans back and exchanges a glance with Jungkook, like they’re exasperated just thinking about it.
Yoongi hums in approval, impressed at how Hoseok has made a name for himself. There are plenty of dance studios and aspiring dancers in Seoul, what with such a large market for their talents in the entertainment industry. Despite having seen only one of his performances live, he can’t help but agree with how Hoseok has done well for himself. He makes a mental note to try and find his youtube channel later. His Instagram page was amazing, but full-length videos would be even more mesmerising. There’s got to be a link to it on the company’s web page or something.
They join the short queue moving towards the snack tables. Hoseok finds them again there, Tae and Jungkook fitting as much treats as possible onto their plates, Jimin being given their overflow. Yoongi doesn’t notice Hoseok sidling up to him until it’s too late, his honey-sweet scent giving him away before he gently nudges into Yoongi. He turns to face Hoseok, desperately trying to keep his cool unlike how he was in the dance studio. Hoseok is fidgeting with the sleeve of his sweater as he gently smiles at Yoongi. What good did Yoongi do in a previous life to be blessed by all these smiles from him? He gives him a small one back and there’s a few seconds of awkward silence where neither of them speak. Yoongi notices that Hoseok isn’t that much taller than himself, his big personality just making it seem like he is.
“Now that I have you alone, what did you really think of my routine?” Hoseok asks in a quiet voice, and reaches up to move a stray strand of hair from his face.
Yoongi gathers himself, determined to speak like a normal human being in front of Hoseok, for once. He takes a deep breath, which is a mistake ‘cus he breathes in even more of Hoseok’s delicious scent in all its glory and he wants to scream. He smells so good.
“Amazing. No- eh, amazing doesn’t even cover it. It was breathtaking.” There, several coherent words at once, well done Yoongi.
Hoseok looks down and smiles at the ground. “Thank you. I said it before, but I’m glad you came. It’s nice to see you in person again. Y’know, especially when you haven’t fled from the conversation so far.” Yoongi groans at this, and Hoseok throws his head back in laughter.
“I’m sorry! It was a bad time for me.” Yoongi says in protest, blushing once again. Hoseok calms down and puts a hand on Yoongi’s arm.
“Don’t worry, we all have those moments. And stop apologizing, it’ll just ruin the fun of teasing you about it.” He grins at Yoongi, who just grumbles back at him, but he can’t help the small grin that appears on his face. They’re standing in the middle of this crowded room with giddy smiles, looking into each other’s eyes, Hoseok’s hand still on Yoongi’s arm. Someone, probably Jimin, coughs loudly from behind them probably trying to remind them they’re in public and that if this stare-off continues, the room will have the be evacuated because of all these alpha and omega pheromones the two of them are giving off. They shake themselves off and Hoseok clears his throat.
“Hey I don’t know if the guys were telling you, but all the dancers are going for a drink after this if you want to join. Taehyung too, so you won’t be the only non-dancer.” Hoseok looks hopefully at Yoongi, and who is he to deny those pretty brown eyes anything? He coughs into his fist awkwardly.
“Yeh. I’d- I’d love to.”
“Great! Gives us a chance to get to know each other a little better! And you can let me hear this demo track you finished ‘cus I know you have it on your phone.” He links his arm with Yoongi’s, unaware or unbothered by Yoongi’s flustering, and drags them towards some unoccupied seats where they end up staying for the remainder of the event, until Jimin and Jungkook have to forcefully drag them out the doors in the hopes of getting a few drinks together.
Yoongi can’t keep the smile on his face as Hoseok keeps ahold of his arm all the way to the bar.
__________
Yoongi’s palms are sweating so bad . He tries to wipe them on his black slacks but it’s no use, he’s too damn nervous. Hobi is late, and he texted Yoongi this and told him, but Yoongi is still low-key panicking. It’s not like they haven’t been hanging out a ton since the studio’s open day, both in a group of their friends or alone. This isn’t anything unusual for them, meeting up to grab some food after work, but the fact that they’ve officially classed this as a date has Yoongi’s stomach in knots. He’s terrified Hobi will realise that he isn’t all that into Yoongi and will leave him here waiting at the restaurant, never to see him again. Of course, that’s a dumb thought, driven home by the text he receives from Hobi a second later that reads Just outside! X . He takes a deep breath to steel himself, because he’s pretty sure Hobi doesn’t want to be greeted by a wave of nervous alpha pheromones.
“Sorrysorrysorry!” He hears Hoseok whoosh in from behind him and settle at the table across from Yoongi, chair screeching as he pulls it out and throws his bag down at his feet. He’s flushed red from having run all the way here, or so it looks like. Hoseok blows out a puff of air and gives Yoongi one of his trademark heart-stopping smiles.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting! I know you haven’t eaten all day, I just had a crying kid to console and Jungkook is useless when they start crying so I had to step in. Took longer than I thought, but the kid’s okay at least!” He takes a deep breath to calm himself and Yoongi smiles at him, fond. Something about Hoseok’s presence keeps him on the edge of nerves, but also oddly relaxed. He’s calmed down now that Hobi is here, and his scent rushes over him like a balm.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m just glad you’re here in one piece. You sounded stressed out your mind on the phone.”
“Yeh kids do that to you sometimes.” Hobi shrugs in a ‘what can you do’ kind of way, and rests his elbows on the table, completely ignoring the menu in favour of smiling softly at Yoongi.
“I’m glad we’re finally doing this. Don’t know how many more hints I needed to drop to get you to ask me out, but my creativity was waning.” He says, gazing at Yoongi. He rests his hand on the table, face up, still keeping his chin delicately balanced on his other hand. Yoongi clears his throat and looks down, but slowly reaches his hand towards Hoseok’s until their fingers are intertwined. It’s a bit forward for a first date, but not even Yoongi can deny this connection he’s made with Hoseok. Even from their first tumultuous meeting, he knew that Hoseok was different, special. He’s just insanely glad Hoseok was kind enough to forgive him and let them become friends, now hopefully with the promise of becoming more. He meets Hoseok’s gaze head on and smiles back at him.
“Thanks for letting me ask you out. And for dropping all the hints. It was reassuring.” Hobi chuckles at that, and leans forward over the table, looking expectantly at Yoongi to do the same.
“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, now that we’re here.” Hoseok looks like he’s trying to hold back a laugh, and Yoongi nods at him to continue, confused.
“Do you know anyone that can fuck me full of pups?”
Yoongi swears his blush could rival mars with how red he is, and Hoseok’s cackle can be heard throughout the entire restaurant.