Chapter 4: STAGE IV

...For the rest of the week, things flowed almost normally. Jimin’s classes provided their usual level of stress and he was on his toes most of the time. His stage management classes were starting to kick his ***, but he enjoyed the rigorous pace compared to the ease of his dance classes. Taehyung kept him on edge like always, though he seemed to keep his antics to a minimum the last few days of the week. He took Jimin’s suggestion and meandered down to Jungkook and Hoseok’s room to smoke maybe twice; he always came back to the room late and with flushed cheeks, but not from smoking. Jimin didn't ask about it....

...Until Taehyung brought it up. It was Thursday night and he walked into the room around midnight; his eyes were droopy and his steps were slow and sloppy. Jimin was at his desk, studying up on different stage lighting methods. His head perked up at the sound of the door opening and closing and his eyes landed upon the lethargic-looking Taehyung. “Done already?” Jimin smiled and looked back to his notes when he decided Taehyung didn't need help to his bed. He knew the other wasn’t far gone enough to need any outside assistance with his actions; Jimin knew enough from having to deal with his roommate numerous times before....

...His question earned a grunt of affirmation from Taehyung as he shuffled over to his bed. The brunet threw himself onto the mattress and stared up at the ceiling, breathing slowly as if he were asleep. “Jimin, I need to tell you something,” his voice was low and hoarse and his words weren't enunciated well....

...Jimin hummed but didn't look up from his notes. Taehyung continued, “I don't know what's going on with me and Jungkook,” at this, Jimin looked towards the other quizzically; he still was staring upwards, gaze unwavering. “Like, I can never tell what kinds of messages he’s trying to send and it’s starting to annoy me.” He reached a hand up to ruffle his hair in frustration, gulping back what seemed to be the threat of tears....

...“Well, what kinds of things is he doing?” Jimin got up from his desk, abandoning his notes, and came to sit on his roommate’s bed. Taehyung moved his legs out of the way to make room for the redhead and Jimin shimmied his way onto the lower half of the mattress....

...“For starters, the kid started smoking with me and Hoseok hyung,” a chuckle rumbled low in Taehyung’s chest and he covered his eyes with his arm. “He gets really touchy-feely and in all honesty it’s too cute for words. I’m having trouble differentiating his real emotions and his emotions that are affected by the pot and I don't know what to do. Usually when we’re just hanging out and sober he’ll also lean into me when he laughs, but he never does the things he does when he’s high. Do you think he just considers us really close?”...

...Jimin placed his hands on Taehyung’s knees that were folded up towards the latter’s chest and sighed with a smile playing on his lips. “It doesn't seem to me like those two personalities are separate. He always looks like he’s resisting the urge to cling to you, man – regardless of whether he's stoned. I think the weed just makes him less inhibited,” He looked at the other to gauge his reaction; Taehyung’s mouth molded into a frown of confusion and Jimin knew he was doubting his explanation. “I think I’m right, bro,” he chuckled and smacked Taehyung lightly on his knees....

...Taehyung hesitated for a moment and Jimin could have sworn he fell asleep, based off of his slow breathing and calm visage. “Should I make a move on him? What if I ruin what we already have?” Jimin blinked and processed the question before answering in slow words....

...“There are some risks we should be willing to make for certain people if we really want things to change,” his tone was sincere but low. The two were quiet as they both mulled over the redhead’s response. Jimin felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and given Taehyung’s temporary blind state, his hand dove into his pocket to withdraw the device. The screen was harsh on his eyes against the habitually dim lighting of the dorm room and he had to lower it in order to read the notification. It was a text from Yoongi and Jimin felt his stomach do a somersault....

...“Go to sleep, Tae, you need it,” Jimin patted his friend on the knee one last time as he crawled off of the bed, eyes never leaving his message conversation with the RA. He scrambled over to his own bed and read over the text a few times unnecessarily, “ Hey, what time do you want to meet Friday? ” He blinked continuously and was clueless as to what he should say back. It was a fairly easy question, but his brain was stuck on the thought that it wasn't as simple as it seemed....

...He decided on a response and typed it into the message box, “ Meet me around 5:30? ” and pressed send without hesitation. He dropped his phone onto his stomach after locking the screen. Jimin fixated his eyes on the bumpy ceiling above him; he stared and stared until his eyes dried out and he was forced to shut them. His heart was beating quickly and he grumbled, for he couldn't figure out why he was so worked up over a simple exchange. Before he could see any kind of reply from the RA, Jimin set his phone on silent and turned out the lights; he went to bed with an uneasy heart and busy thoughts....

...–––...

...Jimin’s last class of the day let out at four o’clock in the afternoon and he was on the opposite side of where he needed to be in an hour and a half. He had had his modern dance class; they had finally perfected their class-choreographed number and his entire body was aching and covered in sweat. Jacketless in the cooling autumn air, Jimin walked faster than normal back to where his dorm was located. His calves burned, but he kept his determination and tried to calm the palpitations of his heart. He would admit it; he was nervous for his get-together with his RA tonight. He had purposely invited the RA to the dining hall during the time he and the rest of the group usually convened for dinner in order to ease them both into the situation. He wasn’t exactly sure if the other male would even need reassurance – there was no reason he would. Jimin blamed the insane beating in his chest on his vigorous walk back to the dorms and went into panic mode when he finally reached it. It was four thirty and he rushed to get showered and changed before the meeting time....

...Luckily, he prepared himself with about ten minutes to spare. He was dressed pretty casually; he donned a black tee shirt layered with a rather baggy navy blue cardigan and a pair of dark-wash, ripped jeans that accented his legs in all the right ways. He looked himself over once more in the mirror and ran his fingers back through his bangs before grabbing his phone and wallet and walking out the door....

...On his way down the stairs to the ground floor, Jimin checked his phone to see if he had missed any texts during his mad rush to get ready. The screen illuminated and he saw one text from Yoongi, “I might be a few minutes late - I think my professor wants to keep us longer. Sorry!” Jimin grinned and noticed the time it was sent and realized the other had sent it nearly a half an hour ago. He quickly typed out a response, “No worries - I’ll just wait if I need to!” His grin widened and became an animated smile as he bounded down the last flight of stairs before reaching the first level....

...The dining hall was located in a part of the dorm hall that was relatively secluded and habitually barren on Friday nights. Most students found themselves in the Marketplace, where all the unhealthier foods were served, or off-campus at real restaurants. Jimin knew that this would be the perfect place to just hang out and talk, uninterrupted – however “uninterrupted” they could be with the rest of the group hanging around. Why did he plan it like this again? He was feeling oddly more relaxed after reading Yoongi’s warning that he might be late; it gave him more time to not have to be in front of the RA and putting effort into making a good impression....

...He pushed the doors to the dining hall open and immediately laid eyes on the rest of the group sitting at their usual table. Taehyung was the first to notice him and waved frantically as if the redhead didn’t know where they would be after all these years of sitting in the same spot. Jimin started towards the table when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, rough breathing rattling in his ears. His muscles tensed and he turned his head around to see the figure of someone slouched over and resting his other hand on bent knees, panting for breath. Jimin would be clueless as to who it was if not for the shock of bright blue hair; his heart jumped upon recognition and he turned his body fully around to regard the RA....

...“Y-Yoongi-ssi? Are you alright?” Jimin reached out a hand before the other straightened up and chuckled coolly....

...He waved a hand in between the two of them and fixed the wrinkles in his clothing. “Yeah, totally alright,” he interrupted himself with a small cough. “I just didn’t want to be late so I may have ran here.”...

...Jimin stifled laughter at the other’s explanation. “I texted you back and said you didn’t have to rush, though!” The blue-haired male waved his reaction off and started walking into the dining hall, causing Jimin to follow after him, slightly stunned. Jimin walked in slightly smaller strides, though caught up to the other in order to veer him in the direction of the mostly-full table on the other side of the dining hall. Yoongi did not resist the redirection and smiled over gently at Jimin; the redhead’s heart jumped in his chest and he could have sworn it was just from the nervousness of having the RA in front of his group of crazy friends....

...As the two approached the table, Taehyung jumped up from his seat and bounded over towards them. He wore a wide smile on his face and his eyes were crinkled at the corners. “Brought a date, I see?” He spoke at a level that sent electricity through Jimin’s skin; could he be any louder? Jimin felt his cheeks go red – with anger or embarrassment, he didn’t know which – and he brought a hand up to smack the brunet on his arm. He heard Yoongi chuckle sympathetically behind him. “Fine, not a date. Whatever you want to believe, Jimin,” Taehyung muttered under his breath as he shuffled dejectedly back to his seat....

...Jimin shot Taehyung a look as if to say, “ I will kill you later, Kim Taehyung, ” as he sat down in one of the two empty seats left; Yoongi followed suit and sat down, faced with five unfamiliar faces. It was quiet at the table for a few moments; Hoseok and Jungkook were snickering to themselves, Namjoon and Seokjin were regarding Yoongi in an unreadable fashion, and Jimin and Taehyung glared piercingly at each other. Namjoon was the first to speak up....

...“So, uh, Yoongi-ssi– I’m Namjoon, first of all. Jimin told us you were an RA! Seokjin hyung and I are as well, but neither of us remember seeing you at any of the building meetings!” He rested an elbow on the table and peered over at the blue-haired male, waiting for a response. Seokjin leaned in closer as well and wore a small smile on his lips....

...Yoongi, who had been visibly tense in his seat, not knowing what to do in such an unpredicted situation, relaxed a little at the discovery that there were two others at least a little like him. “Oh, yeah, I kinda got here a little late and missed those meetings. Blame it on terrible public transportation,” he sheepishly rubbed at his forearm and seemed to shrink in his seat....

...“Totally makes sense,” Namjoon waved the reply away and turned to Jimin, whispering a little louder than needed, “Why did you not tell us he was so attractive? You little shit,” Jimin perked up in his chair as all of his muscles simultaneously contracted in astonishment. Yoongi’s eyes widened; Hoseok, Jungkook, and Taehyung took notice and burst into laughter....

...“Hyung! What the **** ,” Jimin lurched his arm over the table and feebly attempted to whack Namjoon on the head before the latter leaned away from the attack. “Why do you need to do this right now?” He settled back into his chair and folded his arms over his chest....

...A hand lightly touched his shoulder and he turned his head to see Yoongi smiling awkwardly at him. His gaze conveyed the message, “ It’s fine; I don’t mind, ” and Jimin sighed, releasing his arms back to his sides. He sent a small smile back at the blue-haired male before turning back towards the group. “Uh, I guess I should introduce everyone to you, Yoongi-ssi?” His speculation was met with anticipation from the rest of the group and an unsure agreement from the RA to his left. Going down the line starting from his right, he doled out the names of the other strangers. “That’s Hoseok hyung, Jungkook, Namjoon hyung – as you know, Seokjin hyung, and the infamous Kim Taehyung – loser roommate who is the reason you had to come wake me up the other morning.” Jimin turned back to Yoongi to see a wisp of a smile start forming on the latter’s mouth. His chest fluttered, for he registered the other’s actions as validation that he wasn’t making a fool of himself....

...“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Yoongi regarded the group with a slightly uncomfortable visage and spoke in a very uncertain voice. “Are you all living in this building?” His question was answered with a round of nods and his mouth formed an “o” shape, nodding his head as he looked at his hands in his lap....

...“I’m going to get food– hyung, come with me,” Jungkook piped up and rose from his chair next to Hoseok. He scampered around the table and grabbed Taehyung’s wrist, dragging him away from the table and away from his ongoing staring match with Jimin. The younger’s request was met with minimal resistance once Taehyung deemed the staring contest pointless....

...The table was left in a semi-awkward silence; Seokjin turned to Yoongi and posed a question of his own. “Yoongi-ssi, how do you like being an RA so far? I can tell it’s a little new to you,” a kind smile appeared on his lips and Yoongi felt some of his nerves melt away at the other’s kind voice....

...“Well there’s no doubt it’s a challenge,” Yoongi looked at Seokjin with a flighty gaze, not solidly keeping eye contact as his eyes darted around the space surrounding Seokjin. “Though the only people – person, sorry – that’s been causing trouble is that Taehyung kid.” He chuckled awkwardly but was met with much more animated, full-hearted laughter from everyone but Jimin; the redhead grimaced beside Yoongi and rolled his eyes....

...Jimin turned his head around to face the RA and huffed before speaking. “Yes, please realize that that is the kid you need to be hunting down – not me.” There was a hint of a plea in the redhead’s voice; oh, how he wished Yoongi would be the RA to finally realize that Taehyung was the actual problem....

...“Don’t worry, kid, I know where the trouble comes from now,” Yoongi reached up to ruffle Jimin’s hair, his facial features seeming to be much more relaxed when regarding the latter. Hoseok and Namjoon burst into deep laughter and Yoongi managed to miss the tint of rouge Jimin’s cheeks had acquired from his small action....

...Jimin shot the two older males a poisoned glare and they managed to reduce their laughs to small snickers. The redhead whipped his head back around to see Jungkook and Taehyung sauntering back to the table with two trays full of food; Taehyung was leaning into the younger’s ear and it looked as if he were telling Jungkook some kind of dirty little secret, for the darker-haired male donned a light blush on his cheeks from smiling so hard. Jimin grinned a little and turned back to the group, “Hey, Yoongi-ssi and I are gonna peel off – have fun laughing at people other than me!”...

...He grabbed Yoongi’s wrist and leaped from his seat, successfully dragging the very confused RA along with him before Jungkook and Taehyung could return and add to the taunting he was experiencing. Jimin really wondered what reason he had to stay friends with the other guys – any time Jimin would look at another semi-attractive male, the rest would blow up with taunts and sometimes would even make fake fanclubs for the nonexistent couple. Jimin hated it, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the friends he had come to love over his three years of university....

...As the two reached the doors to the dining hall, Yoongi spoke up in a husky half-whisper, “Where are we going? I thought you wanted to have dinner with them?”...

...Jimin pushed the doors open and into the fresh night air. He breathed it in and looked at Yoongi with a charming, wide smile. “Yeah, but they were being assholes. I told you I’d make up any future annoyances up to you – why would you want to spend tonight being annoyed by so many strangers?” He realized his small hand was still gripping onto Yoongi’s wrist and suddenly he felt a little jolt of electricity travel through his fingertips as he became hyper-aware of the contact. He let go of the other’s pale wrist and shoved his hands into his cardigan pockets. “I’ll take you somewhere else instead, if that’s okay with you?”...

...“Yeah, that’s fine. Lead the way, kid,” Yoongi smiled back at the redhead and Jimin felt his confidence in their situation peak. He could totally get through the night without it being awkward as hell, much like he had thought beforehand. All he had to do was make sure to make a better impression than he had made inside the dining hall, which probably wouldn’t be too hard without all the extra distractions....

...–––...

...“I’m sorry we had to come here, of all places,” Jimin lowered his head and poked at his frozen yogurt with his plastic spoon. A morsel of his confidence had depreciated upon discovering that the frozen yogurt store just off of campus was nearly the only eatery that wasn't teeming with crazy student life on a Friday night. “You can tell I don't leave campus much, otherwise I would've known everywhere else would be packed.” His voice was unsure and full of remorse. He had truly wanted to make a good impression on the RA, but he thought his attempt had backfired, to say the least. A light chuckle brought Jimin’s head up and his attention away from the mélange of frozen yogurt and candies....

...“It’s fine, kid, really. Don't worry about it,” Jimin regarded the RA as he spoke. The blue-haired male was wearing a small smile on his lips as he spooned smaller-than-average bits of frozen yogurt into his mouth. His eyes fell on the RA’s lips; they were just plump enough to admire with sound reasoning, but thin enough that Jimin was able to pull himself out of his trance as soon as he realized he was in it. “After all, it’s pretty quiet here. Kinda nice,” Yoongi looked up to meet Jimin’s nervous gaze; if he noticed the other’s reddened cheeks, he didn’t say anything and blamed it on the cold....

...“Yeah, I guess it has that charm to it,” Jimin giggled shyly and ate another bite of his dessert....

...“This stuff also tastes a lot better when someone else buys it for you,” Jimin could feel his ears turn red at the indirect comment. His spoon hung stuck in between his lips as his muscles tensed for a second before relaxing again. “You really didn’t have to buy this for me, kid.”...

...The spoon dropped from the redhead’s lips and his eyes widened in protest. “No, no! I told you I would treat you, so that’s what I did!” His visage softened when he remembered the circumstances they were in. “Well, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but you know what I meant,” his voice trailed off and he slouched in his chair a little....

...Yoongi reached over the expanse of the small round table they sat at and ruffled the other’s hair for the second time that night. “I said , don’t worry about it,” there was a hint of playfulness in his voice, despite the quip, and Jimin peered through his messed-up hair to see a shy smile on the other’s face. Jimin replied with his own grin and relaxed back into his chair. He started to feel the nerves and tension in his body dissipate as he watched Yoongi intently eating his frozen yogurt....

...“So, if this whole thing we’ve got going here is to make up for the stupid shit your roommate does or will do , what kinds of things are we talking about? If he’s already caused me this much pain, I gotta know what else he’s capable of,” Yoongi leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. Jimin couldn’t help but stare the other straight in the eye and heave a burdened sigh....

...Jimin set his cup on the table and leaned his elbows on the plastic surface, cupping his face in his palms. “I’ll tell you what he’s done, but this is serious business,” his gaze didn’t falter for once; for one reason or another his nerves completely melted away at the subject of Taehyung. It was the one thing he could talk about with ease and expertise. “You’re probably gonna find some of these stories hilarious, but believe me, when you’re the RA that has to deal with it, you won’t think that. You ready?” Jimin simpered and tilted his head to the side; a small nod with an equally teasing grin from the RA signalled Jimin to continue....

...“First of all, Kim Taehyung is not as innocent or dumb as he may look – kid’s got some tricky shit up his sleeves. The things he’s done in the past honestly deserve all the hype they get, ‘cause I don’t know how he manages to pull them off. However, the fact that I get pinned with the blame all the time is not something worth getting hype over....

...“In our first year here, on one of the last days of school, Taehyung managed to set our hall’s bathroom on fire. I really don’t know how he did it, seeing as there’s someone in there almost all the time, but he did,” Jimin waved a hand in front of his face and crinkled his nose as if in disgust. “The kid has like eighty lighters in our room, though. Makes sense how he would get the fire started in the first place. Anyways, he lights the bathroom on fire, the alarms go off and the hallway sprinklers come on, and everyone is rushing outside of the building in a panic. I hadn’t been there at all – I had been in the Marketplace with Hoseok hyung and Namjoon hyung....

...“When the fire department finally got the fire out, a pretty good chunk of the floor was burned, but only a couple people’s actual rooms were harmed. It was still relatively safe to sleep in there, so they let us back in after they had vented out all the smoke,” Jimin paused for a moment to take another bite of his frozen yogurt to cool his mouth down; despite how easy it was to talk about Taehyung’s troublemaking, nothing could stop the fact that Jimin was hyper-aware of Yoongi’s gaze on him. “I got up to my room and there were firemen crowded around the door; one was inside and guess what he found–”...

...“Taehyung’s lighters,” Yoongi chuckled and rolled his eyes at the entirety of the story. “So you got pinned for the crime and what, got kicked out for the last few days? Got a warning?”...

...Jimin let his hands fall from his cheeks and they rested on the table folded over each other. “Well, they threatened to tell the President of the university, but I whined to them enough about how it was Taehyung and not me that they let me go. Never got around to finding Tae ‘cause the little shit stayed under the radar for the rest of the semester.” He looked down at the table reminiscently and mulled over the memory briefly once again....

...“Incredible. I gotta hand it to him, that was one hell of a stunt for a first year. I don’t even know how I haven’t heard about that,” Yoongi leaned forward and mimicked Jimin’s posture. “He’s probably only a celebrity in your class, right? Must be.”...

...Jimin jutted his bottom lip out and shook his head lightly. Yoongi watched as the other’s red hair moved so fluidly on top of his head; it was mesmerizing, to say the least. “I wouldn’t say that, but that’s definitely one of his lesser-known tricks. The best was last year, right before summer break.” Yoongi regarded Jimin as the latter’s eyes trailed up and away from his own gaze, as if he were looking towards a memory bubble that had popped out of his head....

...Yoongi grunted questioningly; Jimin continued on with the story. “You know how the school newspaper gets put out every week in front of the Student Union building?” Jimin paused; Yoongi nodded once. “Well, it’s against school policy to take any unreasonable amount from those boxes – I think the rule implies taking more than ten at a time, I don’t know – and whoever is found to have done that faces some kind of stupid punishment. Taehyung decided that it would be a great idea to take all of the copies the last week of school. If I remember correctly, his logic was something like, ‘What? No one needs to know what’s going on – it’s the last week of school!’ or something stupid like that.”...

...Jimin was so animated – his voice fluctuated dramatically at every sentence and his eyes told more of the story than his words. His imitation of Taehyung’s considerably lower voice got Yoongi smiling wider and chuckling a little louder than before. Jimin took no notice of the RA’s reactions while he spoke....

...“Long story short,” Yoongi realized he had been spacing out and he felt heat spring up in his cheeks. He hoped the burn wasn’t bad enough to be noticeable. “Taehyung left all the copies underneath his bed for the whole week, and disposed of them in a trash bag of his own once move-out day came around.” Jimin, laughing at the memory, leaned back in his chair and thus ended his monologue. Yoongi was left chuckling, not laughing like Jimin, and he too leaned away from the round table. He watched as Jimin’s eyes crinkled at the corners and formed thin, dark crescent shapes; the latter’s cheeks rounded even more than usual under the pull of his wide smile, and Yoongi’s chuckles came to a slow stop as he sat and admired the redhead....

...Jimin reached his hands up to rub at his eyes and then over his face entirely, as if wiping away premature exhaustion. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and checked the time. “Oh, it’s almost nine. God, did I really talk for that long?” He pushed the device back into its place and looked back up at Yoongi, whose visage had relaxed back to being neutral, yet content. Jimin played with the long sleeves of his cardigan in his lap and muttered a small, “Sorry.”...

...“Don’t worry, kid,” the words tumbled out of Yoongi’s mouth before he could register that they had even crossed his mind. He couldn’t possibly deny it; he liked listening to Jimin talk. It was relaxing, despite the naturally animated nature of the redhead. It was also a nice change from having to listen to his own droning internal monologue all the time. “I know of people with bigger mouths than yours. What do you say we head back to the dorms?” It was a request with a double edge – either Jimin would register it as Yoongi wanting to get rid of him, or as Yoongi wanting to make an advance on the redhead; the RA regretted it a little right after he registered the words in his own ears....

...Jimin perked up and blinked a couple times before answering. “Um, sure! I don’t see why not,” a sweet smile spread across his face and Yoongi had at that point lost count of how many he had seen that night. Every time the redhead’s lips curled upwards, Yoongi felt his own prickle at the corners and threatened to curl up themselves. It was a strange feeling for him – being so affected by someone he just met....

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***