Chapter 1: STAGE I

...The buildings, the halls, and the dingy carpets in them were exactly the same as Jimin had left them about three months before. The halls were narrow but welcoming, and he couldn’t help but smile as he approached the door he knew was his. Most of the doors were open; there were parents left and right helping their kids settle into their dorm rooms. Jimin was a third year and his parents were no less attached to him than the parents he saw inside the other dorm rooms; sending them off minutes before had been a struggle, though he had convinced them to go without helping him unpack....

...His sneakers made a soft sound as they hit against the old hallway carpeting, his feet steering his body ever closer to his dorm room. Jimin recited his room number in his head like a broken record until he laid eyes on it and stopped in his tracks. The door was already open and a familiar figure was hunched over, its back facing the doorway. “Who said you could take this side of the room, hm?” Jimin leaned up against the doorframe and pushed his suitcases closer to the wall. The figure jolted up and spun around to face Jimin; a wide, boxy smile immediately appeared on his face and suddenly he was bolting forwards towards Jimin....

...“You’re here! Oh my god, you don’t know how glad I am to see you,” the figure enveloped Jimin in a constricted hug, his arms wrapped around Jimin’s neck. He was taller than Jimin by a couple inches and Jimin felt his breath get knocked out of him. He managed a chuckle and wrapped his arms around the other male, patting his back to let him know he needed to ease up a little....

...“I’m glad to see you too, Tae, but please let go of me,” Jimin choked out before the other male untangled his arms from around Jimin’s neck. The two separated themselves and Jimin gazed upon his gangly friend with affection. He had tanned over the summer, that was a definite. Jimin could probably say the same about himself, though he was used to seeing himself in the mirror; the two roommates hadn’t seen each other since the end of the last school year....

...Jimin grabbed a hold of his suitcases again and rolled them further into the room, dropping them off next to the bed that the taller male hadn’t already taken. “How was your summer, Taehyung? Anything good to report?” He shot a wink at the other, hoping to send the message he was thinking of in his head. He watched as Taehyung stopped unpacking his suitcase and turned around to glare a little at him, a light shade of pink showing up on his cheeks. Jimin laughed wholeheartedly at the reaction and waved the question away. He picked up the smaller of his suitcases and propped it on his bare mattress, unzipping it and taking out his bedsheets....

...Taehyung stayed facing Jimin, pausing his activities and placing both hands on his hips. “For your information,” he began, snarky tone extremely emphasized, “nothing regarding that happened over the summer, at least on the level you’re thinking. However, if you apologize for rejecting my hug after three months of not seeing you, I will tell you what did happen.” The taller male smiled cheekily down at Jimin, who had also paused in making his bed. A grin spread across Jimin’s face and his eyes turned up into dark crescent shapes....

...Jimin stepped over his suitcases and towards Taehyung, coming to a stop when he wrapped his arms around the taller male’s waist. “Taetae, I’m so sorry I pushed you away, please forgive me?” There was a drop of insincerity in his voice, though in all reality it went right over Taehyung’s head. Jimin, still hugging his waist, added a small, “If you didn’t make a lot of progress on this whole thing, though, I think I might punch something,” before letting go and heading back to his linens....

...Taehyung plopped himself down on his half-made bed and crossed his legs underneath him. “You’re forgiven. Not to get your hopes up, there isn’t a lot to tell, but there are definitely some points of interest you need to know about.” Taehyung regarded Jimin in a manner that screamed the latter give attention to him, and Jimin did just that. “First of all, we texted a lot, but kinda sporadically. It was pretty solid after break started, but towards the middle it dwindled a little. We sent each other snaps and all that kind of stuff pretty consistently, but legit texting became a little lax. It didn’t pick back up until a couple weeks ago, actually.”...

...“Wow, Taehyung’s basically got himself a boyfriend,” Jimin teased the other as he wrestled with his pillow and pillowcase. “Didja send him any nudes?” Taehyung glared menacingly at the other boy, a wide grin playing across Jimin’s face nonetheless; he couldn’t help but feel happy for his friend, despite his teasing. “Really though, are you still texting consistently? Like within the past few days?”...

...Taehyung opened his mouth to reply when his phone chimed. He reached into his shorts pocket and withdrew the device, looking at the screen before looking back at Jimin with an animated grin. “Well, yeah, speak of the devil,” he waved his phone in Jimin’s direction before bringing it back down to actually read the text. “He asks if he and Hoseok can come over; I guess they’ve finished unpacking or whatever. Is that cool with you?” His thumbs hovered over the keys as he waited for the nod that came from Jimin moments after. With a smile he replied to the text message, muttering a small, “Make sure I don’t pass out when I see him, okay?” Jimin chuckled and promised him he’d try his best before turning back to his pile of sheets....

...–––...

...As Jimin finished unpacking his clothes into his closet and dresser, a loud and too-familiar voice reverberated off of the walls: “Yo, guys! What’s new?” Jimin and Taehyung turned simultaneously to face the door, watching as Hoseok and his roommate strolled into their room. Taehyung was the first to react, as he stepped to meet Hoseok halfway and wrapped him in an excited hug. Jimin quickly embraced Hoseok’s roommate and firmly patted him on the back. The other male, taller than Jimin, smiled sweetly and the two exchanged small greetings....

...“Everything’s been good! What about you, hyung? Anything interesting happen over break?” Taehyung shook Hoseok a little by the shoulders and slapped him lightly on the back. “Don’t spare the gory details,” he sent a wink in Hoseok’s direction as he stepped over to the latter’s roommate to greet him as well. Taehyung approached the dark-haired male almost cautiously and with a sheepish smile, different from how he had greeted Hoseok....

...“Hey, hyung,” the dark-haired male smiled equally as sheepishly at Taehyung, going in for an awkward but friendly hug. He pulled away and resumed a more confident-looking posture, voice more solid as well, though it dropped to a whisper. “I missed you over break.” His rabbit-toothed smile shot shivers down Taehyung’s spine, and he swore that this was the best Move-In Day to date....

...Taehyung shot the dark-haired male a small grin and chuckled lightly, “I missed you too, Jungkook. You should have texted me more often if that was the case.” Jimin noticed the two from the corner of his eye as he and Hoseok talked briefly about their respective summer breaks; he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Taehyung being so impossibly smitten by a second year....

...A figure appeared in the door and interrupted all conversations in progress. All four aimed their attention at the open door, eyes landing on a shock of light blue-green hair. The figure wore dark-rimmed, square glasses and a slightly forced smile. He was clad in a purple tee shirt with the phrase “Need any help? Ask me!” plastered on the front in a loud font, along with a pair of ripped up denim jeans and a clunky pair of sneakers. The four males stood frozen waiting for any sign of life from the colorful individual in the doorway....

...“Uh, hey there. Just so you all know, I’m this floor’s RA this year,” the figure spoke, grounding himself by holding onto the doorframe. His gaze was unwavering and his voice held a hint of uncertainty, “My name is Yoongi, just so you know. Do you guys need any help with anything?” He shoved his free hand into his front pocket and it was obvious that he was new to being an RA....

...Jimin was the first to speak up, showing off his winning smile, “No, we don’t need anything!” His eyes curved up into his usual dark crescents and he was sure he could see Yoongi develop a little more confidence in his own smile at the sight of his....

...“Okay, well if you come across any problems my room is just at the end of the hall,” Yoongi motioned towards the closer end of the hallway with his whole arm, as if he were directing a gaggle of campus tourists around for the first time....

...“Thanks, we’ll be sure to come knocking if anything comes up!” Jimin chirped happily and shot Yoongi a thumbs-up. The three others around him stifled their laughter until Yoongi shot one last half-uncertain smile at them and turned on his heel to leave the room. Hoseok laughed the loudest, his voice once again bouncing off the barren walls; Taehyung wasn’t far behind on the decibel scale, either, though it was much clearer to Jimin that he was mocking him for one reason or another....

...“Oh my god, Jimin, you should have seen the look on your face when he started talking,” Hoseok heaved out in between hearty laughs, coming over to slap Jimin on the back and proceeding to hang off of him like a sloth on a tree branch. “You looked so fucking whipped, oh my god. Like your knees were gonna give out if he kept talking,” Jimin scowled at the other and tried feebly to shove him off of his shoulders....

...“Fucking– I did not, hyung, I swear to god. I was just trying to be nice,” Jimin’s voice trailed off slowly; he was sure he wasn’t making much of a point with his words anyways....

...“Jimin, no. You totally were sending a different message, whether you like it or no–” Taehyung came up to Jimin and reached out to ruffle his hair when Jimin flinched and smacked his hand away....

...“Okay, yeah, whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Jimin snapped back at Taehyung, though there was a hint of a smile curling the sides of his lips as he tried hard to resist laughing along with the rest of them. “Anyways, who wants to go down to the lounge? I can text the rest of the guys and we can all meet up for a bit.”...

...Hoseok jabbed Taehyung in the side playfully and muttered, “ Maybe we should invite the RA, too, ” though Jimin heard every word; he rolled his eyes and could hear Jungkook giggling quietly from the sidelines....

...–––...

...The residents’ lounge had not changed since the end of last year; the only thing that could be argued to have changed would be the smell of it. The absence of student life on campus during the summer caused a musty smell to build up in the unused dorm halls; it wasn’t really the most welcoming of things to smell on the first day back, though Jimin could tell it was already dissipating due to the resurge of life in the building’s hallways. The couches and tables in the lounge were all in the same place, and Jimin led the others over to their usual spot in the far corner. Two other people were already there and rose to their feet when they saw the other four approaching....

...“Guys, long time no see!” The taller of the two people approached Hoseok first and brought him into a quick hug. His pink-tinted hair identified him, and Jimin ogled at the extreme change from the last time he saw the looming figure. The pink-haired man moved along the line of them, greeting each warmly. He stopped last at Jungkook and grabbed him by the shoulders fondly, “You excited to be starting your second year? God, you look like you could be a third year, though.” His full lips were curled into an adoring smile as he looked upon the younger, admiring how mature he had gotten over such a small amount of time....

...Jungkook rolled his eyes slightly and chuckled, bringing the other into a hug. “Good to see you too, Namjoon hyung.” He patted the older’s back and drew away, muttering a small, “You’re a fourth year, don’t remind me how fast time is going,” with an equally small smile to go along with it....

...The other three were greeting the last person; he was another fourth year like Namjoon and had a delicate visage, contrasting Namjoon’s more intense appearance. He greeted Jimin, Hoseok, and Taehyung like they were his children, littering them with inquiries about their summer and if they had eaten yet that day. “ Yeah, Seokjin hyung, we ate before we came back to campus, don’t worry ,” they all respond with a loving eye roll....

...The six of them convened in their usual corner, gathered together and piled up on couches. Chatter was constant; except for Namjoon and Seokjin, they all hadn’t seen each other for so long and there was plenty to discuss. They talked about Jimin’s time back home in Busan, and how he actually did not meet up with Taehyung at all, contrary to popular belief. He had spent a lot of time trying to improve his songwriting skills in between his dance team practice, and not a lot of time messing around with the taller brunet. They talked about Hoseok’s first experience directing a smaller-scale middle school drama production, and how he had decided afterwards that he wanted to stick to simply performing. Jungkook had gone to a summer-long fine arts camp, where he finally honed in on what he wanted to major in: music production. Taehyung had interned at a small veterinarian’s office in Daegu, and participated minimally in the production of a forty-minute play at the local community college. Overall, their summers were spent productively with minimal time for each other. There had been texting in group chats and individually from time to time, though for the most part their summers had been busy and jam-packed....

...The conversation was not complete, however, without Taehyung butting in and mentioning his and Jimin’s new RA. Having stayed in the same building all their college careers, the group was intrigued to hear more about the mysterious man. Namjoon and Seokjin, both RAs themselves, hadn’t yet been able to introduce themselves to the rest of the team for the year and they listened intently as Taehyung recalled his encounter from before. “He seemed pretty shy, if you ask me, but I think he’ll be pretty chill this year. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to get on your *** about much, though I guess we’ll just have to see about that – right, Jimin ?” Taehyung beamed in Jimin’s direction and the latter shot daggers at him with his eyes. Of course Taehyung hadn’t spared his (as well as Hoseok and Jungkook’s) perception of Jimin’s first meeting with Yoongi; the fellow RAs were thoroughly amused with the younger’s reaction....

...“Fucking shut it, Kim Taehyung. I swear to god if you purposely try to get on his nerves, I will end you,” Jimin lurched at Taehyung, attempting to threaten him, though the taller was desensitized and merely chuckled at Jimin’s effort. “‘Cuz Lord knows I’m gonna be the one that gets blamed for it, like always .” His glare towards his roommate was strong; the group couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange and they all shook their heads at the pair. Taehyung had a record for causing trouble in the dorms – it was a wonder he had never been kicked out – and then disappearing when the RAs came around to find the culprit. Unluckily for Jimin, he was always the one to get blamed for the act initially; he usually got proved innocent later on. Taehyung made a point every year to see what kinds of crap he could pull on the RAs, and there was no doubt that this year wouldn’t be any different. Jimin just hoped that Yoongi would be smart enough to catch the right criminal, unlike all their past RAs....

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