Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

A tacky name for an equally tacky establishment, he thought. If it were a regular day in his regular life, he wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that, but it was no regular day, and he had lost his regular life the moment he had been dragged to that horrible town against his will by his two older brothers.

Kim Taehyung was the youngest heir of the biggest textile company in the continent. It was a well-known brand, but it was the kind of industry that had no glamour or flare, so, while his family was virtually swimming in money, they weren’t the type to appear on magazine covers, so he had never felt particularly flattered by his social position. It was his family’s business, that was all. A business that he had no interest in, and he didn’t need to have it, for he had two older brothers who could take care of it after his parents passed.

Unfortunately for him, he had not expected his sick, but still alive father to put them to test like that, when he was only 20 years old. Opening a new factory in a rural town in the middle of nowhere, where it was hot summer all year round, and asking the three of them to take charge of it completely, no questions asked, lest they wanted to be excluded from the will. He had initially refused, arguing that his father was just bluffing, that he wouldn’t actually leave out his sons, but then his brothers took it so seriously that he had no choice but to comply.

If only Seokjin had sided with him, the two could have persuaded Namjoon, and then the three of them could have made a strong opposition to their father, but it had been impossible, because even though Namjoon was the middle child, he was always the reliable and responsible one, so he had a stronger influence over Seokjin than Taehyung could ever aspire to. And so, Taehyung had, very much against his will, ended up being dragged to that awful town where there wasn’t even one single mall, one single art gallery, one single theater, nothing, absolutely nothing to do.

Staying home had also proven to be merciless torture, since no amount of air conditioners could help him, and the pool wasn’t even roofed, so he would boil to death. The only obvious activity that they ended up doing was actually going to the factory, but he wouldn’t stay there for 12 hours a day every day, no, that was Namjoon’s job. His job was to take a stroll and supervise the workers and the machines, making sure no one was dead or missing and nothing needed to be repaired. That took 3 hours at most, and then he had nothing else to do. Sometimes he and Seokjin would drive to the nearest city to go shopping or take some photos at a park, but it was such a long road that it wasn’t worth it most of the time.

The last time he went to the city, though, he bought a bunch of boxes of hair dye of many different colors, with the intent of dying it a different color every week to make his life a tiny bit more fun. He had also bought enough jewelry to alternate for a whole year if necessary, but even that became pathetic after a while.

He had no friends in that place, and no means to make them: He couldn’t befriend the employees even if he wanted to, since they were always busy and it would be counterproductive to interrupt them (not that that ever stopped Seokjin, but that was a different story); their neighbors were mostly elderly people who had chosen that kind of place to retire (those were Seokjin’s friends, and he occasionally invited them over to their house), but even though they were nice, after exchanging some words about their favorite writers and painters they didn’t really have much to talk about; and his friends back in Seoul had pretty much slowly cut him out since they had stopped meeting in person and his life stopped being interesting.

Meeting new people was hard when there was nowhere to go and the only hobbies he could devote himself to were individual activities such as cooking, painting, or coming up with new patterns for their fabrics. He was starting to feel isolated and depressed, which was why he had found himself alone on a Friday night, standing outside a shabby-looking tavern that claimed to be a gay bar called “El Mariachi”. He almost wanted to laugh at himself. Almost. His friends would laugh for sure if they could see him now, but they couldn’t, and they sucked anyway. This was his life now, so he had to adapt and for the love of God, he needed human contact with anyone who weren’t his brothers or his elderly neighbors.

He sighed almost resigned to his fate and opened the doors, which reminded him of Western movies he had watched when he was little. As soon as he entered, the first thing he noticed was that the place was much bigger on the inside, and that too many eyes were on him. That too, reminded him of Western movies, where the newcomer is too obvious and there are at least three men who want to pick a fight. He gulped, hoping that part wouldn’t happen, and slowly started walking around the place. Some eyes kept following him, though their stares were not really aggressive, but curious instead.

There was pleasant music in the air, and Taehyung’s ears followed it to the source: a pianist, playing live in a corner. He was a good one, too, he noticed. There were several people sitting at the bar, with a smiling bartender serving drinks quickly and efficiently. Other than that, there were a few tables scattered around the establishment, with plenty of space between them. No one was dancing; the piano melody was more like the kind of ambience music found in high class restaurants. Taehyung was confused. That place was nothing at all like the gay bars he had visited back home; it could easily pass as a family restaurant if it weren’t for the alcoholic drinks.

Still, he had come in looking for company, so he would do his best to get it. He was sure it wouldn’t be difficult. He didn’t consider himself to be the most attractive man in the world, but he knew he was good looking and rich, and he liked to accentuate that when he went out. He had died his hair crimson red that same afternoon, put on his favorite pair of Gucci eyewear and a careful selection of rubies for his earrings and rings. Red was the color of love and passion, right? So he wanted to become a giant love signal. He chose plain white clothes to make sure that all the attention would go to the red. Yes, he had spent too long planning on that outfit, creating an entire concept around it. Maybe he should major in Fashion Design, as Namjoon suggested, but he still thought that was a trap to keep him in the textile industry…

Ah, even his own inner monologue had become boring, he thought, as he absentmindedly sat on a bar stool, waiting for the bartender to take his order. Suddenly, the piano music came to a halt and he could hear excited clapping. Oh, so that was it? He had assumed the pianist would be there all night. But when everyone else at the bar turned their stools around to face the tables, Taehyung understood what the clapping was really about.

Confused, he turned around as well, witnessing for the first time the spectacle that would change his life forever. Loud, vaguely Latin music started playing instead and the lights were dimmed. Every single one of the waiters started doing some sort of choreography around the tables, and out of nowhere, the most beautiful creature Taehyung had ever seen just seemed to materialize on top of an empty one.

It was a young man around his age, with silver hair and plump lips and graceful movements. He was dancing atop a table with as much ease as if it were a dancefloor, his feet keeping up the pace even as he twirled and jumped in the air, his hand occasionally pushing back his hair as he smirked at his overly enthusiastic audience. Oh, that was a show. That was the show. It was clear now that this boy was a star while the waiters were just his backup dancers.

As the whole bar continued clapping and cheering loudly, two of the waiters stood in front of the table with their arms creating a circle, through which the dancer jumped, landing on the floor with the same grace he had displayed on the table, and he didn’t stop then. The boy proceeded to join the choreography, dancing around the tables and receiving some bills from the excited customers. Although Taehyung’s attention was mostly focused on that majestic dancer, he didn’t fail to notice that even the bartender and the piano player had joined the dance. The entire staff was made up of dancers! What kind of place was that?!

Taehyung stood up and started clapping, absolutely mesmerized, and patiently waited for the dancer to approach his seat too. He quickly took out his wallet and retrieved a bunch of bills, he didn’t count how many, and waited with bated breath and a racing heart. Finally, something exciting was finally happening to him. As the boy finally danced by him, and received the bills with a bright smile that made his eyes disappear into crescent moons, Taehyung could swear he fell in love. Now that he was seeing him closely, he was much shorter than he looked, but much more beautiful too, with his perfect skin and hair and his eye smile and the unidentifiable scent of his cologne.

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no, he was leaving, taking other customers’ bills and giving them his smiles. It was so fleeting, that instant, but he would remember it forever. Taehyung sat down on the stool again and kept watching, feeling a mix of different emotions. He was so happy he had decided to go into that place, but he felt devastated that the moment had been so short. He should have sat on one of the tables, then he could have gotten a closer look, if only he had known…

As the mysterious star danced away from Taehyung, he couldn’t help but notice that he was really good-looking from behind too, and he felt even worse. Great. That guy had now set impossibly high standards for the men in that horrible town and now Taehyung’s night was absolutely ruined.

He sat back down at the bar, as the bartender returned to his job with the same energy as before, like he hadn’t been dancing his ass off two minutes ago.

“What can I get you, Mr. Newcomer?” He asked, enthusiastically cleaning the counter.

“Me? Oh…” Right, he was the newcomer. “Negroni, please.”

“Mm, it’s been a hot day, so let’s make it an Agavoni.” The bartender winked at him, and started preparing his drink as he kept talking. “Enjoyed the dance show?”

“Oh, yeah! It took me completely by surprise.”

“Right? That’s the magic of this place! We don’t like advertising the shows, so that we can surprise you… we hadn’t been able to surprise anyone in a while, though, most customers are regular.”

“I can imagine.” Taehyung gave him a knowing smile. “So… all the dancers are actually part of the staff, right? Like yourself?”

“Oh, you noticed me.” The bartender wiggled his eyebrows. “Yup, we work here and we participate in the shows. Dance shows are every 3 hours, and the singer comes out half an hour later.”

“Does that include the dancer from just now? The short one with a big ass? What does he do?”

“…Jimin?” The bartender’s smile started fading a bit. “He’s a waiter too. He’s over there.”

The bartender pointed in the direction of one of the tables, where the handsome dancer was already taking orders. Taehyung smiled happily. As an entertainer, he would be a bit harder to get in contact with, but as a waiter, he could totally pick him up. He’d just order things constantly and flirt with him every time he went to his table. Then he’d leave a big tip with his number and by the end of Jimin’s shift he’d go home with him. This was going to be easy.

“I want to sit at one of the tables he’s waiting.”

“Ooooooor you could stay here with good old Hoseok instead!”

“Who’s Hoseok?”

“The guy who just finished preparing your Agavoni! Ta-da!” The bartender presented him his drink. “It’s me, I’m Hoseok.”

“Oh… no, thanks, I wanna sit at one of Jimin’s tables.”

Growing up being the youngest son of a rich family had really made Taehyung into a spoiled brat who was used to getting what he wanted, so in situations like that, he disregarded other people’s intentions and focused exclusively on his own goals. Hoseok was cute, so he could have reciprocated his flirting, if only he hadn’t seen Jimin. Jimin had become his target for that night, so everyone else was a distraction.

Hoseok made a sour, cold expression then. “I already mixed your drink, so you have to pay for it.”

“No problem at all!” He pulled a wad of cash and handed it to the bartender. “Keep the change! Please tell me which tables he waits.”

“Table 4 is free, he waits that one.”

“Thank you, Hoseokie!” He winked and clicked his tongue, taking his drink with him to the aforementioned table.

He sat with a happy expression, feeling as if the world around him had regained color. He had found an interesting place full of possibilities. He tapped his fingers on the table to the rhythm of the piano that had also started playing again, and after a few minutes, Jimin appeared in front of him.

“Hello, my name is Jimin, and I’ll be your waiter tonight.” He said with a really soft, melodious voice and a bright smile. “I see you’re still with your first drink, so I’ll be back later.”

“No!” Taehyung covered his mouth after realizing how desperate he must have sounded. “I mean, hey. You didn’t even let me introduce myself. I’m Kim Taehyung.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Mr. Kim.” Taehyung didn’t miss the way Jimin’s eyes started sparkling as soon as he noticed the rubies on his fingers. “Thanks for the tip, you were the most generous gentleman of the hour.”

“Only of the hour? I was hoping to be the most generous of the night.” He smiled at him, making sure to keep his fingers in a V angle to display his jewelry while pretending to just casually lean his face on his hand.

“Well, the night is far from over, so who knows? Maybe you’ll win, maybe not.” Jimin shrugged.

“I guess I’ll have to stick till the end to see, huh?” He licked his lips. “What time does your shift end?”

Jimin giggled. “Shift? As you may have noticed, I’m not a regular waiter, and this is no regular bar. I don’t leave until we close.”

“Great, I don’t have anywhere else to go anyway.” He took a sip from his drink. “There’s nothing to do in this horrendous town.”

“Ouch.” Jimin made a gesture as if he had been shot. “Sorry our home sucks for you, Mr. Kim. Are you here for business or pleasure?”

“…here?” Taehyung carefully set down his glass while eyeing Jimin suspiciously. “For pleasure, of course.”

Jimin laughed out loud, very sincerely in Taehyung’s opinion. “I mean here, as in, in this town. You’re not a local, obviously.”

The waiter gestured vaguely at his whole form, and Taehyung felt so embarrassed he had to take a larger gulp of his drink.

“Business.” He said after coughing up a bit. That Hoseok guy had been a little too generous with the tequila. “Family business. Not my idea.”

“Ohhhh, a family business, I see.” Jimin winked, giving him a know-it-all smirk which Taehyung didn’t quite understand. “That explains it all.”

The heir was so, so very confused, but he felt that if he asked Jimin what he meant, he would most definitely establish his entire character as an absolute dumbass. He had already made one stupid mistake and the conversation had only been going for a few minutes, so he just nodded along, as if he, too, understood it all.

“Well, the singer is about to come out, so I’ll be back later.” Jimin said, pointing towards the back of the establishment.

When Taehyung followed his gaze, he noticed some kind of improvised platform with closed curtains, and he couldn’t help but let out a soft ‘Oh’. Right, the bartender had mentioned something about a singer, too, though he hadn’t been paying much attention.

The waiter left his side and Taehyung continued gulping down his Agavoni while waiting for the show to start. He would need to finish his drink by the time the singer finished his set, so he would be able to order and thus keep making small chat with Jimin.

Jimin went ‘backstage’, which served as a multi-purpose room: it was the place where they stored the bottles and supplies, and also where they changed their clothes so they could transform from bar workers to entertainers and viceversa. He had to go into that place so many times per night, it was exhausting, but he had to keep going. He just had to save enough money to get himself and Jungkook out of there for good.

“Are you ready yet, Kook? We have a good crowd at this hour.” He said to the younger boy who was making a sour face while checking himself in the mirror. He seemed to be struggling with his hair as usual. “I already told you, you look better when you push it back.”

“I already pushed it back in the previous show.” Jungkook answered, still struggling. “I wanna do something different.”

“Then do a different set of songs and leave your hair alone.” Jimin patted his hands away, before grabbing his hair and pushing it back with his own hands, smiling at his reflection. “See? It’s better. Makes you look older.”

Jungkook scrunched up his nose in disapproval, but didn’t keep arguing, so Jimin took it as a victory.

“Now go make some money. We have a guy from a ‘family’ tonight, so make sure to smile at him a lot.” Jimin added, rubbing the younger boy’s shoulders as if he was preparing him for a fight.

“Oh? Really? How do you know?”

“Well, I suspected it since I saw him all dressed in white and covered in rubies, but he also admitted it to me.”

“Just admitted it? How do you know he wasn’t bluffing?”

“Hello, didn’t you hear the part about the rubies? He also gave me like, a crazy tip when I danced. Like, enough to cover his 4 drink minimum and some more. The guy has money.”

“Mm. Aren’t the guys from… uh, families, Yoongi-hyung and Hoseokie-hyung’s specialty, though? I’d say we already lost, hyung.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t be here talking to you if I thought we had lost. Hoseokie-hyung told me himself, the guy specifically asked him about me. We got this one in the bag, Kookie. All you have to do is sing up there, be pretty, smile a little, and I’ll do the rest as usual.” He emphasized his point by patting his shoulders a bit too hard. “Now, go. They’re waiting for you.”

Jungkook stood up with a groan, and Jimin slapped the back of his head. After he went out, Jimin sighed, allowing himself to collapse on a chair. The only times of the night when he could rest were during Jungkook’s shows, because the lights were dimmed and no one could order anything so they could focus on the performance.

His feet were aching, and they still had 3 more shows to do and endless drinks to deliver. It was one of those nights when a voice in the back of his head told him to just quit all of that, go back home, apologize to his family and live a normal life; a life full of lies, but a peaceful one at least. However, the image of the cherry haired Mr. Kim popped into his mind and he told that voice to shush; this night would be different, this night he would get an appropriate reward for all his hard work.

He was already halfway there, he thought, nodding to himself, he just had to secure him, give him what he wanted but at the same time leave him wanting more, so he would not go anywhere else. At least this one was good-looking, thankfully. He wondered if there was some kind of deity answering his prayers, after all. He wouldn’t have to fake enjoying his company like he had to do most of the time with the other older and dirtier guys with money. He shivered at the memory of a particularly disgusting drug dealer who had gone home with Yoongi and Hoseok when the bar was still new. Those two just had zero standards.

But luck was smiling at him tonight, because Mr. Kim was handsome, rich, and interested specifically in him, so there was no way anything could go wrong. He allowed himself to relax for the time being, the soft notes of Yoongi’s piano and Jungkook’s melodious voice filling his ears.

Taehyung finished his drink during the singer’s show, which admittedly was really enjoyable, but not enough to make him stand up and throw money at him like some of the other clients were doing. The guy had a beautiful voice and he wasn’t bad on the eyes either, but… he had already set his mind on Jimin, so it would be almost impossible for anyone else to steal his attention.

Still, he clapped when the show ended to show his appreciation and support, and in a few minutes Jimin was walking back towards his table with his bright smile and flirtatious attitude. Taehyung didn’t fail to notice the fact that he had loosened up his scarf and unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, and that he was messing with his hair a lot. Excellent, he thought happily, the evening was going really well.

Just as Jimin approached, and as Taehyung had barely opened his mouth to speak, he heard a loud sound nearby. He saw Jimin’s smile fade immediately as his eyes looked in the direction of the stage, so Taehyung turned to see what it was about. And there, he saw a couple of guys fighting, or more accurately, one short guy punching the shit out of another much larger man, and the guy who had been singing until just now was trying to separate them. As it often happened in those situations, a crowd of clients started gathering around to see the fight and encourage them, but Taehyung paid them no mind and returned his attention to Jimin.

He had no interest in getting in trouble, nor did he know what had caused the confrontation in the first place. Jimin, on the other hand, had his eyes glued on the scene, his chest rising with quick and shallow breaths. Was he… nervous? Was he scared? Impossible. He was a waiter at a bar, so he must have seen countless fights! Unless…

As Jimin continued looking at the fight, apparently with certain fear, Taehyung studied him. He was absolutely stunning from up close: Perfect hair, perfect skin, luscious lips, a figure that looked well-proportioned even in a uniform… he had watched him dance so gracefully, speak so eloquently, walk like a model. What if he wasn’t a real waiter? What if this was part of the performance too? He thought about it, that place might as well be an interactive musical. The sole idea made his blood pump faster, everything was unexpected and exciting.

So, without even thinking about it, he reached out to hold one of Jimin’s hands as softly as he could, which caused the other to flinch and to return his gaze to Taehyung again.

“Oh, sorry! I just… thought you were scared, I was trying to comfort you.” He apologized, letting go quickly.

“Oh?” Jimin blinked, then broke into a forced smile. “Haha, no, I’m not scared, don’t worry… but thanks for looking after me.”

Jimin was pretending to be back to his flirty self, but his eyes returned to the fight for a few more seconds before they finally settled on Taehyung. “So, what will you order?”

“Um, do you have Maksa?” He asked, though he was still suspicious of what was going on.

“We certainly do! Would you like me to bring you some snacks as well?”

“Please.”

“Coming right up!” Jimin pretty much sprinted from his table towards the bar. Taehyung watched mesmerized the way his beautiful ass disappeared from his sight, the feeling of excitement still tingling in his chest.

Even if this did end up being part of an act, it would still be the most interesting thing that had happened to him in the last 3 months, so he would welcome it.

“What the hell was that back there? Control your man, Hoseok-hyung.” Jimin was speaking in a low voice, careful that none of the clients would catch just how stressed and enraged he was. He had gone behind the bar to have a direct conversation with the bartender, who was one of his closest friends, almost like a brother, but right then he felt like he owed him an explanation or two.

“Excuse me? My man was saving your little lamb from being kidnapped by some creep.” Hoseok answered in the same low but enraged tone, though his anger was not directed to Jimin.

“What?” Jimin felt his stomach drop to the floor at the mental image.

“Yeah. This really buff dude and his friends circled Jungkook as soon as the show ended, they wouldn’t let him go backstage and started pulling at him and trying to grab him and all that shit, you know how it is.” Hoseok explained, pointing at the place where the fight had ended as quickly as it had started. “And then Yoongi clocked out the first guy. A total K.O. Then he punched one of the friends, but that one didn’t fall down as easily, so he just kept hitting him. And I guess the third one got scared and ran away or something.”

As Hoseok’s explanation progressed, he started moving around mimicking the movements and emulating the punching noises, so Jimin just assumed that discretion with their clients was completely off the table then. But that didn’t really matter, what really worried him was the choice of words: ‘being kidnapped by some creep’. It only brought up all sorts of painful memories for Jimin.

“And then what happened? I saw Jungkook trying to break up the fight, but then the crowd blocked my vision.”

“Yeah, he managed to break it off and then I stepped in to help along with some of the waiters. First guy is unconscious but alive, second guy was pretty beaten up, but I gave him some ice and the guys helped him take his knocked out friend to their car, and like I said, the third guy must have taken off. It was over really, really fast.”

“I see…” Jimin breathed out in relief. “I’m gonna go check on the guys then, please prepare a Maksa for table 4, and some snacks, too.”

“Oooh, Mr. Lots of Cash is trying to get hammered?”

“His name is Mr. Kim, and yes, apparently.” Jimin smiled proudly. “I’m counting on him to either voluntarily give me one of his rings or for me to accidentally ‘swallow’ it.”

Hoseok started laughing uncontrollably as he often did, which brought some awkward smiles in their direction. Jimin excused himself and went backstage again, where Yoongi was taking a nap on the couch while Jungkook had gone back to his other job.

Jungkook was in charge of the entire backstage area. He had to store, classify, and keep track of all the drinks and supplies, supervise the schedules of the entertainers and make sure that everyone’s clothes were in good conditions (clean, ironed, not missing buttons), and of course, keep the area clean since it had waiters coming in and out all night. It was a lot of work and he very seldom got to rest, but he rarely ever complained. Of course, he always fell asleep immediately upon getting home.

After making sure that both of his friends were alright and not visibly injured, and earning a half-asleep kick from Yoongi as well as an unnecessarily sassy ‘ugh I’m fiiiiiine’ from Jungkook, Jimin went back to the bar to pick Taehyung’s order and deliver it to his table.

“Oh hey, you’re back.” Taehyung greeted with a smile.

“Yeah, sorry that took so long. Hoseokie-hyung put a lot of effort into your order to make sure it’s perfect, you know, since you’re such a generous tipper and all.”

“Mm, I’m sure it was worth it.” The young heir grabbed a bite from his snacks. “Tell him to keep up the good job.”

“Will do!” Jimin smiled. “How about your waiter? Is he doing a good job as well?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. He’s already earned a nice tip, but the night is not over yet.” He nodded, playing around with his drink.

“Right… And you’re planning to be here until the end.”

“Until closing time, yes, I have nowhere else to go.” Taehyung took a sip from his Maksa, making a sour face afterwards. That bartender really, really earned his tips.

“Mm… I’m a little worried, though.” The waiter tilted his head to a side. “If you keep drinking at this pace, you might pass out before we close.”

“Jimin-ssi, I feel offended.” Taehyung straightened his posture, feigning indignation. “You think I can’t hold my drink?”

“Haha, no, I’m sure you can handle it, but…” he pushed his hair back again. Taehyung noticed that it must have been some kind of nervous tic. “Maybe try spacing them a little bit? Just chill for a couple of hours before resuming your drinking? Closing time is at 6, you know, and it’s barely a bit past 10 now.”

Taehyung brought a hand up to his chin as he pretended to be in deep thought, and he observed Jimin’s face for a few seconds. “A waiter at a bar who doesn’t want me to keep ordering drinks… interesting.”

“Hey, you’re getting it all wrong. I do want you to get wasted, but… slowly.”

“Hmmm… are you saying you want to keep seeing me sitting at this table until closing time? Is that it?” The heir smiled playfully. He didn’t mean it, obviously, he was just trying to tease.

“Hehe… maybe.” Jimin smiled back, playing along. “How will you know if you were the most generous client of the night if you leave before it’s over?”

“Ah, you’re making an excellent point. Mmm. I’ll consider it.” He grabbed another handful of snacks, feeling a little deflated. If he wasn’t going to keep ordering for hours, then he wouldn’t have an excuse to keep making small talk with Jimin, but then again, Jimin would be working until 6, so even if he kept trying to pick him up, he wouldn’t know if it worked or not until closing time.

Ah, who was he kidding? Jimin was only being nice to him because he had money, he made that clear; it wasn’t like he actually enjoyed talking to him. Even though the rational part of his brain knew that, the other, larger part, was too stimulated by the shows and the drinks and the music and Jimin himself, to care. So what if he was being used? He was also using that place for his own personal satisfaction in the end. Jimin smiled and flirted with him for money, yeah, but it was hardly the first time that happened.

Even though Taehyung had grown up in a home full of genuine love, all of the relationships outside his family were always similar to business relationships. His friends always competed with him and each other about who had gone on the best vacation or who drove the best car, and he always felt pressured into exchanging things with them: contacts, dinners, clothes… no one ever did anything for him without expecting something in return. The people he had dated had been the same, too; it was always like a competition about who was giving more.

So, Taehyung and his brothers had grown up into hedonists who learned enough about business to know when it would be worth it to invest their time or money on a person. If someone wasn’t going to give them anything they were interested in, they’d just look past them. The three of them had different ways to disguise this, though, Taehyung being the most straightforward one. He had gone into that bar looking for someone to spend the night with, and he had wanted Jimin to be that person, but his basic plan of ‘just sitting there and ordering drinks to have an excuse to talk to him’ seemed to be falling apart.

“Okay… I’ll slow down on the drinking, but, in order to stay alert all night, I’ll keep ordering snacks. Is that okay?” He proposed as a backup plan.

“You don’t have to ask for my permission, Mr. Kim.” Jimin laughed. “You can do whatever you want, I was only giving you a humble suggestion.”

“Yeah, yeah, but you’re right. I’m embarrassing when I’m hammered, and I want to be awake when I get out of this place.” He nodded, feeling a bit more hopeful now. “Can I request something else, though?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Um… the only people who call me Mr. Kim are the factory workers, so hearing it makes me feel like I’m at work. Can you please call me Taehyung?”

“Oh…” Jimin looked legitimately worried for a second. “Sorry, yes, no problem, Taehyung-ssi.”

“Thank you.” He offered the waiter a sincere smile.

“Well, call me if you need anything else.” Jimin waved casually and went on his merry way to wait on other customers. Once again, Taehyung watched his beautiful back view and sighed.

Jimin continued working diligently, occasionally looking back at Taehyung’s table and catching him staring at him and then pretending that he wasn’t. It was cute how obvious he was, so he only hoped that no one else would steal his attention for the time being.

The night was going as it usually did, until suddenly, Jimin heard the loud and unmistakable sound of a gunshot coming from the direction where the piano was. His eyes instantly looked that way, but instead of Yoongi all he saw was a man standing next to the empty piano, holding a gun. Jimin’s heart started racing as his eyes scanned the whole room, frantically looking for any sign that his friend was alright, but people were quickly leaving their tables and running in all directions, which made it difficult for him to see.

His survival instinct kicked in, telling him to run to safety, but there was one thing, one very important thing preventing him from doing so: The man walked in the direction of their ‘backstage’, aka the place where Jungkook spent most of his time and where he was most likely to be now.

No, please, God, no.

This couldn’t be happening.

It was a nightmare, right?

Yeah, it had to be a nightmare. There was no way his greatest fear, the reason why he had escaped his hometown with Jungkook 3 years ago, had caught up to them.

As his mind showed him flashbacks of the past and horrible images of what could happen, his body moved by itself as fast as it could, and he hid behind the bar to watch more closely.

“You’re not so brave now, huh? Come out and fight me, you little bitch.” The man shouted as he kept banging on the door. Since the waiters were always coming and going, the backstage door usually remained open, but this time Jimin was grateful that Jungkook had closed it in time. Still, the man kept insisting. “Do you know who we are? Do you even know who you’re messing with? You messed with the Red Bullets, runt. You’re not leaving this place alive.”

Jimin mentally put the pieces of information together. This man was not after Jungkook, but after Yoongi. That meant the men that Yoongi had beaten up were from that gang, and it also meant that Yoongi was hiding backstage, probably with Jungkook, and, based on the fact that Jimin was alone behind the bar, possibly with Hoseok as well.

So all his friends were together and safe for now, that was good. But the shooter was from a gang, which meant that he wasn’t alone, that was bad. Other gang members would soon join him and break down the door and… No, no, no, Park Jimin, don’t think about the worst, just think of a solution.

He could get a perfect view of the shotgun that Hoseok had hidden under the bar, but he knew for a fact that he only used it to scare customers who refused to pay, it wasn’t loaded and he had no idea how to shoot. But even if it were loaded, and even if he did know how to shoot, the guy was in a gang, so he would be outnumbered soon.

Oh!

He suddenly remembered. Mr. Kim. Mr. Lots of Cash. Mr. Human Cherry. Taehyung. Taehyung was from a ‘family’, he even mentioned having ‘factory workers’. Taehyung had power, and people working under him. He most likely had bodyguards hiding somewhere in the restaurant.

Jimin sneaked out and went back to the tables, frantically searching for him. Good thing his hair and outfit would make him easy to notice. Even though his common sense told him that someone with bodyguards would surely be the first person to exit the establishment, he was his only hope now. He had to try.

Customers and workers alike were still rushing outside, and he cursed his short height for rendering him unable to see over anyone’s heads; however, as he looked everywhere with growing anxiety, he heard a voice calling his name, and then a cold hand grabbed his wrist and started pulling him towards the exit. He was going to wriggle himself out of the grasp, but then he looked down and saw the ruby rings on a now pale hand, and he felt so grateful that he could cry. A deity was definitely on his side that night.

He allowed Taehyung to lead them both outside and to a corner of the street to catch their breath, and then they chaotically started speaking at the same time.

“Are you okay? Did you get hu---?”

“Taehyung-ssi! Please help me! Help me! You’re the only one who can help me now!”

“Woah, woah, it’s okay, it’s alright, we’re safe now. Here.” Taehyung placed his hands on Jimin’s shoulders, half to give him support, and half to keep himself from falling to the ground. His legs were shaking so much. He had witnessed bar fights before, but guns were new for him.

“No we’re not! I mean we are, but. I need your help!” Jimin grabbed the collar of his shirt firmly. “My… my family’s still in there.”

“Your family?” Taehyung’s eyes widened, studying Jimin’s expression. He was completely serious. He decided not to question why Jimin had brought his family to the gay bar where he danced and instead he wondered why they were still in there. “How could I help you?”

“The shooter is still in there, please tell your men to take him down!” Jimin answered quickly, in a high-pitched and desperate voice. “I’ll pay you back, I promise! I swear! They don’t even have to kill him if they don’t want to, just leave him unconscious long enough for me to save my family.”

“M-My men…?” Taehyung tried to process each word. Jimin was speaking so fast and with so very little sense.

“Yeah! Your henchmen, your bodyguards, you know, the men who escort you!” He tightened his grip on Taehyung’s shirt. “Please, I’ll be indebted to you forever. I’ll do anything, I have to… I promised Jungkook I’d never let anything happen to him.”

“Jimin-ssi, I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Taehyung gulped, carefully placing his hands over Jimin’s. “I don’t have any henchmen or bodyguards, I came alone.”

Jimin’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “What? You came here alone? Alone? To this neighborhood? With those expensive clothes and jewelry and glasses? Sure, sure you did.” His expression turned into an angry one, and he let go of him, starting to get away.

“Wait, where are you going? I’m telling you the truth, I came alone. I want to help you, but I don’t have any bodyguards.” Taehyung started to follow Jimin, who seemed to be heading back to the bar, for some reason. “Hey, please tell me what’s going on, and maybe I can help you in another way.”

“Nevermind. There’s no point in wasting my time here with you while my family gets murdered.” He still spoke angrily, but his voice cracked at the end, and he pushed his hair back a couple of times. Yeah, definitely a nervous tic.

“I’m worried about you and your family, I want to help.” Taehyung grabbed his wrist again. “You shouldn’t go back in there, it’s dangerous.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?!” Jimin was yelling. “You’re not going to help me, so I’ll do it myself.”

“What exactly are you going to do? If you came to me for help it’s because you’re unarmed, so how are you going to face that guy by yourself? You’ll get killed too!”

“I have one last option! I won’t be able to live with my conscience if I don’t at least try!” Even though Jimin argued, he had stopped moving. He was scared, and he was only stalling on the only desperate option he had left, which was to get in there, grab the shotgun, and try to look as menacing as possible. It was an awful plan, but he had nothing else.

Taehyung watched him with disbelief. That guy, who was such a graceful dancer and a friendly and flirty waiter, was also the type of person who would go unarmed against a shooter to protect his loved ones. Jimin was a complex guy, and the more Taehyung learned about him, the more intrigued he was. He couldn’t lose him. This couldn’t be the last he saw of him.

“I’ll help you.” He mumbled with uncertainty. “But not like that, that’s too risky. Please don’t go back in there.”

“Then how?”

“Contacts.” He answered, retrieving his phone from his pocket and pressing his thumb against a specific spot in it. “Done. Help will be here in a few minutes.”

“You… just pushed a button. You didn’t talk to anyone, you didn’t message anyone. Are you kidding me right now? ‘cause this is a terrible time to be--”.

“It’s an emergency speed dial.” Taehyung explained calmly. “I don’t have bodyguards, exactly, but this informs my brothers that I’m in danger and sends them my location. And we do have security at home, so…”

“So you do have henchmen.”

“Please don’t call them henchmen, you make me sound like a mob boss or something like that.” Taehyung sighed. “They’re private security. They used to be cops or in the military and now they work for my family.”

“Oh… but they have guns, right?”

“Well, yeah, though they haven’t needed them until now, thankfully. But, since I sent the emergency signal, and no one knows what kind of trouble I’m in, they’ll probably bring them.” Taehyung explained, then sighed heavily. “I was just going to call a cab and go home, so that my brothers wouldn’t know what happened, but I can’t leave knowing that I didn’t help you save your family. That would be… wow, I could never face you again.”

“Um… thank you, Taehyung-ssi. And sorry for how I reacted earlier, I’m very nervous.” Jimin shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“It’s alright, I would be freaking out too if I were in your position. Have you had a situation like this before?”

“No, well, nothing personal like this.” Jimin shook his head. “That guy, the shooter, is a member of a gang called the Red Bullets. They’re one of the largest local gangs, and they come to the bar occasionally. We’ve never had trouble with them, until today.”

“Well, if the trouble isn’t with you personally, then your family should be alright for now, right? Maybe he’s after a member from another gang?” The words came out of Taehyung’s mouth casually, but his brain was still trying to process everything. He had gone to a bar where gang members went to drink and apparently shoot each other. Great. His brothers would love that, and his parents would love it even more. Cool. Cool. Everything was cool. Real cool.

“The trouble is… with Yoongi-hyung. The piano player, the shooter is after him.”

“Oh…” Taehyung remembered the piano player, and then he remembered the fight after the singer finished his set, and things started clicking in. Poor Jimin, getting his family caught in a gang conflict because of some irresponsible piano player. “Is he still there too?”

Jimin gave him a sour smile. “Yoongi-hyung, Hoseokie-hyung and Jungkookie are my family.”

Before Taehyung had a chance to even process the words, they heard another gunshot from inside the bar, and everything followed in slow motion: Jimin rushing towards it, Taehyung trying to stop him, Jimin skillfully freeing himself from his grasp and running inside, Taehyung yelling his name in vain, and standing by the door hesitantly.

His common sense told him to wait for help to arrive, but he couldn’t get Jimin’s words and pained expression out of his mind. Those guys were his family. What if it were Taehyung in his situation? What if his brothers were the ones in a locked room with a shooter? Yeah, he would probably run straight into the danger zone too.

So he did the most irrational thing he had ever done in his life, and stepped into the bar, slowly, silently. What am I doing? His common sense asked, muffled in the background.

It was seemingly empty, but he heard loud voices coming from the back, and he recognized two. One was Jimin, and the other one was Hoseok, the bartender. So they were alive and well! Taehyung started walking faster in the direction of the voices and he made a full stop when he finally caught sight of them.

“I was so worried, oh my God, I’ll never leave you alone again.” Jimin seemed to be wiping tears from his face.

“I was more worried about you since you were out there… Hyung, please don’t cry.” A taller guy, who Taehyung now recognized as the singer from before, was comforting Jimin.

“I was so scared!” Hoseok was almost weeping in the pianist’s arms. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did what you had to do, sunshine, it’s alright.” The shorter guy patted his back, staring down at the floor with a solemn expression.

Taehyung followed Yoongi’s gaze, and there he saw a man lying on the floor. Unconscious. Perhaps dead? With a gun and a shotgun both lying nearby. That place just continued out-weirding itself.

“Um… hello.” He greeted the strange bunch. Hoseok yelled, Yoongi and Jungkook assumed a fighting stance, and Jimin was the only one to react normally.

“Taehyung-ssi, you’re here… you followed me?” He asked shyly. “Guys, Taehyung-ssi has been very helpful, he was worried about you too.”

“Oh! It’s Mr. Newcomer!” Hoseok seemed to remember him, but the other two still eyed him suspiciously.

“Are you a cop?” Yoongi asked. “’cause if you are, you should know that Hoseok only hit him in self-defense.”

“He’s not a cop! I told you, he’s with a ‘family’.” Jimin answered before Taehyung got a chance. At that point, the young heir had no idea what the word family was supposed to mean for those people.

“So… did you shoot him?” He inquired, looking at the person on the floor, who didn’t appear to be bleeding.

“No! He’s the one who shot! Look!” Hoseok yelled exasperatedly, pointing at a hole in the backstage door. “Yoongi-hyung and Jungkook were behind that door, and he shot at the lock so he could get in! I was hiding in the bathroom up until that point, trying to build some courage, but when I heard that shot I knew I had to do something! And when I came out I saw Jiminie and he just… handed me the shotgun that I always hide behind the bar, but I couldn’t shoot!”

“His hands were shaking so much and he kept gesturing at me to do it, and I thought it wasn’t loaded but it turns out that it was, but I don’t know how to shoot, so we kept tossing it to each other while the guy started kicking the door.” Jimin added to the story.

“So in the end I grabbed it and hit his head with the handle. Bam!” Hoseok gestured the motion.

“Bam!” Jungkook echoed, that being his only contribution to the conversation.

“And then we knocked on the door and we reunited!” Jimin added happily. “And then you came in.”

“Why are you telling him all this? I’m telling you he might be a cop, look at him, he’s so suspicious.” Yoongi insisted.

Taehyung nodded as he absorbed all the information, and he crouched down next to the fallen shooter, taking his pulse with one hand.

“Hey don’t touch the corpse!” Hoseok yelled again.

“It’s not a corpse, he’s alive.” Taehyung stated. “It’s alright, guys, no one got murdered today."

He offered them an awkward smile, and Jimin beamed right back at him. It made his heart speed up a little bit with excitement. That place was full of weird people and weird events, and yet Jimin radiated a strange warm energy that somehow didn’t feel out of place. It only made his curiosity grow.

Then, police sirens.

“Shit, I told you he was a cop!” Yoongi growled, watching Taehyung with disdain.

“I’m not! I swear!” He raised his hands defensively. “This has nothing to do with me!”

A few moments passed when everyone eyed each other with confused expressions.

“Just… answer only to what they ask you, okay? Don’t give them any unnecessary extra information.” Jimin instructed Jungkook.

“But I didn’t see anything?”

“That’s the spirit.”

Two police agents appeared in front of them, and everyone put their hands up as a reflex.

“Alright, we’ve got an unconscious man and 4 suspects in the scene. Mr. Kim is here also, he doesn’t seem to be injured.” One of the agents radioed. “Mr. Kim, I came by your brother’s request. He’s friends with my uncle, Mr. Jung.”

Taehyung only opened his mouth in surprise. So Seokjin had strategically befriended someone who had a relative in the police, he wasn’t just randomly befriending random elderly men. Once again, it was as if they simply couldn’t establish a relationship with anyone outside their family without having to play that game of exchanging contacts and favors.

“All of you, keep your hands up and turn around please.” The other agent instructed them. “Mr. Kim, please follow officer Jung outside.”

“…why?” He asked, noticing how Jimin and his friends were reluctantly following the police’s orders. “Why am I the only one going outside?”

“Because there’s an unconscious, possibly dead, man on the floor and they’re the only people in the scene.” Officer Jung answered seriously. “We need to search them and question them, so please follow me outside. Your brothers came to take you home.”

Taehyung wasn’t stupid. Ever since he was a child, his grandmother had drilled into him the knowledge that he was privileged and should be grateful, that he had many opportunities that other children didn’t have, and that someday he would have a certain degree of influence over other people to make their lives a little better or a little worse. Of course, that didn’t make sense to him until he started growing up and getting away with things that others didn’t easily get away with. So many times his parents got him out of trouble just by paying for his mistakes, and in other occasions he got a preferential treatment but acted as if he had no idea.

Over time, Namjoon seemed to reach the same wisdom as their grandmother, and he shared it with him, albeit with different wording. Acts of injustice around him started to become glaringly obvious, and even though he could just keep looking away, he was fully aware of them, which made him feel guilty.

That night in particular, he simply couldn’t look away. There was no way he could just go home and act as if nothing happened, while leaving the bar workers to deal with the police on their own, with the possibility that at the very least two of them would spend the night in jail. He couldn’t. Jimin had gone to him for help, and he had indirectly brought the police on them. It wasn’t a matter of looking away from injustice anymore, it was outright cruel. He didn’t think his conscience would let him sleep ever again, so he did what he had to do.

He used his privilege.

“I’m also in the scene.” He said clearly. “Just because my brother called you doesn’t mean I’m not a suspect. On the contrary, it makes me more suspicious, so search me and question me too.”

Both agents looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Ha ha, yeah that’s true.” The unidentified officer shook her head, but seemed to ignore him, crouching next to the unconscious man instead and asking for medical assistance on her radio after confirming that he was alive.

“I’m being serious. You’ll even find my fingerprints on the guy’s wrist.” He continued. It wasn’t that the felt particularly brave, but rather, he had the certainty that he would be okay. He didn’t feel that certain about the others. “And I know which gang he’s from, so you should question me.”

Jimin had half turned his head and was looking at Taehyung with disbelief. He was either incredibly powerful or incredibly stupid. If he really belonged to a cartel, giving himself to the police wouldn’t be good for him; but then again, that cop had said that she was related to a friend of Taehyung’s brother, so maybe he had some contacts in high places. Either way, why was he turning himself in? What could he possibly gain from that?

The two agents exchanged a look of confusion, and then Officer Jung spoke again. “Are you telling us the truth?”

He nodded. “Either arrest us all or release us all.”

Officer Jung looked at the other agent again, and the latter spoke. “Alright, keep your hands up and turn around.”

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

When Taehyung had told him earlier that night that he was going out, the last place Seokjin would have expected him to go to was a place with such a tacky name. He knew that his youngest brother loved the nightlife, and that he had been bored out of his mind ever since they were forced to move to that town, so when he saw him getting dressed up that night before leaving their house, he naturally assumed that he would be going to some club in the city, not… there.

Kim Seokjin was the eldest heir of the biggest textile company in the continent. He was expected to take over it after his parents passed, but it turned out that, while he was very proud and enthusiastic about their brand, he didn’t have the necessary set of skills to run a business, so although he was the eldest, his parents rarely trusted him with big responsibilities. Most of those went to the middle son, Namjoon, which was a shame, because although he was undoubtedly responsible and diligent, he had to neglect his own dreams in order to do what Seokjin couldn’t do.

That made him feel extremely guilty, but instead of voicing it out loud and thus forcing Namjoon to carry with even more baggage, he tried to make it up by being the coolest big brother that he could be, and that included protecting the youngest one, Taehyung, from suffering the same fate. It was an unspoken agreement between Seokjin and Namjoon to just let Taehyung be happy and do whatever he felt like doing while the two of them took care of the rest. Unfortunately, their father didn’t seem to share their vision, and he requested all three of them to take charge of that factory in the middle of nowhere together, thus making Taehyung miserable.

It only made Seokjin feel even guiltier, like somehow his ineptitude was the cause of his brothers’ utter misery, and so he tried harder and harder to make them happy. He cooked for them and did their laundry and came up with awful puns to make them laugh; he encouraged Namjoon to keep writing in his spare time, and bought him a telescope because he knew how much he loved the night sky; he drove Taehyung to the city to go shopping, and, passing it as a fun overbearing big brother kind of joke, convinced him to install an app on his phone that was directly connected to his and Namjoon’s, and would alert them immediately if he was in trouble and inform them of his exact location in a very discreet way.

He was hoping that he would never need it, but after all, they were rich and new in town, and Taehyung was young and reckless. He might never need it, but… That night, when the unfamiliar alarm rang on his phone, Seokjin’s guilt was magnified to levels he never thought were possible.

He was yelling at Namjoon and their private security and running out the door while simultaneously beating himself up internally for letting Taehyung go out alone at night. He should have gone with him, he thought as he called his neighbor who had a niece working in the local police; he should have warned him about the dangers of exploring unknown places by himself, he thought as he rubbed his face in frustration while sitting in the car; he should have been more serious, more strict, shouldn’t have let Taehyung get everything he wanted, he thought as he continuously refreshed the app, hoping Taehyung would call any moment now and tell him he had activated it by accident.

He had failed as a brother, he thought now, as he stood outside that shabby-looking tavern waiting for Jung Wheein and her partner to come back with Taehyung alive and well.

The minutes during which he and Namjoon waited in silence seemed to last forever, even longer when the other two cops that had escorted them to the place went inside as well, and then emerged with a weird-looking group of guys… and Taehyung, who stood out as a bright red dot. They were all handcuffed, including Taehyung.

“Hey, what the fuck.” He eloquently articulated. “Hey, Wheein! That’s my brother! That’s Taehyung!”

“Please step back, Sir.” He was stopped by one of the members of their security.

“What do you mean ‘step back’? You do something! They’re arresting my brother!” He yelled, all of the guilt and anxiety he felt mixing with the reality that Taehyung had gotten into a serious problem.

“It’s okay, hyung, everything’s okay.” Taehyung said, obediently letting the cops lead him to their patrol car. “I’m going to testify and everything will be clarified.”

“Testify what?!”

But he was shoved into the back of Wheein’s patrol car along with another guy, while the other three went with the other two officers.

“Excuse me, Officer Jung, could you tell us what’s happening?” Namjoon tried in a more reasonable manner.

“We’re not entirely sure yet, so we’re going downtown to take everyone’s statements. We searched the whole bar and didn’t find anyone dead or injured, but a man is unconscious, and your brother was one of the few people on the scene.” Wheein explained briefly. “For the record, we weren’t going to arrest Taehyung, but he volunteered. I think he’s friends with the rest, so we’re bringing them all. Don’t worry too much about him though, I’m the good cop. Hyejin is the bad one.”

“Well… I’m sure everything will be clarified soon, right? Hyung, let’s go to the station. We’ll talk to him when he’s released.” Namjoon put a hand on Seokjin’s shoulder as he always did when he tried to reassure him. The eldest sighed, a little more relaxed knowing that at least no one had died, but still feeling very on edge about the strangeness of the whole situation.

“I’ll see you there, then.” Wheein clacked her tongue and did finger guns at them, before turning back to her patrol car. Seokjin and Namjoon went to their own car with their security.

Jimin sat uncomfortably in the back of the patrol car, full of anxiety and completely unable to do anything. To be honest, he was only truly worried about Jungkook. Even though Yoongi and Hoseok were the ones directly involved in the confrontation, they knew how to take care of themselves and how to use their natural charisma to get out of sticky situations; Jimin himself could prove that he had tried to get help, especially with Taehyung to back him up, but Jungkook… that kid was too transparent.

He would stare at the cops with his terrified deer caught in the headlights expression and they would start asking about other things, irrelevant things from the past, and he would reveal too much and he would get in trouble and Jimin would never see him again.

Relax, he kept telling himself, Jungkook is 18 years old, he’s legally an adult, things have changed. He’s not as vulnerable as he was 3 years ago.

His inner monologue was interrupted by Taehyung’s voice.

“Are you alright?” He whispered, and when Jimin turned to face him, he could see actual concern in his eyes.

“Y-yeah, well, no, I mean, I’m not hurt, but I’m definitely not doing well at all, obviously.” He tried to focus on the present and just how complicated his night had gotten. “You… you have a plan, right? Is this the person you called for help?”

“I had no idea the cops were going to show up, I swear!” Taehyung shook his head vehemently. “I thought only my brothers were coming with security, but it looks like one of them figured it was necessary to call the police as well.”

Jimin looked at him in silence, furrowing his eyebrows. Realization was starting to dawn on him. “So… you don’t have bodyguards, and even though your brother has contacts in the police, you still get arrested and want to testify, you are not afraid to face the police… Taehyung-ssi, you are not really… with a family, right?”

“You keep saying that word, I don’t think it means what I think it means.” Taehyung kept shaking his head, slower this time. “You call the other guys your family, you keep talking about mine as if it’s a secret, I don’t understand.”

“…You really don’t know.” Jimin took a moment to organize his thoughts, feeling a growing urge to beat himself up for jumping to conclusions and assuming that Taehyung was the kind of person who could help him in a situation like that. “Kim Taehyung, when you said you were here for family business, what did you mean?”

“I meant exactly that. My family has a business and I have to participate, it’s not mine, so it wasn’t my choice to come here.” Taehyung answered quickly. He was getting tired of being confused. “How about you? I don’t even know your full name. Are you really related to those guys? Is El Mariachi a family business as well?”

Jimin gulped. He could practically hear himself screaming in the back of his head. So that guy had meant a literal family business, like, a company, not a drug cartel. “But what kind of normal businessman goes into a trashy bar full of gangs without a single bodyguard?!”

He had, however, screamed that last part out loud. Wheein whistled from the driver’s seat, shaking her head in disapproval. “I’m pretending not to hear anything so that you guys can agree on your alibis, but that’s gonna be hard if you don’t even know each other.”

Taehyung’s eyes widened, surprised by Jimin’s accusation as well as the cop’s corruption. “I… Excuse me, I looked it up online and it was literally the only gay bar that showed up, I had no way to know it was full of gangs! And why are you yelling at me when your friend was the one who got in trouble with the shooter? And your other friend was the one who hit him!”

“Oh no, this is the opposite of what you’re supposed to be doing, guys, come on. I’m giving you so much leverage.” Wheein sighed, more to herself than to the two suspects.

“Hey, that was legitimate self defense. Yoongi-hyung was trying to protect Jungkookie, and Hoseokie-hyung was protecting them both. The investigation will show that.” Jimin spoke loudly, just in case the cop was just pretending to help them so they would let their guard down. He couldn’t trust anyone. “And I only yelled because I can’t believe how naïve you are! I went to you thinking your henchmen would help me, and it turns out you needed more help than anyone, pffft, I’m sorry.”

Jimin started laughing then. He couldn’t help it, the entire situation was so absurd. “Ah ha ha ha, not only do you not have henchmen but you’re just a regular rich kid who ended up in such a place, oh my God and now you’re going to a police station for the first time ever, I bet, ha ha ha ha ha. Taehyung-ssi, you’re so unfortunate.”

Taehyung stared at him in disbelief. He had turned himself in to the police to support Jimin and now he was mocking him. Well… served him right for trying to get in the pants of a waiter he had only seen once, he supposed. “And you… you could have protected your friends yourself but you went to me for help, and all I did was accidentally bring the cops on you. Now you’re going to jail for thinking that I was powerful. Pffft, Jimin-ssi, you’re even more naïve than me.”

“I know, it’s as if you walked into the bar tonight just to ruin my life!” Jimin was in hysterics at this point, letting out all of his anxiety through uncontrollable laughter. The sound he made was extremely contagious so Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh along. There was nothing else they could do anyways.

“I’m really, really sorry.” The young heir apologized, though he was still wearing an unfitting boxy smile. “I swear I wasn’t sent out to ruin your life, I only intended to get wasted and laid tonight.”

“And I swear I didn’t mean to drag you into a crime scene, I just wanted to get laid and a bit richer.”

“Ha ha ha… what?” Taehyung’s laugh became a bit more shallow then.

“Oh, you know…” Jimin shrugged, though his smile also faltered. “Wait, don’t misunderstand, it’s not like I charge for—it’s not like I make money from that!”

“Oh, but you… did you…?” Taehyung wanted to ask if he had meant getting laid with him, but that would be horribly upfront, even in that situation. “Wait, you’re doing it again. You keep making me talk more while you just put on more and more layers of mystery. Officer Jung is right, we should at least know each other before getting to the station.”

Jimin stopped smiling altogether then, feeling a little bit exposed. It was unusual for someone to insist on knowing more about him, since he had carefully constructed a mask that allowed him to present himself as a pretty boy with a fun but basic enough personality to make the clients feel like they were the most interesting people in the world. It allowed him to keep his job and occasionally receive some presents, but at the same time it guaranteed that he wouldn’t get attached to anyone to prevent him from leaving that town as soon as he could.

Even though it had already been 3 years, he had never intended to stay there for so long, and it was bad enough that he had already gotten attached to his hyungs, but they were aware from the start that he and Jungkook would go away one of those days. On the other hand, after everything that had happened, he was almost sure that Kim Taehyung would never want to see him again, so he might as well just tell him what he wanted to know.

“It’s Park, Park Jimin.” He started, more seriously. “And no, we’re not actually related. Jungkook and I grew up in Busan together, and when we moved here, Yoongi-hyung and Hoseokie-hyung helped us settle in, and we even lived in their house for a few months until we could finally rent our own space, so we’re all very close… The bar is not ours. Hoseokie-hyung worked there as a bartender when we first met and he helped us all get jobs there, one by one. It wasn’t like a lot of people wanted to work there at first, but now we have more staff.”

“Oh… So that’s why you were so worried about them. You guys are like a real family, right?” Taehyung smiled sincerely, thinking of his own brothers. “They must be happy to be able to count on you.”

Jimin could swear his heart skipped a beat but he blamed it on the thrill of the recent events, it had absolutely nothing to do with Taehyung or how sweet his tone had become all of a sudden.

“Mm, I guess, yeah, we have to support each other.” He answered looking out the window.

“We’re here, children.” Wheein announced, stopping in front of the police station. “As long as the unconscious guy from the bar doesn’t die, you shouldn’t be in too much trouble, but still, try to be careful with your statements.”

Contrary to Jimin’s expectations, Jungkook was actually the first one to get off the hook. His story was perfectly solid, he had been in the storage room the whole time, and since he was an adult there had been no need to ask him about his parents or anything that wasn’t relevant to the case. Jimin and Taehyung had also been released after confirming that they had not been in contact with the shooter or any of the weapons. They also learned that the shooter was not actually affiliated with the Red Bullets, so they didn’t have to fear repercussions from any other gang members in the future.

On the other hand, Yoongi and Hoseok were still in trouble. Yoongi had beaten up three guys including the victim, and Hoseok’s fingerprints were all over the shotgun, which he claimed belonged to him, even though he didn’t have a license for it. He had also admitted he had used it to incapacitate the attacker, but until that person was released from the hospital, the police couldn’t get his side of the story and thus wouldn’t be able to release Yoongi or Hoseok yet.

When Jimin and Taehyung left their respective interrogation rooms, they met again in the hall, and smiled at each other awkwardly before going to the waiting room to meet their respective families. Taehyung’s brothers stood up to hug him for a very long time, before Seokjin pushed him and started speaking quickly, calling him an irresponsible idiot as well as a bunch of other assorted insults as he kept slapping at his arms. Namjoon told him to keep calm and to talk things through at home, but he didn’t do anything to stop the hitting, which meant that he was upset, too.

Jungkook had stood up as well, but he only stared at Jimin with his big eyes full of worry, hands shoved inside the pockets of the hoodie that Jimin hated, because it made him look like a lost kid. He patted his head and sat down in silence, and Jungkook immediately followed. They couldn’t leave yet. It was late and their hyungs were still under interrogation, so it would be better to wait till the morning. He wasn’t sure if the police would let them stay, though, but it would be dangerous to try to go home at that hour.

He could still hear the funny sound of Taehyung’s brother’s exasperated voice and Taehyung’s ‘Ouch, hyung, stop, you’re embarrassing me’, which made him smile sadly as he remembered his own home. He wondered if his family still thought of him, if they were still searching, if they had forgiven him… and then he saw Jungkook on his side and thought of his family and how much he hoped they had stopped searching for him.

There were so many types of families and homes, and Taehyung seemed to have a good one. Those two freakishly tall guys had answered to Taehyung’s signal immediately and even called for police backup, and then they had waited for him and hugged him as if they had thought they had lost him. They seemed to have a good bond, so Jimin couldn’t help but feel happy for him. In spite of everything, his night was going to end well after all. Jimin’s night, and even his future, on the other hand… that was still uncertain.

“Jimin-ssi.” He heard an unfamiliar voice call him, and he turned his head to realize that it was one of Taehyung’s brothers. “Do you guys need a ride home?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He didn’t know those guys, and Taehyung clearly had no time to tell them about him, so how…? “Thank you, you’re very kind, but we actually have to wait for our other friends to be released, so, that might take a while.”

“Yeah, that’s precisely why you should go home and come back in the morning when you’re well rested.” The other brother answered. “Jungkook told us there’s still a lot of investigation to be done.”

Of course, Jungkook. Jungkook told them. After all, they were all sitting together in the waiting room. That little shit, didn’t he learn anything about not talking to strangers? Jimin shot him a significant glare before turning his attention back to the two giants and smiling sweetly. “Yeah, we probably should, but… we kind of live in a bad neighborhood, and it’s kind of late, so, it’ll be better if we just wait till morning.”

“Oh, in that case, you could stay with us. We’ll drive you here in the morning.” This time, it was Taehyung’s voice. “Our guest house is very comfortable.”

What kind of cheap horror movie plot?

“I really… don’t think it’s necessary?” Jimin insisted. “You’ve already gone through so much trouble tonight, so please go home and rest.”

“Well, actually, you’ve gone through much more trouble, and it’s partially our fault.” The one who had been hitting Taehyung, who Jimin had filed in his mind as ‘shoulder hyung’, spoke in a more serious tone. “It was because of us that you got arrested, and we had assumed that you were all bad people, but after questioning Jungkook here-”

“Chatting, hyung, we were having a casual chat with Jungkook.” The other brother, who would still be called ‘the other hyung’ for now, corrected.

“After having a casual but very informative conversation with Jungkook, we understood that you guys were victims as much as our little brother.” Shoulder hyung continued. “And we really have no problem with you guys staying at our guest house for tonight. My friends stay over all the time.”

“And we’d really like Taehyung to make new friends in this town.” Other hyung offered, staring at him with an almost pleading expression. The fact that they were asking him specifically, and not Jungkook, meant that the latter had given them a very accurate description of the kind of relationship that they had.

It wasn’t like he was Jungkook’s parent, except he kind of was.

“Um, could you give Jungkook and me a minute? We need to discuss a little something first.” He smiled sheepishly, standing up and tugging at Jungkook’s hoodie a little too forcefully.

He followed him to a corner of the same room, not too far from the others, who had now resumed talking to each other, apparently questioning Taehyung about specific details.

“What did you do?” Jimin asked, crossing his arms.

“Hey, you’re the one who told me to smile and be pretty when we had rich customers.” The younger retorted. “Besides, they’re the ones who started talking to me, I just answered their questions.”

“First of all, you’re supposed to smile and be pretty while you’re on stage, not off. You shouldn’t be talking to anyone, did you forget?” Jimin was whispering, but he punctuated his words as much as he could. “And secondly, as if being questioned by the police wasn’t enough, you let some strangers question you as well?”

“They’re not strangers anymore, they introduced themselves. Kim Seokjin and Kim Namjoon, they’re Taehyung-ssi’s older brothers.” Jungkook shook his head. “Their family has a really big textile company called BTS. They’re rich, hyung. Besides, you were planning to go home with Taehyung-ssi anyway, so why are you so fidgety now?”

“I’m not fidgety.” Jimin quickly defended himself. “And… that’s different. It’s one thing going to a hotel with a hookup, and it’s a different thing to go to his house, with his family, after being arrested. It’s so… personal. Oh. Okay, you may have a point, I am fidgety. I’m very careful of our privacy. How much did you tell them about us?”

“Hmm… Well, I told them we work at the bar, of course, that was the first thing they asked after my name and ‘hey, do you know BTS?’ I told them what each one of us does at the bar, that we’re friends and roommates, that Yoongi and Hoseokie-hyung are boyfriends, hmm, what else?” Jungkook tapped his chin. “Oh, how old we are. They were very interested in you being two months older than Taehyung-ssi, and I told them you’re single and available.”

Jungkook scrunched up his nose and laughed, which earned him a punch to the arm. Jimin’s fist was really small and Jungkook’s arms were getting stronger recently, so it didn’t do much, though, but the intention was still there. “This is why you can’t talk to people. What else?”

“Not much else.” Jungkook shrugged. “They mostly wanted to know what happened tonight, so most of the conversation focused on that. You gotta stop being paranoid about what happened in Busan, hyung, I have no need to tell anyone. That’s in the past.”

Jimin let out a heavy sigh. He wished he could really believe those words, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t feel safe until they reached a point where their past wouldn’t catch up to them. What had happened earlier, what had triggered the whole confrontation, was those guys surrounding Jungkook and pulling at him. It hadn’t been a gang. And now Jimin couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility that Jungkook’s father had somehow found out where he was working, and had sent those men to bring him back home, or worse.

The younger didn’t seem to have considered that, though, and Jimin didn’t want to worry him. Maybe they would be safer at Taehyung’s house after all. If Jungkook’s family knew where they worked they probably knew where they lived too, and the Kims were indeed rich and had plenty of security at their home, so it would be the best place to spend the night and plan what they would do with their lives from the next day on.

“Alright, guess we’ll be having a sleepover.”

When Taehyung had planned to find someone to sleep with that night, this was not at all what he had meant. They wouldn’t even technically sleep together, since Jimin would be staying at the guest house. He had also not managed to seduce Jimin properly, so he couldn’t even call him a date, nor a hookup, nor a friend. He was ‘the waiter I got arrested with’, which he wasn’t even sure was a proper relationship category.

It was the most bizarre situation of his life and yet the initial excitement of the night hadn’t completely died yet. Jimin had caught his eye from the moment he appeared dancing on that table and the more he got to know about him the more layers of mystery he seemed to uncover. His night had not gone as intended, but he would try to fix it, try to have a semi-normal human connection with him that would allow him to start over some other time.

The three brothers led their guests around the guesthouse, encouraging them to make themselves at home and to call them through the intercom if they needed anything. They also reminded them that they had security around the property, and the only way to access the guesthouse was through the main house, so they should feel safe. Then, they returned to their home to have a family meeting.

Usually, Taehyung always had one of his brothers on his side during those meetings. When he argued with Seokjin, Namjoon would mediate between the two and make sure that they worked out their problem; he also comforted Taehyung if Seokjin made him cry. If he argued with Namjoon, Seokjin would side with Taehyung, mostly because Namjoon made very compelling arguments so, in Seokjin’s words, they had to be together if they wanted to be stronger. They never had any serious conflicts though, just regular sibling quarrels.

However, this time was different. They were in the library, which was the most neutral part of their house, Namjoon sitting at the desk with Seokjin standing by his side with his arms crossed, like he was ready to tackle Taehyung if he made a move to escape. The youngest felt incredibly small as he sat across from them. They weren’t mad at him, they weren’t even disappointed in him, they were just scared.

They told him he should have researched more about the places he intended to go, especially at night, and that he should have talked to them about it. They reminded him that they were unfortunately vulnerable because of their social position, and that he should be careful. Namjoon was the one who did most of the talking, but Seokjin agreed with him, nodding the whole time and adding a comment here and there. They weren’t attacking him, and yet he started crying at some point. It was the first time they were a team against him, which meant that he had really, for the first time, gone too far.

He apologized and promised that he would be more careful, and they made a vow not to tell their parents anything about what happened. They also agreed that Seokjin and Taehyung would wake up early and drive the guests to the police station in the morning, so Seokjin would be going to bed already while Taehyung was instructed to check if they needed anything before going to sleep. Namjoon still had to finish some spreadsheets he was working on when he had been interrupted to pick up Taehyung, which made the latter feel a little guiltier, so he left him to work and made his way back to the guesthouse.

It was a little past 2 am now and Jimin was staring at a wall, thoughts about the past, present and future all jumbled together. If his night had continued as usual, he’d still have a couple more shows to do before going home with his tips; instead he was staying at the guesthouse of some very rich and handsome strangers whose business was most definitely legal, he could easily confirm now with all the pictures and awards and framed newspaper articles that decorated the place.

He couldn’t complain. He hadn’t been in a real house in 3 years, he had taken a nice bath and changed into clothes that were too big for him (because this was a family of giants, it seemed) and was now staring at a wall full of kids photos while Jungkook was losing his mind over some book he found.

His future, and by extension, Jungkook’s future, were blurry. Whether or not the police released Yoongi and Hoseok the next day, the bar would still be closed until the investigation was complete, so they wouldn’t have a workplace to return to for a while. The shooter still had to provide his statement, so depending on what he declared, they could be arrested or called to testify again, and there was still the very strong possibility that he had been sent by Jungkook’s father and if that was the case then it wouldn’t be the last time they’d hear of him.

Maybe it was a good thing that the bar would be closed. They would be more difficult to find that way.

His inner monologue was interrupted by the sound of the entrance door being softly opened, which suddenly brought him back to the present. Right. They were in a house. A guesthouse to be exact, which could only be accessed via the main house, so…

“Excuse me… I came to check if you guys needed anything.” He heard Taehyung’s voice before he stepped into the living room. “Oh, I see you already changed your clothes.”

“Yeah… thanks, you’ve been too kind.” Jimin said with a tired smile. “We’re alright, it’s just that at this hour we’re usually working, so we’re not sleepy yet.”

“Of course.” Taehyung nodded, and his eyes remained for a bit too long on the shirt Jimin was wearing. Jimin figured it must have had something to do with the fact that it kept falling off of his shoulders, so he pulled it up for the millionth time.

“What about you? Do you tend to stay up late too?” He asked to break the uncomfortable staring contest.

“Well, not always, but… I was really planning to stay up all night, and I’m a little drunk, so…” Taehyung answered, scratching the back of his head in apparent embarrassment.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, it’s Friday night.” Jimin shrugged. “You even wanted to be the most generous client of the night and all.”

“Oh, God, yeah, I said that.” Taehyung sat down on the couch, looking even more embarrassed. Jimin found it sincerely cute. “It’s just… there’s something about that place, you know? I was very affected by it, in a good way. I hadn’t felt this excited in so long.”

“Yeah, it’s a place where dreams come true.” Jimin laughed. “And you won! Since the night ended abruptly much earlier than usual, you were indeed the most generous tipper!”

“Was I? Ooh, what an honor, I had never won at anything.” Taehyung joked, which made Jimin laugh together with him. The guy was as attractive as he was awkward. “But… on a more serious note, I really, really enjoyed my time tonight, until, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, me too.” Jimin nodded, still smiling. “I thought it was gonna be a good night, but well, at least I’ll spend what’s left of it in a beautiful house.”

“Mm.” Taehyung agreed, and there were a few seconds of silence before he spoke softly again. “I would like to start over, though. I mean, obviously I can’t redo this night, but, I’d like to go to the bar again, and watch your show, and sit at table 4 and flirt with you properly.”

Jimin let out a dry laugh. “Ha, sounds fun, but who knows if that will happen… the bar will be closed for a while until the investigation is over.”

“Oh.” Taehyung just stared at him for a few seconds with his mouth half open. “That-That’s not good, right?”

“Nope, no good at all.” Jimin shook his head, then sighed deeply. “And depending on how that ends -the investigation, I mean- we may have to find other jobs.”

“Oh, no…” Taehyung looked concerned now, as if he was starting to remember that El Mariachi was not actually a magical place, but a bar where people like Jimin and Jungkook tried to make a living. “Well, we’re new in this town, but my family’s still well connected, so I’m sure we could help you find new jobs if you need.”

Jimin stared at the man before him in disbelief. He was so dense and innocent, it was a wonder he hadn’t been killed yet. Even Jimin was tempted to kick his ass, steal his rubies and run, simply because he could.

“Listen, Taehyung-ssi.” He leaned forward, and watched Taehyung mirror his move. He figured Jungkook must have been really caught up by his book or he would be mocking them at this point. “People like you don’t usually associate with people like me for more than one fleeting moment. What happened tonight was a series of unfortunate events, but they end here. We’re not likely to meet again, we shouldn’t meet again. It’s already weird enough that we’re having this conversation.”

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, and for a second Jimin actually thought ‘Maybe I underestimated him’, but the words that came out of his mouth were clearly measured. “I know why you’re saying this, and I get it. I’m a rich heir and you’re a waiter, so clearly we can’t connect beyond one crazy night. I get that, I’m not trying to romanticize anything. But, we were drawn to each other tonight, for one reason or another, and we were drawn multiple times, so why not try to make the most of it?”

Jimin was intrigued, so he simply nodded to let him carry on.

“What I’m saying is, I feel so lonely and desperate that I spent way too much time creating a ‘concept’ for my outfit to attract someone, and the moment I saw you, I did everything in my power to catch your eye, which isn’t hard because I’m rich and handsome. I know how to do business; I’ve been living my whole life like this: you provide me something that I need, and I’ll do the same for you. I need company, maybe a one night stand, maybe a friend, maybe someone who can show me around until I feel confident enough to go by myself; and you must need something too: money, exposure, friends in high places… just name it. Like I said, I’m not going to romanticize anything, this is a simple exchange.”

Jimin absorbed all the information while putting on his standard ‘customer service smile’. Alright, so maybe Taehyung wasn’t as naïve as he thought, maybe he was actually wiser than him, maybe he had figured him out first, and maybe Jimin was a tiny bit more attracted to him now that he was being straightforward. And he did need a new job, probably, almost certainly. He could use all of that (money, exposure, contacts) and he did need to protect Jungkook, though he wouldn’t have to tell him that. He had nothing to lose, but so much to potentially win…

“Why me, though? Why are you offering me this, um, exchange, and not someone else like Jungkookie or Hoseokie-hyung?”

“Well, Jungkook isn’t very communicative.” Even that comment didn’t make the younger look up from his book. It must have been a really engaging read. “And the other guys are still under police custody, but you’re free, so that means you’re not a criminal. If you were, they would have used this opportunity to detain you. I don’t want to get involved with criminals.”

“Fair enough.” Although Jimin’s voice didn’t falter, he couldn’t help but gulp. He wasn’t a criminal, he wasn’t, he’d been telling himself that throughout these years, but he still shivered at the implication. He always felt on edge about his ‘crime’ being found out. “So… hypothetically speaking, if I accepted this deal, how—how would we?”

“You know.” Taehyung shrugged, crossing his legs casually. “I’d go to the bar sometimes, sometimes we’d meet somewhere else, we’d talk on the phone, just… I’m so bored, Jimin-ssi.”

Taehyung sighed miserably, and Jimin understood that feeling really well. It wasn’t boredom, it was the longing to go back home but being unable to, trying your best to adjust to a new place but simultaneously wanting with all your heart to get out of there as soon as possible, and the loneliness, ah, the excruciating loneliness…

Jimin sighed. “Ah, what gives? At least we both know we’re not criminals. And I know how to take care of myself if things start getting weird.”

Taehyung laughed a little at that. “Good. And I learned my lesson tonight, so I’ll take care of myself too.”

Jimin smiled, genuinely this time.

And that was the start of a beautiful ambiguous relationship.

As expected, Taehyung didn’t sleep that night, though not for the reasons he had planned. He stayed in the guesthouse talking to Jimin and getting to know each other more. He learned his birthdate, and Jimin even tried to get him to call him hyung, which just didn’t work; they talked about where they were from, what they missed the most from their hometowns (the landscape, though they concluded that the one in Busan must be completely different from the one in Seoul, but they both had their charms, surely); which led them to talk about their favorite meals and how they liked them, and who made them.

Jimin mostly talked about his current household, which was understandable, because they had literally just met, so Taehyung wouldn’t ask him about his childhood home. Taehyung also tried to talk about his brothers only, not going into detail about his parents or his childhood either.

Jungkook had briefly joined the conversation at some point to complain about how he was the one who did most of the chores, and Taehyung took the opportunity to inform him that the book he had been so interested in was just a collection of poems that Namjoon had written while he was still in college, and that everyone (including himself) had forgotten about it, so it had been in the guesthouse this whole time. Jungkook seemed really shocked, because, as Jimin supplied, he had read all those poems back during his ‘angsty teen years’ in some blog that no longer existed, and had even used them to write some songs. Taehyung said he should keep the book, since Namjoon probably wouldn’t mind (or even notice).

Jungkook went back into silent mode after that, taking an interest in the photo albums instead while Jimin and Taehyung went to the kitchen for some fruit as they continued talking. As Jimin started to feel more comfortable, the conversation flowed more like a first date talk would, minus the pressure of expectations. Taehyung told him about his responsibilities in the factory and about the company in general, which Jimin apparently found interesting. Jimin then talked about how he enjoyed his job at the bar even though it was exhausting, for he wouldn’t mind dancing for the rest of his life. That was actually the only thing Taehyung learned about Jimin’s childhood: that he started dancing when he was 7 years old, and judging by the expression on his face as he talked about it, it was what he loved the most.

Taehyung went on to say that he enjoyed dancing casually and considered himself to be okay at it, but he wouldn’t have the discipline to do it professionally. He actually hadn’t found anything he was truly passionate about, which was why he was more or less wandering through life aimlessly. Jimin told him to stop being gloomy, since he was handsome and rich and could get whatever he wanted, so he could waste as much time as he needed. Taehyung laughed at the honesty which no other ‘friend’ had given him before, and replied that being handsome and rich also came with restrictions and roles to fulfill, some of them very unpleasant.

Jimin just told him that, once he found something he wanted to do even if he got nothing in return, that would be his passion. Taehyung found it very difficult to wrap his head around that idea, being raised on the concept that everything in life was an exchange, but he said he’d try that out. Overall, Jimin seemed to be a very confident and strong person, who could easily be doing bigger things, but something was obviously holding him back. Taehyung wondered if it was something practical like money, or some type of insecurity instead. He figured he’d find out eventually.

Jimin and Jungkook only got 2 hours of sleep before they had to get ready so Taehyung and his shoulder hyung would drive them to the police station. Unfortunately, after catching up with Wheein again, they found out that Yoongi and Hoseok wouldn’t be released yet, but on a brighter note, Yoongi’s mother and Hoseok’s sister were on their way, so at least they’d have their family waiting for them.

It was a bittersweet feeling for Jimin.

Shoulder hyung insisted on driving them home, but Jimin refused over and over, mostly out of shame. The tiny one bedroom apartment where he and Jungkook lived was smaller than the living room in the Kims’ guesthouse, and the area where the small building was located was famous for all the wrong reasons. They technically could afford to rent something slightly better, but they needed to save as much money as possible if they ever wanted to get out of that town, and right now Jimin felt like they needed to get out as soon as possible.

Shoulder hyung kept insisting, pulling at their sleeves like a child throwing a tantrum, until Taehyung stopped him, obvious embarrassed desperation written all over his face. Jimin found the entire situation funny and kind of endearing, but he had to decline for the millionth time, making up a bad excuse about having to wait for Yoongi and Hoseok’s families to give them something before leaving. In the end, shoulder hyung gave up and left with Taehyung, and a few minutes later, Jimin and Jungkook started making their way back home.

As soon as they arrived, Jungkook flopped on his bed and fell asleep immediately, as usual, but this time Jimin did the same. He was exhausted, more mentally than physically. He had so much to figure out, he was so scared of the uncertain future and the past that never stopped following him, and he didn’t know where to start.

“But, we were drawn to each other tonight, for one reason or another, and we were drawn multiple times, so why not try to make the most of it?”

Somehow, the only little ray of hope that he could think of before falling asleep, was Kim Taehyung’s ‘deal’. Maybe, just maybe, the previous night had been more than just a series of weird events; maybe someone did answer his prayers.

“Why so quiet, Taehyung-ah? Do you miss your boyfriend?” Seokjin teased, driving back from the police station.

“Tch, what boyfriend?” His little brother answered while messing with the music player on the car as he always did. He had something against Seokjin’s music taste.

“Your boyfriend the flying waiter Park Jimin.”

“He doesn’t fly, just dances.”

“Oh, so you admit that he’s your boyfriend.”

“I literally met him less than 12 hours ago.” Taehyung’s answer was very calm, he wasn’t blushing or denying it or asking him to cut it off, which was unusual. Seokjin had no idea how to interpret it. “But we’ll see what happens.”

“Huh…” was all he could say in response to that last statement. After everything that happened, Seokjin had to be more alert than ever. Taehyung wasn’t technically a teenager anymore, but he was still far too innocent for the real world, so he had to keep treating him as one.

‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ were words that Seokjin liked to live by. He knew that if he chastised Taehyung for putting himself in danger and forbade him from associating with that guy, the younger would just act rebelliously and end up in even more dangerous situations; so instead, he opened the doors of their home to those people and treated them as dear guests. He wanted to learn everything he could about them, so he could get the upper hand whether they ended up being their friends or their enemies. That was how he had learned to live his life and that was the way he had always looked out for Taehyung.

“Where do you wanna go for breakfast?” He asked after a few seconds of silence.

“I’d like to go home, actually.” Taehyung answered, yawning. “Namjoonie-hyung was still asleep when we left, so that means he probably stayed up late working again. I wanna cook something nice for him.”

That was Taehyung speak for ‘I still feel guilty for causing so much trouble’.

“Yah, you’re gonna cook for Namjoon who’s peacefully sleeping, but what about me, who kindly and selflessly drove your boyfriend and his rabbit friend to the police station, huh? What do I get?” Seokjin asked quickly, slamming his hand on the wheel for emphasis.

“Oh! I have something for you, where did I put it?” Taehyung patted his pockets, then shoved his hand into one of them. “Ooh, here it is!”

What he pulled out of his pocket was… absolutely nothing. He made a heart with his fingers and showed it to him, smiling ecstatically.

“You’re so lame, Taehyung-ah.” Seokjin shook his head disapprovingly, though his heart felt warm. His little brother was still adorable in his own way.

“I learned from an expert.” The younger laughed.

“You’re the absolute worst child I have ever raised.” Seokjin gestured exaggeratedly just to make sure that Taehyung would keep on laughing.

“I can’t take offense to that, because the only other child you have raised is Namjoonie-hyung, and you did a great job with him.”

“AAAAH, enough about Namjoon. Are you going to start a fanclub for him or something?” Though Seokjin pretended to be jealous, he didn’t blame Taehyung. He adored Namjoon as much as the younger did, and he knew that it was mutual. They all loved each other, but Taehyung was the only one to openly say it without feeling embarrassed about it.

“Oh, oh, a fanclub would be a good idea. I already have someone to join.” The younger smiled. “Did you know that Jungkook actually read the poems that Namjoonie-hyung used to post on that blog while he was still a student?”

“Really? What a weird coincidence.”

“Yeah! He was really surprised to see a printed version, so he was reading it for several hours while Jimin and I talked.” Taehyung spoke excitedly despite the bags under his eyes and all the stress from the previous night. “So I told him he could take the book. Isn’t it exciting? I think Namjoonie-hyung will be happy to know that he has a fan in this town.”

“Yeah, we should totally tell him. I was in dire need of teasing him about something, thank you.” Seokjin laughed and Taehyung smiled brightly in complicity.

But under his carefree exterior, Seokjin was deeply worried. So many weird coincidences were starting to get suspicious. Would he have to end up protecting both of his brothers?

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

After that night when they had gone to pick up Taehyung, Namjoon thought that he would never have another reason to go back to that place, so when Seokjin had asked for him to go there as soon as he could, he had assumed that something Taehyung-related had happened again.

Kim Namjoon was the second heir of the biggest textile company in the continent. Being the middle child of such a prestigious family, he was overlooked by most people, and not much was expected of him. His older brother Seokjin was supposed to be the one to take over the company one day, so he was admired for how promising he was even when he hadn’t done anything yet; while his younger brother Taehyung was the cute one, who was adored just for being adorable, innocent and playful. There wasn’t much to say about Namjoon, as he realized since early on in his life, so he had lived in the shadow of his brothers throughout his entire childhood and adolescence.

Namjoon never received attention easily, and even though he wasn’t hungry for it, he needed to be heard if he wanted to make any kind of impact on the world around him, so he always worked hard, responsibly and diligently. Always at the top of his class and always interested in learning as much as he could, both in academics and in the real world, Namjoon was often a good influence for everyone who knew him… but he also struggled to connect with people emotionally.

It wasn’t like he thought he was on another level or anything pretentious like that, he simply had unusual approaches to things, so while he was admired for his ideas and his classmates followed his directions easily, he didn’t have many people he could consider his friends. While most boys his age joined sport teams or clubs, or got together with classmates to go to the movies, Namjoon mostly kept to himself and tried to keep learning more about everything he could, hoping that someday he could do something meaningful that he would be remembered by.

That was why, when he announced that he would be majoring in Literature instead of Business like Seokjin, his parents were surprised, but they still supported him. Namjoon could do whatever he wanted because no one was counting on him to lead the company; that was what Seokjin was there for… However, it became glaringly obvious over time that Seokjin simply wasn’t equipped with the necessary skills to do it. He wanted to, and he tried, but he just wasn’t cut for it.

Being the second in line, Namjoon had to step up and assume the eldest son’s responsibilities, which meant that his own dreams were put on hold for an indefinite amount of time until Seokjin would get on track, which for all he knew, might never actually happen.

During his college days, he would be called to help out Seokjin, who often felt overwhelmed by his responsibilities at the company even after receiving his degree. Over time, their father realized that Namjoon was more fit to take over the company despite choosing an incompatible career path, and so, little by little, almost without realizing it, Namjoon started doing more while Seokjin did less, to the point where he slowly started giving up his own career and dreams in favor of his family’s stability.

Though it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement while Seokjin polished his skills, by the time the three brothers moved to that town, it was a given that Namjoon would have the biggest share of responsibilities. While Taehyung and Seokjin worked 3 hours a day at most, Namjoon worked 12 hours at least, and he occasionally had to bring work home. He was always hardworking and already used to not getting much time for recreation, so the long hours didn’t bother him; what really bothered him was that he had abandoned his dreams of changing the world in order to become a corporate slave.

The sole irony of his current existence led him to stop writing altogether, and to delete the blog where he used to post his poems when he was younger. Giving up writing was the greatest sacrifice that he had ever made, but as long as it bought Seokjin extra time to become a better businessman, and it allowed Taehyung to keep living a carefree youth, it would be worth it. That was why, he couldn’t understand why Seokjin-hyung was doing this to him.

“What do you mean you bought it?”

“I mean exactly that! El Mariachi is mine now!” Seokjin exclaimed happily. The thing was, it was hard to tell if he was joking or not, so Namjoon squinted, trying to read him.

“Did you buy it or did we buy it?”

“I did, of course, I used my own money.” The eldest answered with a tone of indignation. “It’s mine, so don’t think even for just one second that you’ll be making any decisions here.”

“Okay…” Namjoon nodded slowly, looking around. There was no one else at the bar except the two of them, which meant that Seokjin was probably telling the truth. “Then why am I here?”

“You’re the owner’s dear brother, so of course, you get a free tour of the place. Come on.” Seokjin tugged at his sleeve, and Namjoon let him pull him around the place, still in disbelief.

“Hyung, this is a terrible idea. Isn’t this place a crime scene?”

“Technically, yeah, but a lot of places are. You’d be surprised.” Seokjin raised his eyebrows. “Wheein gave me all the details of the case and it turns out that the shooter wasn’t actually in a gang, he was just trying to intimidate Jimin and his friends, and he’s gonna be in jail for attempted murder, so everything’s okay. Trust me, I wouldn’t have bought this place if I felt like we were in impending danger.”

Namjoon didn’t doubt that part, his older brother wasn’t known for his bravery. “But, still, you don’t know anything about bars.”

“I don’t have to. I’m only going to be the manager, the staff will take care of all the other activities.” Seokjin continued dragging Namjoon everywhere, making him more worried with each passing second.

He noticed that the place was not as shady as it looked from the outside, which was probably a good thing, but still, what could have possibly led Seokjin to make such a horrible financial decision? He was selfish and impulsive, but not stupid, so.

“Why?” Namjoon asked, unable to hide his frustration.

“I knew you’d ask.” The eldest spoke proudly, like a teacher who had awakened his student’s curiosity. “There are several reasons: One, this is the only gay bar in the whole town, so I’ll have no competition; it’s my blue ocean. Two, Jimin works here, so Taehyung will come over all the time and I’ll be able to watch over him. And three, it’s about time I start investing my own money. If I learn how to run this place, I’ll learn how to run the factory.”

Namjoon saw no correlation between a gay bar and a textile company, but Seokjin appeared to be serious about it, so it was too late. It had been decided, he was a bar owner now and soon he’d ask Namjoon to help him because he was drowning in debts or because half of the staff had quit or something of the sort and Namjoon would have to step up and balance managing his parents’ company and his brother’s bar and he’d die of stress at the sweet age of 21.

“I have it under control.” Seokjin continued, as if he had read his mind, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I really wanna do this, Namjoon, I want to learn. And if I screw up, then I’ll take responsibility for it. Let me be the big brother for once, come on.”

Namjoon finally understood that the real reason why Seokjin had asked him to go to the bar before anyone else, was because he didn’t want him to freak out. It didn’t work. Namjoon would remain worried for the rest of his life, or for as long as the bar existed, whichever was longer.

“Let me get you a drink.”

“You don’t know how to make drinks, hyung.”

“A beer it is.”

Seokjin stood proudly in front of all his employees, the night before the grand reopening. Since he truly had no idea how to run a bar, he wouldn’t be able to train new people, so he needed to know what every single staff member was in charge of, and do a little simulation to know if any changes needed to be made to their work dynamic.

Everything he had told Namjoon had been true. He really wanted to learn how to operate a business while also keeping an eye out for his brothers (of course, he didn’t tell Namjoon he was worried about him too, he only mentioned Taehyung), but he had another motive for buying the bar, a really simple one: the concept was cool.

Ever since they had questioned Jungkook in the police station, and then later when he had talked in detail with Taehyung, he had loved the idea of a bar that turned into a live show, and he had a feeling that a lot of people would like it, too, so if he could make it successful, he could turn it into a franchise, opening several Mariachis across the country. He knew that Namjoon wouldn’t believe in him, but that gave him even more motivation to prove him wrong.

He had a degree in Business, a charming attitude, and a capable workforce; all he needed was to make a solid team with them. And so, he had gathered everyone in the large room where the tables had been repositioned in a circle, facing the counter where Seokjin started sitting casually, trying to look as cool and calm as possible, which was difficult since everyone was staring at him and he could feel his face grow warmer.

“So, now that everyone’s here, allow me to start. My name is Kim Seokjin, it’s very nice to meet you all.” He bowed his head, getting a response from some staff members while others kept staring at him in silence, waiting for him to continue. “As you’ve been informed, I’m the new owner of the bar. I wanted to make sure that everyone kept their jobs because I’ve been told you’re an excellent team and I’m looking forward to working with you.”

He spoke enthusiastically, as he had learned in his Management classes, but no one moved. Some even kept their arms crossed, while others kept their piercing gazes on him. Jimin looked absolutely livid, as if he held a personal grudge on Seokjin, but he still kept talking.

“Well, I would like to get familiarized with you, so please introduce yourselves and describe your job to me.”

Silence filled the room for a few seconds as the workers looked at each other, until eventually one of them stood up with confidence.

“My name is Jung Hoseok, 21 years old.” He bowed quickly. “I’m a dancer and a bartender. I perform in every show and I’m also in charge of preparing the drinks. That’s pretty much it.”

Seokjin recognized the name as one of Jimin’s friends who had been arrested with him that night, the one who had hit the shooter with the shotgun. He also didn’t fail to notice that the boy mentioned the dancing part first and the bartending part second, which told him something about his priorities and how he viewed his job.

“Okay, so… that sounds very demanding.” Seokjin nodded with a hand on his chin. “Do you get tired?”

“Well, that depends. I don’t get tired of dancing, but I do get tired of dealing with the customers sometimes.”

“What part of it makes you tired?”

“Just… Dealing with them.” Hoseok shrugged vaguely, and kept quiet after that. There was definitely a lot that he wasn’t saying, so Seokjin made a mental note to question him about it in private later.

“Alright, thank you! Since you’re younger than me, I’m gonna go ahead and call you Hoseok, okay? Who’s next?”

The guy who had been sitting next to Hoseok stood up then. “Min Yoongi, 22. I’m the bar’s pianist.”

The guy bowed and sat down again. He was Jimin’s other friend, the one who was involved in the fight.

“He also dances!” Hoseok added, and Yoongi just nodded along.

“Oh? You play the piano and dance? That must take some skill.” Seokjin commented, truly impressed.

“I don’t do it simultaneously, of course. I only dance during the shows, and play during certain intervals, and for the singer’s performance.” Yoongi explained. “I don’t have much experience with dancing, though.”

“You must be a decent dancer if you got hired anyway, so don’t be modest.”

“I’m not being modest, just telling you the truth.” Yoongi spoke in a monotone voice, which didn’t give away any emotion. He seemed so calm, collected and harmless, and yet he had beaten up those guys a few weeks ago. Seokjin would have to watch out for him.

“Thank you, Yoongi. Next introduction, please.”

The rest of the staff introduced themselves one by one. Most of them were waiters, and then there were others in charge of more specific activities, like setting up the stage, the music, and other less cool, regular bar related tasks such as making snacks and cleaning. The norm was that everyone had a double role, one related to the bar itself and one related to the entertainment aspect of it. Jimin and Jungkook were the last two to introduce themselves, probably because they had already met Seokjin, and were still in denial about him being their new boss, but they eventually had to comply.

“Um, hello, I’m Park Jimin.” The aforementioned waved and bowed, seemingly undecided on what the proper greeting should be. “I’m a dancer and waiter. I have a solo spotlight in one of the shows, too, so there’s that. Thanks?”

“Park Jimin-ssi, what would you say is your biggest charm?” Seokjin returned his gaze with a challenging expression. Jimin had been ‘sort of dating’ Taehyung since they had met, so he was especially interested in keeping an eye on him.

“Charm?” Jimin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Yes, what is it that you do differently or better from the rest, to attract or entertain the customers?” Seokjin pressed.

“Oh, that… I don’t think I’m better than any of the others, I think everyone does a good job.” Jimin scratched his cheek with a tiny awkward smile.

“And I think you’re blatantly lying.” Seokjin retorted with a serious expression. “The goal of a bar is to make people drink. This bar in particular combines a variety of drinks with a variety of entertainment forms. As a waiter and dancer, you should know what your charms are, what has made you successful, why customers keep coming here to see you. We’ll continue this conversation later, next and last introduction please.”

Jimin kept his mouth open, as if he was going to say something, but decided to sit down instead, and Jungkook stood up right after him.

“Hello, I’m Jeon Jungkook. I’m 18 years old. I’m the bar’s singer and backstage assistant. Thanks for letting me keep my job.” He bowed with a smile, and Seokjin wasn’t sure if he was mocking him or not.

He had to watch out for this one too. “Jeon Jungkook-ssi, what’s your motivation for working here?”

“Well… I took the assistant job because I needed money, and then I was given the opportunity to sing, which makes me happy, because I’ve always loved singing.” He explained calmly.

Seokjin didn’t trust him one bit. “Mm. What would you be doing if I had decided to let you go?”

“Crying in my room, probably.” Jungkook deadpanned, making a few of his coworkers laugh. “This is my only working experience, so, it would be very hard to find another job.”

“I see.” In reality, Seokjin had no idea what to do with that answer. “Please sit down. Well, now that everyone has introduced themselves, I would like to do a little simulation to see how you guys work on a regular night. So, let’s pretend we’re opening tonight, go to your usual positions.”

The staff did as they were told. Seokjin tried to observe everyone, but he especially focused on Jimin and his three friends. Jungkook went to the storage room, Hoseok went to the bar, Yoongi to his piano and Jimin to one of the tables.

“Okay, let’s suppose I’m a new customer.” He spoke as loudly as he could, so everyone could hear him. “And let’s suppose I’m arriving sometime near the first show. Let’s say… 5 minutes before the show. What is everyone doing?”

Hoseok and Yoongi exchanged a quick glance and a nod, and Yoongi started playing a nice, relaxing melody. Sungjae, the head waiter, approached Seokjin and invited him to sit wherever he pleased. Seokjin took a table somewhere around the middle so he could observe as many employees as possible. He could tell the waiters were feeling a little awkward because there weren’t any actual customers around, so all they could to was pretend to serve some imaginary people. Jimin looked particularly miserable doing that, but he forced himself to smile anyway.

Hoseok on the other hand looked like a pro serving his imaginary drinks, and even doing the blender noise. Seokjin watched as the head waiter walked between the tables and held up his hand every time he passed one of the waiters, and they nodded in response. Soon enough, the waiters started disappearing one by one, all going into the storage room. A few moments later, Yoongi’s song finished, another employee dimmed the lights, and another one, from a place he couldn’t quite see, hit play on a loud, vaguely Latin song.

Seokjin watched the waiters reappear with different clothes and start an elaborate choreography, around and even on top of the tables. Everyone was great, everyone was truly amazing, but the one who shined the brightest for him was Hoseok. The guy had completely transcended from friendly bartender to dancing star in 0.5 seconds, and he made it seem so effortless. His movements were so graceful and elegant that he could have easily been travelling the world with a dance company instead of making drinks at that cheap bar, but what impressed Seokjin the most was the connection he had with Yoongi.

The pianist clearly didn’t have the same agility as his partner, but they danced their own mirrored choreography together, and they were completely synchronized. Their eyes locked on each other, their smiles identical, their bodies swinging to the music as if nothing else existed. Seokjin knew that they were a couple, Jungkook had already told him when he questioned him at the police station, but even if he didn’t know it already, he would know it now just by looking at them.

It was obvious. The attraction between them was visible, as if there was a thread connecting them and pulling them towards each other. The couple continued smiling and dancing, oblivious to the world around them, and Seokjin watched them mesmerized: It was love, he could recognize it. He had been in love before, but it was never truly reciprocated. All the relationships he had before had only existed for convenience, and he knew that, so he should have never allowed himself to fall in love, but he still did once.

It was a foolish mistake that only resulted in heartbreak and a failed business, so distant from his expectations and dreams, so different from the love between Yoongi and Hoseok. Watching them made Seokjin’s heart ache, but he couldn’t look away. He wondered if that was the point of including a couple’s dance: to show clients the illusion that they could find love too, at that place. It certainly was being very effective on Seokjin, in fact, he had been so distracted by them that he hadn’t noticed the other two guys dancing suggestively right in front of him, until they were literally on each side of his table.

Those two were tall and muscular, and wearing shirts that were a bit too small, but there was no love between them, their eyes focused on Seokjin instead, winking and blowing kisses his way every time he looked back at them. He reflexively returned the gestures each time, trapping him in a seemingly endless flirting cycle until finally, they left his sides to join the group and finish the choreography. As the song finished, all the dancers made a pause –possibly where the applauses would happen- and then Hoseok jumped behind the bar and Yoongi returned to his piano, while the rest went into the storage room.

Seokjin was stunned into silence for a couple of minutes until the waiters returned to the room. He could feel the exact moment when the magic happened, and the moment it disappeared, considering he was sober and alone, and trying to be objective. He understood why Taehyung had stayed, lonely, desperate, and hypnotized by Jimin. He shook his head, sighing, and when everyone came back into the room, he stood up and started clapping loudly, making a few of them smile and others grimace uncomfortably.

“Good job, everyone! Great job! Terrific job!” He cheered, approaching them one by one to shake their hands. “I have a few questions, though, so please sit down.”

“Oh, but wait, we have to get back to the tables while Jungkook gets ready to come out.” Jimin intervened. He still seemed a little stiff, but not as much as he was before.

“Ah, this is only a simulation, so time doesn’t matter.” Seokjin waved him off. “In fact, he should come out too. I want to talk to everyone.”

Jimin went to the storage room to get Jungkook and the two of them joined the others in the room again.

“Question one. Sungjae, what was that gesture you made with your hand before the show started?” He addressed the head waiter.

“Well, I was announcing to everyone that we had 5 minutes left before the show started, so they could get prepared.” He answered. “Everything has to be perfectly timed in order to make it work.”

“Very impressive, keep doing that.” Seokjin nodded, then turned to Hoseok. “You also made a glance to Yoongi there at the time, does that mean the same thing?”

“Yeah. Sungjae and I are the only ones with a watch, so we have to subtly tell the others when it’s show time.” Hoseok replied. “The clients aren’t supposed to notice what time it is, or the magic dies a little.”

“Oh. That’s a very good point.” Seokjin nodded. “As for the whole dance routine, who decides that? Did you all have to audition for particular positions or what?”

“Hahaha, almost, but not quite.” Hoseok was the one to respond again, and Seokjin had to admit he had a very contagious smile. “I know the owner—I mean, the former owner, sorry. Anyway, he told me he wanted his bar to be one of a kind, so I suggested the whole intermission show thing, and since I had the most experience with dancing, he asked me for help with that, so I made up the choreographies for every show. Of course, that was a few years ago, nowadays we just repeat the same stuff every night.”

“So you… singlehandedly prepared all of that?”

“Well, most of it. Back then we didn’t have as many people as we do now. When Jimin joined, he added other ideas, so that every dancer gets a specific, memorable role.”

“A memorable role, huh?” Seokjin scratched his chin. Unfortunately for him, he could only remember Yoongi and Hoseok’s dance, and then the two other dancers on each side of his table. “So every person does a different thing?”

“Yeah, there’s one collective choreography but there are also small differences for everyone.” Jimin added, finally deciding to participate in the conversation. “The idea is that different clients will be drawn to different entertainers.”

“Ha! So I was right before when I asked you what your charms were. I knew you did something different!” Seokjin pointed at him, feeling both victorious and offended. That Park Jimin was full of lies.

“We all do something different, that’s kind of the point.” Jimin raised his voice but was clearly trying to contain himself from outright yelling. “If this is about Taehyung, I-”

“Yes, this is about Taehyung!”

“I want to clarify that I was only doing my job as usual, it’s not like I purposefully seduced him or anything like that.” Jimin continued, but Seokjin didn’t fail to notice Jungkook fake coughing on his side.

“Wait, you mean Lots of Cash Taehyung? What about him?” Hoseok asked with interest.

“Who’s Taehyung?” Another employee asked.

“The night of the shooting, we had a new customer with cherry red hair and lots of rings. He saw the dance show and was completely mesmerized by our Jiminie.” Hoseok explained, smiling in Jimin’s direction, but the latter kept shaking his head. Hoseok was really not helping Seokjin’s impression of Jimin.

“Oh, I remember him! He was really good looking. Man, I hated Jimin that night, he always gets the handsome ones.” The waiter who had asked said with a heavy sigh.

“By ‘get’, he means he sat at one of the tables I wait, that’s all.” Jimin explained, face growing redder. “It was a coincidence.”

“No, it was no coincidence. He specifically asked me about the dancer with a big ass, and I told him which table he waited.” Hoseok continued, really not getting a hint on Jimin’s desperation. “I tried to hit on him but he avoided me like the plague, then paid me for the drink with a gigantic wad of cash. He could have ordered like 5 more drinks with that amount of money.”

Yes, that sounded an awful lot like Taehyung. He was a reckless fool, so Seokjin couldn’t blame the whole thing on Jimin alone, but still… Wait.

“Wait. You hit on him?” He pointed at Hoseok, then at Yoongi. “And you were there?”

“Of course! If you see a good looking and clearly rich guy sit at your bar, you take a chance, but he wasn’t interested.” Hoseok shook his head. “He wasn’t interested in anyone else, he just stared at Jimin the whole time.”

“I wasn’t there at the moment when that happened, but I met him later, after the shooting.” Yoongi explained in the same monotone voice he had used to introduce himself. “Jimin went to get him for help, but he didn’t do anything except get arrested with the rest of us. I haven’t seen him again since then but I heard that he and Jimin have kept seeing each other.”

Seokjin obviously already knew that part. He had gone to the bar that night, and to the police station, he had driven Jimin and Jungkook to his own home, then back to the police station in the morning. He knew every possible detail about the shooting from Wheein, Jungkook and Taehyung, but he wasn’t aware of those other facts about that night.

“Wait, so, to be clear, how many of you were interested in Taehyung that night?” The grand majority of the staff including Hoseok raised their hands. Jimin did the same after a few reluctant seconds, and Seokjin opened his mouth in surprise.

“Unbelievable. How—How unprofessional of you.” He crossed his arms.

“You said it yourself, Mr. Kim. Our goal is to keep our customers drunk and entertained.” One of the other waiters intervened. “Flirting sometimes keeps them interested.”

“And rich customers tend to order more expensive drinks and leave bigger tips.” Hoseok added. “He was pretty cool, too, he wasn’t even gonna get arrested, but he turned himself in just to impress Jiminie.”

Jimin covered his face with both hands, and Jungkook patted his back reassuringly. Seokjin was confused to say the least. The idea of his naïve younger brother going alone into a place like that where everyone was trying to seduce him for his money, then getting involved in a shooting that didn’t even have anything to do with him, was surreal. Seokjin suddenly felt that protecting Taehyung from Jimin wouldn’t be enough, he had to protect him from everyone.

In fact, Jimin might even be the least of his concerns. He seemed genuinely embarrassed, being teased in front of his boss who was also the big brother of the guy he had been seeing, and even though it had only been a few weeks since they met, and even though Taehyung insisted it was nothing serious, it seemed that Jimin’s friends knew about it, about them. Seokjin felt some sympathy for the guy.

“Okay, so… enough about Taehyung for now. Let’s just move on to another subject.” Seokjin said, trying to calm down the fuss that he started.

“Do you know him too, Mr. Kim?” Hoseok asked curiously.

“Yeah, I do.” He considered leaving it as a mystery, but he figured that either Jimin or Jungkook would end up telling everyone anyway, and he didn’t want it to turn into gossip. “He’s my little brother.”

A heavy silence filled the room, and Seokjin took the opportunity to change the subject. “Anyway, when everyone was dancing, I had two waiters on my table. I found that interesting.”

“Oh, yeah, well, the table you sat at has that peculiarity.” One of the aforementioned waiters answered a bit shyly. “It’s the only one that has two waiters, for people who are, you know, into that.”

“Into that?” Seokjin asked with a confused expression.

“You know, being served by two people at once.” The other waiter answered a bit more playfully. “Are you into that, Mr. Kim?”

Seokjin could feel his entire face grow hot, as his mind replayed that scene of Yoongi and Hoseok dancing. Was he? Was he into that? Something inside of him seemed to be trying to tell him so.

“T-That… I-I only took that table so I could get a clear look at everyone, haha, no special reason.” He answered quickly, feeling accused, watched, exposed. “I was watching everyone, not only the two of you.”

He directed that comment at the two waiters, but he wasn’t really talking about them. He didn’t want to be betrayed by his subconscious and end up staring at Yoongi and Hoseok, so he let his eyes wander over everyone in the room, noticing how some of the employees were looking at him curiously, while others exchanged glances with each other, particularly the aforementioned couple, who even smiled brightly at each other after listening to his reply. They knew. They knew something that Seokjin had just found out. How? What kind of place was that, anyway?

Still, Seokjin had to be strong and remember his purpose. He was in charge, so he wouldn’t allow anyone to intimidate him. Straightening his posture, he spoke as firmly as he could. “So. I have no observations about your dance show, please keep doing it as you have until now. Let’s review the singer’s part then.”

Everyone stood up and quickly assumed their positions. Seokjin took a seat at the bar so he wouldn’t be judged for his poorly made decisions, Jungkook rushed to the storage room while the waiters pretended to serve their imaginary clients. Hoseok nodded to Yoongi again, but this time the latter blew him a kiss before going to his piano. Seokjin knew that they were only trying to annoy him, so he did his best to ignore them. The head waiter did a different sign for the others, and one by one, they went into the storage room, and the lights were dimmed again.

However, this time no one came out dancing, Hoseok remained sitting behind the bar, and only the soft melody of Yoongi’s piano could be heard until Jungkook appeared on stage with a microphone. Seokjin watched the younger boy make a distinctive ‘cut it’ signal at the pianist, at which Yoongi tilted his head and then stopped playing.

“Not that song, hyung. We can’t use it.” Jungkook said, shaking his head.

“Huh? Why not?” Yoongi asked.

“C-Copyright issues.”

“What do you mean copyright issues? You’ve been singing this song every night since you joined!”

“Yeah, but, I didn’t write it.” Jungkook was styled differently, but he still looked as lost and nervous as he did when Seokjin first met him at the police station.

“We know you didn’t write it, you grabbed the lyrics from a poetry blog, you told us that story.” Hoseok intervened. “But Yoongi-hyung helped you compose the melody, so, it’s your song. Why are you worried about copyright issues after all this time?”

Wait, poetry blog? Taehyung had told Seokjin that he had given Jungkook the book that compiled Namjoon’s old poems because apparently he had been his fan back when he wrote them. Something finally clicked in Seokjin’s mind, and he pointed an accusatory finger at Jungkook. “Did you plagiarize my brother’s writing?!”

“Brother? Human Cherry Taehyung wrote those poems?” Hoseok exclaimed, amazed.

“No, my other brother did.”

“How many damn brothers do you have?!” Yoongi turned to face him, throwing his hands up like an exasperated old man.

“Only two, and one of them has been a victim of plagiarism.”

“No! I don’t make any profit from it.” Jungkook quickly defended himself. “I just… I used to read his blog all the time, and I made the poems into songs so I could memorize them.”

“You say you don’t make profit, but you perform those songs here at your workplace, so you must surely get tips for that, right?” Seokjin stood up to emphasize his point, and Jungkook looked downright mortified.

“Look… Mr. Kim.” Yoongi stood up as well, though it didn’t make much of a difference since he was several heads shorter than Seokjin. “Ever since I met Jungkook, he was already obsessed with those poems, and he was devastated when the author took them down. So, if the author is really your brother, you should be grateful that someone is still letting his words live on through music.”

Yoongi’s words shook Seokjin to the core, especially because the main reason why Namjoon had quit writing and deleted all of his works in the first place, was because of him. Because of his ineptitude as an older brother and heir, Namjoon had given up his dreams, and he had never blamed him, not even once.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s true, I don’t think Namjoon will care anymore.” He shrugged, trying to hide how much the subject still hurt him. “But your song better be good, okay? If it sucks, I will sue you.”

“It’s good, it’s good, I promise.” Jungkook nodded, and Yoongi gave Seokjin a little smile before sitting at the piano again. It was not a mocking smile like the one he had exchanged with Hoseok when the others were teasing him, but a sincerely sympathetic one. It almost made him want to smile back. Almost.

Yoongi started playing again and this time Jungkook did sing. He had a very melodious voice and it was easy to see that he loved performing, so Seokjin understood why he had his own show.

At some point during the song, he could feel Hoseok whispering something in his ear. “How old is your other brother?”

He turned around to stare at him in disbelief. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because the two Kim brothers we have met so far are young and handsome, I’m just wondering if the third one is too.” He shrugged casually, making Seokjin blush. That guy just didn’t know when to quit.

“He’s younger than me but older than Taehyung.” He whispered back, not wanting to be rude since the only sounds in the room were Jungkook’s voice and Yoongi’s music. “But I’ll never let you meet him.”

“Aw, why not?”

“He’s too good for you.” Seokjin crossed his arms, holding on to the remnants of his dignity. “Taehyung is also too good for you, that’s why he turned you down.”

“Mm… so that only leaves me with you.”

Seokjin tried to focus on the performance, but he could still feel Hoseok’s eyes on him. The bartender was so upfront and inappropriate; Seokjin was his boss, he could put him in his place, he could turn him down as Taehyung did, he could pretend he wasn’t interested, but… that freaking dance show had really messed with his brain. He was physically unable to reject him.

“You know, I could really use a drink now.” He whispered, facing him this time.

Namjoon knew that he would eventually have to go back to that bar (his brother’s bar) but he didn’t expect it to be so soon. He thought that someday Seokjin would request his help with budgeting or conflict resolution and he would have no choice but to go in his aid; however, he never expected he would be showing up the night of the grand reopening for a very different reason: he couldn’t locate Taehyung.

It was a Saturday night, so he had left work earlier than usual, and had found himself alone at home. There was no trace of either Seokjin or Taehyung, but he didn’t think much of it since, well, it was a Saturday night, so they probably had plans. He was about to bring a book with him to the rooftop to relax in the company of the moon, when he finally remembered a very important fact: Seokjin’s bar was supposed to open that night.

Was he supposed to go and support him? He wasn’t sure. Well, he didn’t feel very comfortable in crowded places, and Seokjin hadn’t invited him, most likely for the same reason. But, maybe he had invited Taehyung, so they were probably together after all. He checked his phone and didn’t see any notification from either of them, so he assumed that that was where they were. He messaged Seokjin anyway to show him his support and wish him luck, then proceeded with his evening plans.

An hour passed and Namjoon didn’t get a reply, so, assuming that Seokjin was too busy to check his phone, he messaged Taehyung instead, asking him to deliver his good wishes to their big brother. Another 40 minutes passed, and still no reply from either of them, so Namjoon tried calling them, but Seokjin didn’t pick up and Taehyung’s phone sent him straight to voicemail. He started to get worried, thinking of different possibilities of what could have happened. He wasn’t even sure they were together, they could be at different places, but instead of filling his head with conjectures, he decided to go downstairs and ask their security if they had left together.

He was informed that Seokjin had left at around 6pm, but Taehyung had left much earlier, at around 10am. Namjoon could feel his heart stop and his stomach turn. Taehyung had left in the morning while Namjoon was at work, but Seokjin should have still been home, right? Taehyung rarely went out by himself, unless he was going out with Jimin, who he had either befriended or started dating after the night they got arrested. But even if he were with Jimin, Namjoon had no way to contact him, since he didn’t have Jimin’s number… only Seokjin did, because Seokjin had the list of numbers of all his employees.

Namjoon never thought he’d find himself in such a circumstance where both of his brothers were unreachable, and he started to panic a little. Even so, the timing at which Seokjin left gave him the almost certainty that he was at the bar, so at least he could meet him, and then he could help him find Taehyung. He certainly could. When they were children, Seokjin always, always found them when playing hide and seek, always, no matter how well they thought they were hiding.

Namjoon hadn’t realized how badly he had started shaking until he went to grab his keys, but he continued telling himself that there was probably a logical explanation to all of this and that he would be able to laugh his worries away soon. Very contrary to his plans for that night, he found himself asking their home security to take him to that bar for the third time in his life.

El Mariachi looked completely different from how it did when Seokjin had told him he had bought it. Of course, it was crowded and illuminated, there was music and waiters walking around, and some of the customers were giving him curious looks. But he didn’t really have time to notice any details, he had to locate Seokjin, so as he walked inside the establishment, he let his eyes scan the place as quickly as he could. The security staff had offered to search with him, but they would have stood out too much and might have caused trouble for Seokjin, so he had asked them to wait outside.

He looked around, but found no traces of Seokjin; however, as he spotted a blue haired customer sitting at one of the tables, he had to do a double take. It was Taehyung. He had changed his hair color once more, but it was unquestionably him. The emeralds in his ears and the boxy smile he was wearing while waving at a carrot headed waiter gave him away. Namjoon felt a mix of relief and confusion, as the sight raised more questions than it answered, but he made his way towards him, to at the very least clarify why he hadn’t picked up his phone and why he had gone to that place by himself again.

However, as Namjoon approached the table, he noticed the aforementioned waiter also walking towards it from the opposite direction at a faster pace, and from that distance he realized that it was none other than Jimin, who had also changed his hair color. Okay, so maybe that was where Taehyung had been all day, getting a makeover and most likely shopping together with Jimin to prepare for the reopening. He watched Jimin smile at Taehyung as he got closer to his table, causing Namjoon to freeze in his spot. He felt as if he was intruding on an intimate conversation, so he took a step back and looked around awkwardly for a spot where he could go unnoticed.

He thought about hanging around for a bit and then approaching Taehyung as casually as possible, pretending he had only attended to support Seokjin (where the hell was he, anyway?) and then, very subtly, so he wouldn’t feel overprotected, remind him once again that he was a very easy target. Yeah, that was a nice plan. Namjoon messaged security letting them know that everything was alright, and by the time he looked up from his phone, there was no waiter in sight.

Seeing how Jimin had also disappeared, he started making his way towards Taehyung again, but then the lights of the establishment were dimmed and the sweet melody of a piano started filling the air. Unsure of what to do, Namjoon sat at an empty table and looked in the direction of the pianist, where all the customers’ eyes were on. A few seconds later, a person walked into the stage -a stage he hadn’t even noticed at first glance-, gaining a lot of cheers from the spectators.

Oh, so there was a music show, that was why no one was being served and everyone’s eyes were glued to the stage. The guy smiled at his audience before holding the microphone and starting to sing. To say that it touched Namjoon’s heart would be an understatement: his voice was the musical equivalent of honey, and it was evident that he was putting a lot of passion into his song, but once Namjoon started paying attention to the lyrics, he noticed something very interesting.

No, that wasn’t possible, his mind must have been playing tricks on him because he was tired and just recovered from a panic attack. Or maybe he was dreaming. Yeah, that would explain why Taehyung suddenly had blue hair and why some handsome guy at a gay bar was singing a song which had lyrics that sounded awfully similar to a poem he had written when he was younger. Maybe they just sounded similar because they were common phrases? Namjoon waited for the next line, predicting what it would say, and he was right. Okay, so those were definitely his words, but weirder things had happened.

As the song progressed, and he got more immersed into it (because those were his words, but being sung beautifully and with so much soul put into them, that it made him feel as if they weren’t his, but the singer’s) he suddenly remembered a conversation from a few weeks ago, the morning after Jimin and Jungkook had spent the night at their guesthouse. He hadn’t been paying much attention because of all the things that had happened, and because he tended to avoid the subject of his writing, but now, he realized its importance:

Taehyung had given Jungkook his poem compilation, because he claimed to have read them all back when they were posted online. Jungkook worked at the bar. Jungkook had his poems. Jungkook was that singer. He hadn’t seen him again since that night, so he hadn’t recognized him, especially since now he was wearing a stylish outfit and his hair was pushed back, instead of hiding his face under an oversized hoodie as he was back then, but now as everything clicked into place, he realized it was him.

That guy, who he had barely interacted with at the police station, had read all of his poems and blog entries, so he knew his heart and his struggles while remaining a stranger to him. The fact that he had such a beautiful voice and face, and that he sang his words with so much love and passion made Namjoon feel weird. It was an unknown feeling. Flattery mixed with embarrassment, curiosity, and confusion. Why his poems? Why did he seem so invested into them? Namjoon really wanted to ask him.

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

For some, it was a magical place; for others, a place to get drunk and get laid; but for him, it was his new beginning.

Park Jimin was a regular guy from a normal family. He had grown up in Busan with two working parents, having a good home life with no particular troubles or difficulties. The only thing from his childhood that was relevant to his history was his love for dance. He had started dancing before he had learned how to walk, loved dancing in front of the TV to the various choreographies of idol groups, and dreamed of becoming a star since he could remember, so once a dance academy opened near his home, his mother didn’t hesitate to sign him up. He was 7 years old at the time, but he was in a group with other kids aged 5 to 8.

That was where he met Jungkook, the youngest one in the class. He was really small, with eyes that took up most of his face, and was very quiet, but he seemed to enjoy dancing just as much as Jimin did. Despite his young age, he was agile and well-coordinated, so internally, Jimin saw him as a rival. However, it didn’t take him long to notice that Jungkook had trouble making friends while Jimin did it easily, so he decided to approach him and befriend him on a whim. Jimin didn’t remember what exactly they had in common, besides that wish to dance for the rest of their lives, but he was 7 and Jungkook was 5, so they probably talked about cartoons or something like that.

Over time, they became good friends, and since they were both very competitive, they sort of motivated each other to be better, but they always had fun. However, unlike Jimin’s other friends, Jungkook never visited his house or invited him to his, claiming his parents didn’t let him, so they could only hang out during their dance class. Years passed, and when Jimin was 11, he graduated from the dance academy, moving to a different one for pre-teens and teens. Jungkook said he would go to the same one, and tearfully admitted what Jimin had always known: he was his only friend.

That year, Jungkook had also somehow convinced his parents to let him go to Jimin’s birthday party, but he had only been allowed to wish him a happy birthday and drop his gift before leaving. Jimin figured that Jungkook was extremely sheltered, but didn’t think much of it at the time. As promised, when Jimin was 13, Jungkook joined his dance academy. Over the course of those 2 years, Jungkook had become taller than him and a little less shy, teasing him about his height and other things, but he hadn’t really changed that much in Jimin’s eyes. He told him that he had started singing as well, and that he wanted to become an idol, so he was working hard on being more outgoing.

They quickly became friends again, even though Jimin felt like he was on another level. He was in middle school, dealing with geometry and hormones and other things, while Jungkook was still a child. Jimin was starting to realize that he was very different from his classmates who were always talking about getting girlfriends, for he had to force himself to pretend to be interested, had to force himself to look at girls’ bodies and try to find them attractive; while he didn’t have to make any effort at all to be attracted to Kyungho, a 15 year old male dancer from his group.

Kyungho had a beautiful smile and a perfectly fit body, and Jimin couldn’t help looking at him all the time. He didn’t seem to mind the stares, though, for he always smiled and waved at Jimin awkwardly, as if he didn’t quite know what to do with the attention. Jimin didn’t know what to do either, wasn’t sure if he should fight against his feelings or embrace them, so he was sort of stuck in the middle, until Jungkook, of all people, approached him one day and asked him if he was attracted to Kyungho. Jimin had never said it out loud, not even to himself, so he freaked out and stuttered, but eventually admitted it. Jungkook’s response was ‘Oh, dope. Don’t tell him I told you this, but he likes you back’.

Somehow, being able to finally let it out and knowing that he wasn’t alone in his feelings, gave Jimin the push he needed to finally approach Kyungho with the clear intention of dating him. They had to be very careful and pretend that they were hanging out as friends, though, because neither of their families would accept it, and Jimin made Jungkook swear that he wouldn’t tell anyone. Jungkook said that he would keep his secret if he could tell Jimin a secret of his own, and Jimin agreed, thinking it would be something dumb like ‘I stole candy once’ or ‘I said I would brush my teeth but I didn’t’ because Jungkook was a child, and children didn’t have dark secrets, right?

Jungkook told him that over the course of the past 2 years, he had discovered that his father’s business was only a front, and that he was actually into illegal stuff and getting involved with dangerous people. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but he trusted Jimin, because he was his best friend. Jimin had gulped and thanked him for his trust, and swore that he would keep his secret as well. Jimin started to understand why Jungkook’s parents seemed so overbearing and controlling, making sure to keep appearances even in front of their own son, and keeping him in a bubble of ignorance for as long as they could.

But Jungkook was still the same to him: he still had that deer caught in headlights expression he had when he was 5, still loved music and still made Jimin laugh with his antics, so he never treated him differently. Kyungho became the very first boy Jimin dated, his first kiss and his first breakup. It was nothing dramatic though, he had quit dancing because he had to focus on school and baseball, so he didn’t have much time for Jimin. Meanwhile, Jungkook would sometimes show up with random bruises and various excuses about how he had gotten them, and even though it made Jimin’s heart stop, he felt unable to do anything. They could only keep each other’s secrets, nothing more and nothing less.

The two of them were growing up differently, and the 2 year gap between them felt too big at the time. However, years passed and they remained friends, even though they still couldn’t even visit each other. Jimin dated other boys, and he told Jungkook about it every time, told him how scared he was of being found out by his parents, how much he hated having to lie to everyone. Jungkook told him about how his father was getting into muddier waters and becoming more paranoid and controlling, how he beat up his mother and sometimes him, when he stood up for her. They cried together and cried for each other, but always ended up making each other laugh or singing something. They were hopeless.

Jimin was 16 when it happened. Jungkook stopped attending dance class, which had never, ever happened, since he had met him. He had no way of knowing if he was alright since he didn’t know where he lived or where his school was, so he reached out to the academy’s director, who informed him that Jungkook was simply on a family vacation. Jimin didn’t believe that, since that had never happened either, but there was nothing he could do except worry constantly during day and night.

Three weeks later Jungkook came back, wearing clothes too big for him and refusing to participate, just watching everyone dance. The instructor had talked to them individually and informed them that Jungkook and his mother had been in an accident where she had passed away and he had been severely injured, so he wasn’t able to dance yet but he wanted to still be part of the group, even if all he could do was watch. Jimin didn’t believe either version, not the family vacation nor the accident one, but he couldn’t ask Jungkook directly because he was quieter and more withdrawn than ever.

Jimin knew that something horrible had happened to his best friend, but he had no way to know, much less to help, and it made him extremely frustrated, so one day, he simply broke down in tears in front of him. “Whether you don’t have a family anymore, or the one you have sucks… I’ll always be here for you. I’ll be the family you need me to be.” His words sort of made Jungkook come out of his stupor, but he still didn’t talk, so he simply hugged him in silence. A few days later, Jungkook finally told him the truth: his mother had just vanished one day, disappeared without a trace, and when he asked his father, he evaded his questions; when Jungkook stood up and confronted him, he received a beating.

Jungkook’s father wanted to keep up appearances and a sense of normalcy, so he fabricated those lies and made Jungkook go back to school and to his extracurricular activities as soon as he could. At that point, Jungkook still had no idea if his mother had been killed, kidnapped, or if she had run away, but just like Jimin, he couldn’t do anything. It seemed as if he had given up, and honestly, it was the best he could do to guarantee his survival. As long as he remained docile and obedient, his father wouldn’t hurt him.

Jimin decided to stick to his words and become a family for Jungkook, even though he was just a 16 year old boy and he knew that nothing could replace the absence of Jungkook’s mother. He started bringing Jungkook food and reviewing his homework, started hugging him more and telling him he loved him. Jungkook refused all of that at first, except the food, but he slowly started giving in and going back to dancing. Even so, Jimin knew that what he was doing wasn’t enough; after all, he could only see him for a few hours in the afternoons, the rest of the time Jungkook was by himself.

Jimin decided to trust his own parents and tell them briefly about Jungkook’s situation, hoping they could offer him a solution; instead, they warned him to stay away from him since his family was dangerous. Jimin understood that alerting another adult, like a teacher or social services, could potentially cause Jungkook to disappear as well, so he kept quiet. He and Jungkook, by themselves, couldn’t do anything, but adults weren’t of help either, so that was when they came up with the “Seoul jar”. The Seoul jar was a naïve plan which consisted on saving money in a jar, with the intent that by the time the two of them were adults, they’d have saved enough money to move to Seoul.

Neither one of them worked, so the money would come from their respective allowances. Jimin had vowed to find a job as soon as he turned 18, so by then he’d start chipping in much more, and so by the time Jungkook was 18, they’d be ready to flee. The capital was full of people and possibilities, so their master plan was that once they settled in there, they would sign up with entertainment agencies. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t make it big, even being backup dancers would suffice, because the real intention behind moving to Seoul was not to become famous, but to become free. Jimin would be free from the eyes of his parents and everyone he knew, to love whoever he chose; and Jungkook would be free from his violent home, to choose his own path.

It was a silly plan that had a very slim chance of actually working, but it was the only one they had, and it gave them both the right amount of hope to carry on living and enduring the hardships of their daily lives. The Seoul jar was just an empty jar of mayo that they shared, some days Jimin would take it home and other days Jungkook would, and they would get excited watching the bills inside of it pile up.

Months passed and they continued growing and changing; Jungkook told him about a blog he had found that had helped him deal with all the complicated feelings he had about his family and love and being a teenager. The author posted poems as well as personal entries, and Jungkook was obsessed with him even if all he knew was that he lived in Seoul and called himself ‘RM’. Jimin teased him about it, “What if he’s a 75 year old man?” “Then he’s the coolest 75 year old man in the world”. Jimin told him that maybe they would meet him when they moved to Seoul, and Jungkook’s eyes regained some of their old sparkle.

When Jungkook was 15, he told Jimin about his first crush, a boy from his school. After getting over the initial shock of realizing that Jungkook was old enough to have crushes now, Jimin felt nothing but pure happiness. Firstly, because Jungkook was like him, so they had another thing in common, a special kind of connection; and secondly, because he knew that being in love would give Jungkook more motivation to live despite his situation.

Because Jimin took his role as Jungkook’s family so seriously, he shared as much information and advice as he could with him. Taught him how to flirt and how to avoid getting exposed, emphasized that there was nothing wrong with how he felt, but that unfortunately a lot of people didn’t see it that way, and encouraged him to have fun but to always take care of himself. Jungkook seemed confused and embarrassed by the amount of information, but he always went to Jimin with questions and updates. He had not confessed, and he had no idea if the other boy would be interested in him, and he was terrified, but Jimin really, really wanted Jungkook to be happy, so he got more involved than necessary in his blossoming love life.

In retrospect, he should have just let him be.

Jungkook managed to confess to his crush, and the boy turned him down. That would have been fine, but it didn’t end there. The boy said he was disgusted by the fact that another man was interested in him, and told him he’d break his face if he ever talked to him again. That day, Jungkook told Jimin everything while crying his eyes out, and Jimin tried to soothe him telling him those things happened sometimes, that it was alright, that the guy wasn’t worth his tears. However, the next day, the entire school found out about the incident, and Jungkook found awful things about him written on his desk. His classmates made fun of him, but he was the one who got sent to talk to the principal’s office to declare if the rumors were true or not.

Jungkook had lied through his teeth, claiming it was only a joke that got out of hand, but he got a 3 day suspension for the trouble it had caused for the school. As Jungkook told Jimin this, he showed him the piece of paper detailing the reason for his suspension. He would have to give it to his father when he got home, and he didn’t know how he would take it. Jungkook was truly desperate, but once again, Jimin couldn’t do absolutely anything to ease the pain, except hug him and remind him that he could count on him and that in only 3 years they’d be out of there for good.

That night, Jimin received an unexpected visit from an injured Jungkook. His mother had let him in because he had introduced himself and asked for Jimin, but she told Jimin to talk to him outside, because she had warned him not to get involved with that family. Just by looking at his physical state, Jimin figured out what had happened, what he didn’t understand was how he had reached Jimin’s house. “I visited you once, remember? For your 11^th birthday. You wrote your address on my notebook and I never threw it away. I had to spend some of the Seoul jar money to get a taxi here, though, sorry.”

Jimin’s heart broke for the millionth time, as Jungkook quickly explained that his father started beating him up the moment he learned what had happened at school, and he had literally run away from his house and into the street so he wouldn’t kill him. Luckily, since he had just arrived home, he still had his backpack and therefore the Seoul jar, which he put in Jimin’s hands. He didn’t want to go back home, this time, he was convinced he would disappear just like his mother. He was more frightened than ever, and he begged, begged Jimin to let him stay with him.

Jimin depended on his parents’ consent, though, but when he went back inside his home and quickly told his mother what had happened, her eyes widened, and she slapped him, yelling at him that she had warned him to stay away from Jungkook, that Jungkook had gotten himself into that problem and he would have to get himself out, and that Jimin had no right to bring that danger into her house. Jimin was stunned into silence, and he went outside, apologizing to Jungkook with teary eyes. Jungkook opened his mouth in disappointed surprise and then looked at the ground, sighing deeply.

“Well, I… guess I’ll get going, then. Sorry for the trouble.” He bowed before Jimin, which he had never done before. “Thank you for trying, hyung.”

Jimin watched him walk into the street, unable to stop crying, unable to do anything at all. He felt guiltier just watching him idly, so he went back inside his house. It was only then that he realized he was still holding the Seoul jar, so Jungkook was out there with no money. He almost went out again to give it back, but he realized something far worse: Jungkook had handed it to him, almost as if he knew he wouldn’t need it. He had also apologized, bowed before him and thanked him.

He was saying goodbye.

They were never going to see each other again.

Jimin covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming, but he couldn’t hold back the tears. It wasn’t fair. Jungkook was going to disappear forever and there was nothing Jimin could do. He was going to disappear because there was nothing Jimin could do, because he always listened but never acted, because he was weak and powerless. But not anymore. He was going to do something. Something stupid and impulsive, but something at least.

He opened the door again and yelled as loudly as possible at the figure walking in the distance: “Hey Jungkook!!! Stop right there! Just one minute!”

Luckily, Jungkook had heard him, and he did stop. Jimin rushed back inside and into his room, grabbing 3 or 4 clothing articles and a few personal items, shoving them inside his backpack along with the Seoul jar. He didn’t have time to think. He could hear his mother trying to argue with him, but there was no time for that either. “I’m sorry, mom. I’m gonna get myself in trouble too, and I’ll have to get myself out.”

He ran outside towards Jungkook without looking back, not even when his mother called out his name, not even when he approached Jungkook and found him staring at him with a confused expression, not even when he grabbed his hand as tightly as possible and continued running, pulling him along. Jimin never looked back ever since.

They ran all the way to the bus station, catching a bus that would in turn lead them to the train station. When they were sitting on the bus, Jimin told Jungkook his plan: they’d go as far as their money would take them, and there, they’d make more money to get them all the way to Seoul. It was the worst plan Jungkook had heard, but anything was better than going back to his home. Jimin tried to appear calm, but he was terrified. They were both minors, they wouldn’t make it far before their parents found them, but they had to at least try. At the train station, they checked all the routes and chose one that was within their budget and on the way to Seoul, but the next train left in the morning, so they had to spend the night at the station. Jimin had never done such a thing, but he told Jungkook it would be alright; they could buy something to eat and sleep on their backpacks.

Jungkook fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down, but Jimin couldn’t sleep, staring into the night sky and questioning his own sanity. What had he done? Was he really going to leave the city and go to an unknown place? Would they even be able to make it? Wouldn’t their parents alert the authorities in a case like that? What if he was charged with kidnapping? Or worse, what if Jungkook’s father or his people got to them before the authorities did? Jimin shut his eyes closed and tried to sleep, but he could feel his heart beating so fast it was almost buzzing. They were running away as they always planned, but they were not adults yet, they were still young and immature and didn’t even finish high school, what were they going to do?

Jimin opened his eyes again after only a few minutes, and saw a man standing before them, looking down at them with a smile. Jimin pulled Jungkook’s jacket up to his face to hide it from view, and the man chuckled before walking away. Jimin was suddenly aware of all the many different types of danger they could be facing, especially Jungkook who had always been so controlled by his parents that he didn’t know almost anything about the outside world. A thousand different ideas ran through his mind, and even though that creepy man had walked away, he still had the feeling of being watched. Who was watching them? Why? Jimin felt like choking, and he sat up, looking around the station.

There were only a few people scattered around the place, but the feeling of being watched was too overwhelming. He thought about the possibility of falling asleep and waking up to find Jungkook gone; or finding himself restrained; or waking up to police sirens… He could never go back to sleep, he was too afraid. He wouldn’t make it through the night, and spending all those hours there would make them an easy target for their parents or the police or criminals, so in another act of impulsiveness, he went up to the train routes again and changed their tickets to a different destination, to a town he had never heard of, but the next train to that place would leave very soon.

He figured that if they went to a place that wasn’t familiar, it would be harder for their families to track them down, so he woke Jungkook up and informed him about the new plan, and that was how they ended up in that rural town in the middle of nowhere. Jimin figured they would need a place to stay that allowed them to pay in cash and wouldn’t request their IDs, so they located a cheap motel near a truck stop that charged per hour. From the looks of it, it was the kind of place where drug dealers and sex workers did their business, so the receptionist didn’t even care about the two young boys asking for a room. The room itself was awful, but it was ideal for them since they only needed a place where they could sleep, shower, and feel safe for a while.

Jimin wasn’t able to get much sleep anyway, feeling like he was living an alternate life, as if his real self was still in Busan with his family, being a good boy with a secret, while this guy was a Jimin from another dimension who kidnapped Jungkook and dropped out of school. That was definitely how he would be seen back home. After half-sleeping and showering, they checked out and went into the real world, where they would need to make money without having any skills or qualifications. Jimin briefly considered taking the remaining contents of their Seoul jar and going back home, but that would mean leading Jungkook straight to his death, so that option was cancelled. They needed to keep moving forward, even if it meant Jimin would have to end up working illegally.

Jimin constantly reminded Jungkook that he was his hyung, so he would take care of him, he didn’t have to worry about anything. Even if Jimin was more scared than anyone, he didn’t want Jungkook to go through more suffering than he already had, so if things got tough and one of them had to resort to doing something shady, it should be Jimin. However, it wasn’t necessary to do that, because as they walked around looking for potential work opportunities, Jimin spotted a street dancer on a corner getting a few coins for his efforts. Right, dancing, the one thing they knew how to do. They could totally dance for coins as well, the only problem was they didn’t have a boombox like that dancer did, and no one would give them coins for dancing to silence.

Jimin decided to make use of the situation, and he and Jungkook started dancing on a different corner not too far from the street dancer, so they could listen to his music and improvise a little choreography to go with the beat. It seemed to earn them some attention, and it wasn’t long before they started receiving money as well. Unfortunately, the dancer seemed to notice that and moved to a different street with his boombox included. Jimin and Jungkook followed him and repeated the same trick, until the dancer turned off the music and started yelling at them from his corner to stop stealing his act. Jimin retorted that he wasn’t stealing anything, for music was in the air and last time he checked the air was free, and the dancer cursed at him before turning the music back on and starting a breakdance performance.

Jimin was honestly impressed. He and Jungkook were trained in dance academies, so their style was smooth and graceful, so different from this guy whose style was completely different: tough, agile, his limbs moving so fast he might as well have been floating. Jimin found himself clapping like an idiot, forgetting why he was there in the first place, until the guy flashed him a smile and pointed both index fingers at him. It took Jimin a second to realize that he was being challenged, but once he understood, he started doing his best. He didn’t know how to breakdance, but he did know how to float and create optical illusions with his limbs through interpretative dance, so he did just that.

Once he finished his part and smiled at his rival, he realized that they had managed to get the attention of a small crowd, including Jungkook who was also clapping excitedly as if he had never seen him perform. The unknown dancer seemed to be thinking the same thing as Jimin: this little dance-off was mutually beneficial, so he started breakdancing again, gaining a few cheers and a few more people to their crowd. They repeated that back and forth while coins and bills piled up on both ends until the crowd started to dissipate and their bodies starting giving out.

Jimin allowed himself to fall to the ground while Jungkook counted the money, and the dancer approached Jimin, enthusiastically shaking his hand and introducing himself. His name was Jung Hoseok and he was 18 years old, he was a local to that town and he was very sorry for cursing at them earlier and very interested in working together with him. Jimin figured he would have been equally impressed by Jungkook’s skills if the younger boy had been able to dance to his full abilities and not hindered by his injuries as he was, but either way, Jimin was grateful.

He quickly introduced himself and Jungkook, and informed Hoseok that they would only stay at that town temporarily, for they were on the way to another place. Hoseok asked if they were travelling alone, and Jimin confirmed it without giving away any details. Hoseok then insisted on treating them to breakfast, and Jimin would have refused if Jungkook’s eyes hadn’t been so big and imploring. Hoseok took them to a little diner and did most of the talking, which was great for Jimin since he really didn’t want to reveal anything to a stranger about his and Jungkook’s life circumstances.

They learned that Hoseok and his partner lived by themselves; Hoseok was in his last year of high school while his partner was starting at an online university. They had no financial support from their families, so they had to cover all their expenses. They both had night jobs which paid better, but still found things to do during the day for extra cash: Hoseok’s thing was dancing in the street. Jimin found it very inspiring that someone who was only one year older than him was so independent and hardworking, and it gave him hope that he could make it through as well.

Then, after that brief introduction, Hoseok leaned over, looked around their table and asked Jimin in a whisper if he had any problem with gay bars. Jimin gave him a puzzled look and Hoseok then elaborated that the place where he and his partner worked was that kind of establishment, and that if Jimin didn’t have a problem with it, he would get hired in a second. Jimin answered that he didn’t have any working experience, gay bars or otherwise, so he didn’t see how he’d get a job there, but Hoseok grinned and told him that it wasn’t like any other bar, like anything he had ever seen.

Hoseok explained to Jimin and Jungkook what El Mariachi was, and even showed them pictures on his phone so they could get a glimpse of it. It seemed like a really great opportunity except for the fact that Jimin was a minor, however Hoseok waved off his concerns, telling him he was also a minor when he got his first job, but his partner knew a guy who made the best fake IDs. Hoseok was interested in someone like Jimin joining the staff since he was a talented dancer with a charismatic presence, and Jimin was interested in making money as quickly as possible, so he said he would consider it. If the circumstances were different, Jimin would never even dream of something like getting a fake ID to work at a bar, for him it felt like committing a major crime, but after everything that happened, he had to give priority to guaranteeing his and Jungkook’s survival.

Hoseok wanted to exchange phone numbers, but Jimin had left his phone in Busan (after all, he didn’t want to be tracked down) so he told Hoseok that he didn’t have one. Hoseok then asked where they were staying and Jimin told him about how they had only paid a few hours in the cheap motel by the truck stop. Hoseok shook his head and recommended him other options that were also cheap but not quite as shady, but again, Jimin was a minor. Hoseok then decided that he would help him get a fake ID whether he ended up working with him or not, because he would need it anyways, and they agreed to meet at that same diner in the afternoon after Hoseok came back from school to discuss that.

Hoseok showed up at the accorded hour with his partner, a short and mean looking guy who briefly introduced himself as Min Yoongi, 19 years old, who led them to his friend, who made Jimin’s very first and only fake ID. Yoongi paid for it, claiming he knew how hard it was to save money when you were on your own, and told Jimin to pay him back whenever he could. Feeling indebted to the couple, Jimin decided he would try out at the bar, for better or for worse, much to Hoseok’s excitement. Hoseok recommended to Jimin trying to style himself to look a bit older, or else his ID wouldn’t fool anyone. Jimin sighed, showing him the very few clothing articles he had managed to put in his backpack before he left home, none of which would make him look any different.

Hoseok and Yoongi exchanged concerned looks and then nodded, before Hoseok slung an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder and started walking with him casually, while Yoongi did the same thing with Jimin in an opposite direction. It was the first time Jimin and Jungkook were apart since leaving Busan, so Jimin was terrified and kept looking back, but Yoongi pinched his arm hard and told him to stop being such a mom. Jimin accused him of not understanding anything, and Yoongi answered with a nonchalant “Yeah, that’s the point of this little talk. Understanding.”

Yoongi also said that they wouldn’t stop walking until he understood, that the longer Jimin took in explaining who he was and who Jungkook was and why they were so suspicious and yet looked so clearly innocent, the farther they would get from Jungkook. He also made it clear that despite being the same height as Jimin, his grip was strong as hell, so he wouldn’t let him go until he was satisfied with the explanation. Jimin was beyond frustrated, and he cursed at himself for ending up in that situation; after all, it could have easily been avoided if they hadn’t followed Hoseok to ‘steal’ his music. But minutes passed, precious minutes during which they were indeed getting farther from the others, venturing into streets that Jimin was not familiar with, so he gave up and confessed.

‘Confessed’ was a bit of a strong term, but that was how it felt for Jimin. He had committed several sins, including: dating men, lying to his family, watching idly as his best friend’s life fell apart, running away from home, kidnapping said best friend and currently hiding from their parents, the authorities and a crime network. He was crying by the end of his story, but Yoongi’s grip only tightened and his pace slowed down, until they stopped in the middle of a shabby-looking street. “You think your life’s rough, but there’s always someone who’s had it worse,” Yoongi said, more to himself than to Jimin. “But those things make your skin tough. You gotta be hard as steel now, okay? No matter how soft and gooey you may be on the inside, don’t show the world any weakness.”

Jimin wiped his tears and nodded, relieved that he was getting an advice instead of a punch or a stab, and Yoongi continued, gesturing to an old building in front of them. “This is where we live. You and your little lamb are free to sleep in our living room until you get your shit together. If you look so scared all the time, people will eat you alive, that ID means nothing if you don’t act like the man it says you are.” Yoongi then turned around and started walking back in the direction they came from, and Jimin followed him in silence, swallowing the tears that threatened to spill out. He would be strong, strong enough to ensure that he and Jungkook would stay alive and make it out of that place in one piece; he would lock away his fears and guilt deep in his heart where no one would reach.

He didn’t know where Hoseok took Jungkook or what they talked about, but by the time Jimin and Yoongi returned to the diner, they found both already there with red noses and glassy eyes. “Weak.” Yoongi muttered, shaking his head and pointing at them with his thumb. “This is what I’m talking about, do you want to look like them?” Jimin shook his head with a little smile before Hoseok pulled him into a bone-crushing hug and told him he’d let him borrow Yoongi’s clothes for his tryout. Yoongi frowned but made no further attempts to dissuade him, so a couple of hours later Jimin found himself in Yoongi and Hoseok’s tiny apartment preparing for some kind of audition/job interview.

The bar’s owner was Hoseok’s friend, so he had arranged to see Jimin an hour before the place opened. Jimin’s new friends gave him a general idea of what was expected from him and assured him that he would definitely get the job. Jungkook encouraged him as well, though he was also a little bit sad because he couldn’t work with him. No fake ID was good enough to fool anyone into believing that Jungkook was a day older than 15, so it was pointless to even suggest it. Jimin’s first impression of El Mariachi was nothing magical, since the place was empty except for the owner and the few workers who had arrived early, including Yoongi and Hoseok. (Jungkook had to stay at their house by himself, something that Jimin wasn’t entirely happy with, but he would be safer there than out in the streets or in another crappy motel. Yoongi had locked him in anyway for everyone’s safety).

The owner was a kind middle aged man who was very proud of his bar. He told Jimin that he had met Hoseok at another bar where they used to work together, before he decided to become independent. Hoseok had been the first person to believe in his investment and had given him ideas to make it unique, so he trusted him, not only as a bartender, but also as someone who could identify when something would work or not. That was why he trusted his judgment and he was sure that if Hoseok recommended Jimin, it was because he was really worth it. Jimin was so grateful, and he promised himself and the owner that he wouldn’t let Hoseok look bad, so he would show him the best of him. Yoongi improvised some melody on the piano for Jimin to dance to, and he let his heart guide his movements.

He remembered Yoongi’s advice about not showing weakness, so as he danced, he remembered the strongest people he had met: how Jungkook had carried on dancing and going to school even after his mother disappeared, how Hoseok was finishing school while having to support himself financially, how Yoongi loved Hoseok without shame and also had to make a living without any support. Jimin hadn’t been able to see his own strength yet, so in the meantime, he borrowed his friends’ and delivered a clear, precise, and memorable performance for the small audience. When he finished, he received applause from the owner, an overly excited Hoseok, and the few employees who were around. Needless to say, he had the necessary entertainment skills, but since he had zero service experience, the owner told him he’d have a 3-week training period. Jimin was ecstatic, and so were his friends.

Being a waiter and a dancer ended up being way more exhausting than Jimin could have ever imagined, and he wanted to give up more often than not, but every time the thought crossed his mind, he remembered his promise to Jungkook and the enormous debt he had with Hoseok and Yoongi, who were letting them live in their house, eat their food and wear their clothes. Of course, it was a temporary arrangement, and Jimin would pay them back, so in order to do that, he had to keep working. Since Jungkook was not making any profit, he stayed home and took care of everything, and since it was embarrassing to ask Hoseok and Yoongi for money on top of everything else, the remnants of their Seoul jar were slowly spent on things like transportation, laundry service or hygiene items.

Besides the exhausting job, life at home wasn’t easy either. Of course Jimin couldn’t complain, but sleeping on the couch wasn’t ideal for his tired limbs, and the place was so small that privacy was nonexistent. He had seen way too much of Yoongi’s naked body, and heard way too much about his and Hoseok’s sex life. Jimin tried to make it educational for Jungkook, teaching him that sex was natural and it was a beautiful thing between two people who loved each other very much; however his argument died the first time Hoseok didn’t go home straight after work because he went to sleep with someone he met at the bar. Yoongi was very okay with it, and told Jimin that it wasn’t cheating as long as they talked about it openly and honestly. Jimin soon learned that they did that regularly, sometimes even together, and while he didn’t judge them, he made sure that the lesson Jungkook took from that was the open communication part.

Jimin was eventually able to pay back his debt and rent a space for himself and Jungkook, which was somehow even smaller, but it didn’t matter, because he finally had his own bed. However, being the only source of income came with its own difficulties (Jungkook could have technically gotten a part-time job, but Jimin didn’t think he was ready yet). Jimin had to pay for rent, services and food by himself, as opposed to sharing like he used to do at Yoongi and Hoseok’s place. Jungkook was also still growing, so he constantly needed things, and they were supposed to start saving for Seoul again, so Jimin had no choice but to keep working, so their plan of only staying at that town for a few weeks had turned into 3 years and counting.

However, Jimin was feeling optimistic that year, because Jungkook was finally 18 years old and working at the bar, where Jimin and his friends could always watch out for him, and his job as a backstage assistant and singer guaranteed that he wouldn’t come in close contact with the clients, so no one would harm him or take advantage of him. The story of Jungkook’s first crush had resulted in such a traumatic experience, that the last thing Jimin wanted was for him to fall into the trap of some horny drunk who didn’t even care for his feelings. Jimin had had his own meaningless hookups, but at least he knew what he was doing: playing dumb to get extra cash and some gifts that he needed; meanwhile Jungkook was way too transparent, he didn’t have the necessary amount of malice to play with anyone, but he was the perfect victim to be toyed with.

The other reason why Jimin was feeling optimistic was because of Taehyung, who had changed his life since the night he met him. Taehyung didn’t sugar coat anything, he didn’t participate in the ridiculous games that the other customers played, didn’t lie to supposedly make him feel special and Jimin didn’t have to pretend to be someone he was not. Their interest in each other was genuine, even during the day, away from the illusions created by the bar’s atmosphere. Ever since that night when they made a mutually beneficial arrangement, over the period of time during which the bar was closed due to the police investigation, they had seen each other every single day. Jimin had shown Taehyung his favorite places from the town and told him which places to avoid, they had picnics and walks, they went out to get ice cream or pet some puppies at the pet store. Sometimes Taehyung was the one to take him to the nearest city to watch a movie, go to the salon or shop.

They talked all the time, getting to know each other little by little, but even though Taehyung was an open book, he seemed to catch when he was being too invasive for Jimin and changed the subject. Their personalities were very different yet they seemed to match, somehow, they laughed at the same things and were moved by the same things too. Taehyung talked about his brothers with the same overwhelming affection that Jimin felt for Jungkook, which included showing each other ugly candid pictures of them. They were both caring and attentive to details. Taehyung actually listened to him and remembered things he had said in passing, and he was touchy in a way that wasn’t aggressive or possessive, but truly affectionate instead, which Jimin found very comfortable.

Another thing that Jimin liked about Taehyung was that he didn’t mind the fact that Jungkook would sometimes tag along with them, in fact, they became good friends. Since Jungkook wasn’t working either he got terribly bored, especially while Yoongi and Hoseok were still detained, so sometimes when Taehyung invited Jimin to his house, he told him to bring Jungkook too, and the three of them would play video games, watch movies and laugh at dumb things together.

Jimin liked Taehyung’s brothers too, though he hadn’t interacted with them as much. Of course at the time he didn’t know that Seokjin would end up being his boss, for him he was still the crazy shoulder hyung who drove them to the city and laughed at his own dad jokes. He hadn’t gotten to see much of Namjoon because he seemed to always be either working or sleeping, but the few times they had talked, he seemed nice. He knew a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff, and he was as gentle with his words as he was clumsy with his body: the few times Jimin had seen him, he had either broken something, dropped something or bumped into something each time without fail.

They were a loving family and Jimin could see why Taehyung was so spoiled: on top of being rich, he was also the baby of his house, but he wasn’t really the snobby type of rich, nor the type of rich who treated everyone as inferior, in fact it seemed to be the opposite. Taehyung envied even the factory workers that he supervised, because they were vital for the factory, meanwhile he knew that his job was just an activity that he was assigned to do to justify his presence in the town, so his father could get results, but it was something that literally anyone could do. Taehyung always complimented Jimin, who was also vital for the bar, and whose job couldn’t be performed by just anybody. However, the police investigation continued and Jimin was still unemployed, and he felt as if he and Jungkook were back to square one. Taehyung gave him hope though, he was thoroughly convinced that Yoongi and Hoseok would be released and the bar would open again and Jimin would go back to being the dancing star that he was born to be.

…And he was right. The shooter was jailed for attempted murder, Yoongi was released since no one pressed charges, and Hoseok had to be imprisoned for a while on top of paying for having an unregistered weapon, but since it hadn’t actually been shot, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The bar’s owner decided to sell the place anyway, take his money and invest on something different, and Seokjin bought it on a whim. Taehyung swore he had no idea his brother was planning to do such a thing until it was already done, but either way he fulfilled his promise to Jimin: he went to the bar on the reopening night, sat on table 4, flirted with him properly, and by the end of Jimin’s shift, he went home with him.

Well, they went to a hotel. And well, it wasn’t like they hadn’t been flirting the entire time before that. But… that experience was different, it wasn’t like the times he had been with other random customers. Jimin had felt the excitement and initial shyness of his first date with Kyungho, but without the fear of being caught or the feeling that he was doing something sinful; he was playful and Taehyung was tipsy, but he didn’t want or expect anything in return besides just being with him. At the bar, Jimin’s role was defined: he played the part of the pretty but dumb waiter who was so easy to take advantage of, when in reality he was the one who carefully selected who he wanted to use. But with Taehyung, there was no role to play, and no power game, just two human beings who enjoyed each other’s company. If there was a word to define what Taehyung made him feel, it would be comfort.

So it really was no surprise that Taehyung kept going to the bar every night, and that Jimin wouldn’t even look at anyone else; no surprise that they ended up going out together on Jimin’s off nights too, and that they saw each other in other places during the afternoons at least 3 times a week. It became a steady thing, and it never got boring, or suffocating. It just felt right, as if Taehyung was always supposed to be present in his life. And so, it really shouldn’t have surprised him that Taehyung wanted to put a name to this bond between them; that Taehyung wanted to be his boyfriend. It shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did.

They were spending the evening in Taehyung’s house, getting ready together before Seokjin picked them both up to go to the bar, and Taehyung had gone serious all of a sudden and told him how much he had enjoyed the time they spent together and how happy he was that he got to know him, and Jimin thought that conversation was going in an opposite direction, but then he said how he was a big romantic at heart and he wanted to be able to show Jimin that side of him as well, if he would let him. And all Jimin could think about was how beautiful and kind and pure hearted Taehyung was, how he wanted to give him even more of himself even though Jimin had been hiding so much from him. And so, he asked Taehyung to listen to him, to decide only after learning his story, who he really was, if he still wanted him.

Jimin told him everything, from when he was an oblivious 7 year old to now, when he was a paranoid 20 year old. Taehyung listened without interrupting, only nodding in encouragement or reaching out to grab his hands comfortingly, and by the end of his tale, he was smiling.

“I always knew that you were strong, but I never knew how much.” He said softly. “You saved a life. You saved Jungkookie’s life even though you knew that you’d have to leave your own life behind and create a new one, for both of you. You’re so brave.”

Jimin shook his head. Yeah, maybe he had, but he didn’t think that made him strong, it was just his moral obligation. “I did a lot of bad things, too. And… I don’t think I’m done saving him yet, you know? Like, right now I know he’s with Yoongi and Hoseokie-hyung, and he’s safe, but there’s always a part of my brain that goes ‘is he? Is he really safe? How much longer will he be?’ and the truth is that I don’t know, I don’t know if I truly saved him.”

“You saved him when he was still a kid even though you were one too.” Taehyung continued in a calm but firm tone. “And you brought him up to be an adult, now it’s up to him.”

Jimin’s eyes widened and he shook his head again. “He’s still too vulnerable, he can still get hurt--”

“He will always be vulnerable and prone to get hurt. And so will you. And me. And everyone. Jimin, you can’t just… lock him in a bulletproof glass room.” Taehyung tried to explain, clearly struggling to find the right words. “Look, you’ve been a wonderful hyung to him and I’m sure he loves you and he will never be able to pay you back for the life that you’ve given him, but, if you protect him from everything you’ll make him a useless man.”

Jimin frowned, but he immediately realized that Taehyung was speaking from experience. “You’re not—I mean, he’s not useless. He’s just not ready yet.”

“He’ll never be ready if you don’t let him try.” Taehyung sighed. “I don’t know him as well as you do, but I know what it’s like to be the youngest child… I’ve seen my hyungs sacrifice themselves for my happiness and what am I giving them in return? Nothing. I can’t give anything because they take care of everything already, I have no choice… It’s not like Seokjin-hyung likes driving me around and cooking and cleaning, he does it to make me happy. And Namjoonie-hyung had to give up his career to take care of us, so that I can have a carefree life, but in the end, it’s just a burden for all of us. Do you even want to go to Seoul? Because if you don’t, even if you think you’re making Jungkook happy, you’re only giving him a debt that he’ll never be able to pay. He’ll feel like he has to be happy, otherwise your sacrifice was in vain, but he’ll never be truly satisfied with a life that was already chosen and built for him. It’s just… what I’m trying to say is…”

“It’s okay, I think I get it.” Jimin nodded, sighing heavily. “I had never looked at it that way… this whole time, these three years, all I’ve thought about is how I have to protect him and get him out of here, but I never stopped to think about me, about my own life… To be honest, everything had revolved around work, about saving money. I’m… I’m not only saying this because we’re having this conversation, but, you’re the only person who makes me feel like… you remind me of who I am, you make me look inside and see something besides the mask that I wear for customers or even the mask that I wear for Jungkook. The truth is that I don’t have a dream either, Tae, I don’t know what I’ll do once this is over.”

“You mean when our little Jungkookie spreads his wings and leaves the nest?” Taehyung asked playfully, and Jimin couldn’t help but laugh despite his attempt to be serious.

“I’ve always thought that he’s like a little squirrel, Yoongi-hyung thinks he looks like a lamb and Hoseokie-hyung calls him that too, Seokjin-nim calls him singing rabbit… now he’s a bird?”

“He’s some unspecified children’s book creature.” Taehyung shrugged. “But, back to the point, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Jimin’s smile froze in place and he ran a hand through his hair. Right, the question. “I think that I should be the one asking you: do you really want to be the boyfriend of a 20 year old single parent with an 18 year old son?”

Taehyung smiled goofily at first and then much more softly, grabbing Jimin’s hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “I’d be much honored to have someone as strong, brave, graceful and kind by my side… The question is: do you want to be the boyfriend of a guy who dyes his hair a different color every week and goes into a dangerous neighborhood without security?”

Jimin laughed, loudly and honestly, with his entire body; Taehyung always made him feel just great. “Yeah, absolutely. Without a doubt, I want to be that guy’s boyfriend really badly.”

“Yay!” Taehyung exclaimed and pulled Jimin into a big hug. Jimin loved hugs so much, but the only one willing to give them to him before was Hoseok, who tended to crush his body; meanwhile Taehyung’s hugs were just warm and comforting, like everything about him. “Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Jimin pulled himself free from Taehyung’s arms to look into his eyes.

“For being you, I guess.” He answered, almost shyly. “For showing me something that night that made my heart beat again. For letting me remove layer after layer of mystery to reveal a person who’s just as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outs—You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Jimin started laughing again, his face feeling warmer and his entire being much lighter. “Of course I am; it’s not every day I get complimented like this. Keep going.”

“Woah, Jimin, I’ve run out of things to say.”

“Already?!”

“You cut off my momentum.” Taehyung said dramatically.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jimin kept giggling, shaking his head. If he weren’t already sure that he was falling in love with Taehyung, he was certainly sure now. “I’ll make it up to you.”

He cupped his boyfriend’s face in his hands, watching him close his eyes and lick his lips, before drawing closer to plant a kiss on his mouth. It wasn’t their first kiss, but it was the first one they shared as a real couple, and it made Jimin feel bubbly and tingly inside. Taehyung wrapped his arms around his waist, comforting as always, and Jimin couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

Hoseok took a quick glance at his watch as he finished cleaning the counter. It was 6:30 am, so they should have already been out, but there were still some customers around who were waiting to be picked up, and it wasn’t even because they were too drunk to walk, but because they were too rich. He looked at the space where his shotgun used to be and shook his head in silent mourning, before hopping out of the bar and announcing to no one in particular that he was going to change his clothes.

As he made his way backstage, loosening up his bowtie, he eyed the remaining workers picking up chairs and mopping the floor even around the clients who remained unbothered: one caught up in his phone, and the other caught up in Jimin’s tongue. Hoseok shook his head again, remembering Seokjin’s words: “They’re too good for you”. If the circumstances were different, he would have tried to prove him wrong, but as things were, Taehyung was a lost cause since Jimin had called dibs on him, while Namjoon was… well, he was a lost cause too. Besides, they weren’t really his type after all.

Hoseok entered the backstage area and found Jungkook already changed into his oversized hoodie, staring into the void while Seokjin and Yoongi were arguing about something. Hoseok sighed dreamily at the combined sound of their voices, those two were his type: young and hot on the outside, old and bitter on the inside.

“Hey, hey, what are we fighting about?” He asked as he started to unbutton his shirt, succeeding in getting their attention.

“Jin-hyung wants to eliminate some drinks entirely, which is plain stupid.” Yoongi explained.

“I’m only planning to eliminate the ones that are made of expensive liquors; the profit we get from them is too small for the production costs.” Seokjin answered, holding a printed sheet of paper which Hoseok assumed was the bill from their liquor provider, but then returned his attention to Yoongi. “And who gave you permission to call me hyung?”

“Uh, you did, remember? It was at the end of the re-opening week.” Yoongi replied, rubbing his temples. “But whatever, you can’t cut off those drinks, they’re the most popular ones. We’re gonna lose customers if you do that, and customers are much more valuable than the few cents you’re trying to save.”

“Few cents? Excuse me? Do you know how much money goes into these liquors?” Seokjin kept waving the paper like a flag. “And I have no recollection of letting you call me Jin-hyung; if anything, it must have been Seokjin-hyungnim.”

“Are you for real? Is this a hidden camera show? I’ll remind you of the exact moment when it happened: you were this close,” Yoongi made a ‘small’ gesture with his hand, “to kissing Hoseok, and he said ‘Seokjin-ssi, we shouldn’t do this, you’re my boss’, and then--”

“Aaaaaaaaah, Jungkookie, you’re still there!” Hoseok cut Yoongi off to alert him of the younger boy’s presence, which he seemed to have forgotten, considering he was revealing something that was supposed to be a secret between the three of them. “Why don’t you go home? It’s late.”

Jungkook stared at him wide-eyed, but it was hard to tell if he was shocked about Yoongi’s revelation or about something else going on inside his head. “Well, Tae-hyung said he’d give us a ride home as soon as his security comes to pick him up. He and Jimin are exchanging spit in the meantime, so I don’t wanna be out there.”

“I see.” Hoseok nodded with a giant fake smile. Yoongi and Seokjin fell silent, but he could see that the tip of Seokjin’s ears were red. “Well, Namjoon is there as well, and I’m sure he must be bored watching the spit exchange. Why don’t you talk to him while you wait?”

Jungkook’s expression went from shocked to mortified. “I’m fine here, really. I spend my nights in this space, so it’s like another home…”

“Jungkook.” Yoongi said in a stern tone. “Get out.”

“But--”

“Out.” He hissed.

Jungkook scrunched up his face in disgust, but walked towards the door in resignation. “You’re all gonna start making out as well, aren’t you?”

“Out!” This time it was Seokjin’s voice.

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

A place that never belonged to him, although he belonged to it.

Jung Hoseok was just a regular guy trying to make it in a complicated world. His mother died when he was little, so his father had to work hard to support and raise him and his older sister by himself. Despite their financial limitations, their home never lacked anything of importance, and they were a decent and loving family. Hoseok enjoyed listening to music and dancing since he was a child, but his father could never afford a dance academy or anything of the sort for him, so he just tried to learn as much as he could by himself. He was an average student, and didn’t really participate in any clubs or after school activities, but he was very popular, making friends with all different kinds of people.

When Hoseok was in middle school, he had a little dance squad with some friends who were actually attending dance academies, and others who were like him, just learning from them. They would dance in the streets after school hours or have little competitions with each other, so he managed to improve his self-learned techniques; however, even though dancing was the thing that brought him utmost joy, it wouldn’t bring him any money, and he knew that if he told his father that that was what he wanted to do with his life, he would be disappointed. So, Hoseok started reading about a variety of subjects, hoping he could eventually pick a career while maintaining dancing as a hobby.

Around that time, he met Min Yoongi through a mutual friend. Yoongi was his senior in school, the president of his class and a music prodigy, so he was almost guaranteed to succeed in life no matter what he decided to do. The thing was, he didn’t want to decide: he told everyone that he would become a successful businessman and a successful pianist, and even though most of his friends didn’t take him seriously, there was something about his confidence that inspired Hoseok. What if he could be a successful career man and a successful dancer? So he told Yoongi about it, and he nonchalantly told him to go after his dreams. He made it sound so simple.

Over time, Hoseok realized that he and Yoongi were probably the only ones among their friends who were truly passionate about music, who wanted to build their entire lives around it. They talked about it for hours: Yoongi was a vast sea of technical knowledge and what Hoseok lacked in terminology he more than made up for in enthusiasm and keeping updated on the current trends. They recommended songs to each other, broke them down to analyze them from the composition to the rhythm, and often improvised in the music room; Yoongi would just make up a random melody and Hoseok would create a concept for it, try to deliver a message with his dance moves.

Hoseok didn’t even know until much later that Yoongi had a scary reputation, because he always smiled and laughed when they were together, and when they weren’t talking about or making music, they worked hard on their other goals: improving their grades so they could get into a good university, taking up summer jobs so they could start managing money, and being dutiful children so they wouldn’t be a burden to their parents. They did almost everything together and motivated each other through the years, and as their bodies and minds developed, so did their feelings for each other.

Falling in love with Yoongi was very natural, it wasn’t tricky or angsty as TV taught him first loves tended to be, instead, it was a linear progression. Over the years their bond had transformed from a special friendship to a romantic one, they were still the same, and yet, a new ingredient had been added to their relationship. They were never exclusive and they were both okay with it, but the bond between the two of them was still unique and unbreakable, as if they were one. Hoseok made it clear to the other people he dated: Yoongi was part of the deal; he wasn’t going to leave him, ever, for anyone. This sincerity tended to scare potential partners away, though.

When Yoongi was 18 and Hoseok was 17, things were going great for both of them. They had impeccable grades, excellent recommendations from their teachers and even some experience in volunteer work. Yoongi played the piano and Hoseok danced every single day of their lives. They were both convinced that they would make it, but as it happens, the real world is not so easy.

It started when Yoongi’s father found some messages from Hoseok on his social media, which were too explicit to pass off as a friendly joke; it continued with a confrontation that escalated into an exchange of nasty words, which culminated with Yoongi making the decision to leave his parents’ home to stop the conflict from getting out of hand. Hoseok felt responsible for what happened, but Yoongi reassured him that he’d be okay, and that he had planned to live independently anyway. It was easier said than done, though, because Yoongi pretty much had to balance school with a part time job and some odd jobs while staying at different friends’ houses.

Around the same time, Hoseok’s father had remarried and was expecting a baby, so they had more expenses than ever. Hoseok quickly found a part-time job at a fast food place, but he couldn’t afford to just give Yoongi his entire paycheck when things were difficult at home, so he had to find something that would help him earn more. At that time, his sister Jiwo was working as a waitress in a bar, and though Hoseok was a minor, he asked for a chance to work there as well, since he noticed that, while she wasn’t exactly rich, she was making enough to keep herself through college, so it was definitely better than his salary at the fast food place.

Jiwo wasn’t entirely happy with him having to lie about his age, but she reasoned that if he was going to do something illegal, it was better if she was there to watch over him, so she talked to the owner while he talked to his friend who made fake documents, and after the whole selection process, he was hired as an assistant to the bartender. The bartender was a middle aged man named Sihyuk who had been working at that place since he was very young, and he was happy to share all his knowledge with Hoseok, who was a fast and enthusiastic learner.

Some time later, Sihyuk quit to start his own business, and Hoseok got promoted to do his job. He started earning more, bringing more money to his home while also helping Yoongi, who kept reminding him not to lose sight of their dreams no matter how difficult their situations were. It was tiring, working all night and then having to go to school during the day, but the money was worth it; however, he didn’t have any energy left for dancing or even for ranting about songs with Yoongi.

He was slowly getting disconnected from his true passion, so he started feeling depressed. Yoongi suggested him to quit then, but he couldn’t do that, he was getting slapped by reality again: music wasn’t going to feed him, it wasn’t going to put food on his table or get him and his partner a higher education. Yoongi wasn’t doing much better either, he hated most of his jobs but he also needed the money since he didn’t plan to live on his friends’ couches forever, so it seemed like their dreams were slipping between their fingers like sand.

And then, a miracle occurred.

Hoseok’s dear friend Sihyuk, who taught him everything, told him he wanted his opinion about the bar he was planning to open, since it was going to be the very first gay bar in the town, and he trusted his judgment the most. More importantly, he was offering him to work there, not only as a bartender but also as a sort of manager, someone who could supervise the place and report the results to him, since he could see that he and Hoseok had similar work ethics.

It was Hoseok’s golden opportunity: a brand new bar that could be made from scratch with some of his ideas; a bar designed for people like him to have fun, be themselves and meet other people. The first thing that came to his mind wasn’t even alcohol, it was music, because music meant all of that and more for him; it was love and life and freedom, so it was the first idea he presented: music had to be the central theme.

“Live music?” Sihyuk had asked, and the image of Yoongi playing his piano popped into Hoseok’s head immediately.

“Yes, a live music show.”

They had several meetings to brainstorm all sorts of ideas, and slowly shape them into something they thought would attract as many customers as possible. In the end, it was decided that the bar would be named “El Mariachi”, a foreign and music-related name that they found fitting, for the original intent was to have an enigmatic singer who would perform at the very end of the night, keeping everyone in suspense until then. In order to keep their expectations high, there would be other opening acts, all performed by the bar’s staff, to make the experience as interactive as possible.

Of course, that meant that Sihyuk would have to find people who could do both sides of the job, so it wouldn’t be easy. Hoseok was already hired, of course, but he also suggested hiring Yoongi, who could play the piano beautifully and also dance a little during the shows. More ideas were exchanged, discussed and tossed, and the concept drifted a bit from the original draft, considering that talent was hard to find.

A few months later the bar finally opened, with a staff consisting of himself, Yoongi, and 5 other people, all dancers, with a rotation system for the rest of the tasks. There was no singer, so Hoseok did his best to create interesting choreographies for each show, and although the beginning was slow as startups tend to be, he was happy. He could literally dance for a living, listen to Yoongi’s newest compositions, and occasionally get some significant tips for his efforts. Little by little, Hoseok was able to move out of his house, mostly so his father could focus on his new family, and he and Yoongi rented a tiny apartment together. They continued going to school during the day, while also doing some occasional jobs for extra income.

Yoongi graduated and started studying online, but with each new step a new challenge arose and more money was needed. Sihyuk kept trying to find more staff to offer the clients more variety, but it was a small town, so there wasn’t exactly a big pool of people to choose from. That was when, under weird but most likely divine circumstances, Hoseok met Jimin, and realizing that it would be a complete waste of talent to let the kid work anywhere else, he did his best to convince him to work at the bar. Jimin and Jungkook had struggles similar to the ones he and Yoongi had faced, but worse, since they didn’t have anyone besides each other, so it was only natural for Hoseok and Yoongi to offer them their home and guidance.

Things most definitely improved after Jimin joined the team: he could keep up with harder choreographies, so Hoseok gave him a center spot in one of the shows; and while he was a little slow with the waiting part of the job, he was charismatic and sweet, so his customers didn’t mind too much.

Things got even better when, 3 years later, Jimin finally allowed Jungkook to join as well, because ever since the first time Sihyuk heard him sing, he wanted to hire him. He didn’t sing at the end of the night like they had originally planned, instead he had several shows per night, one after every dance show, and it turned out to be more effective that way. The “enigmatic singer” part still prevailed though, since every time he finished a set he went backstage and transformed into the storage assistant that the clients didn’t get to see.

All in all, things were going really well for Hoseok. At 21 years old, he felt like his life was finally on the right track: He had a job he loved, was majoring in Performance Arts, was the proud brother of two amazing sisters (the little one had just started preschool and the eldest one had become a successful makeup artist), had a happy relationship with his adorable boyfriend, worked with him and his dear friends every night, and sometimes got a little something extra from drunk and horny customers. Everything was good, until… until they arrived.

Them. The Kims.

If anyone told him a year ago that three young, handsome and rich heirs would arrive to his town and to his bar (it was never properly his bar, but in his heart it was), he would have been ecstatic, but also very wrong. It started with Taehyung, the youngest one: He arrived with cherry red hair, Gucci eyewear and rubies all over, looking kind of lost but also exploring the crowd. Hoseok did his best to impress him, upgrading his drink, smiling and flirting, but it became a lost cause the moment he laid eyes on Jimin.

Hoseok didn’t harbor any resentment though, it wasn’t the first time that happened, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but when the confrontation with the shooter happened and Taehyung called the police on them, that was a different thing. Those days in the police station were the worst period of Hoseok’s life, he genuinely thought that he was going to prison either for murder or for attempt, depending on whether or not the shooter recovered from the head injury. He thought about his family, about how his little sister was going to grow up thinking that her brother was a criminal, about Jiwo losing opportunities for the same reason, and his father being so sad and disappointed.

However, the shooter regained consciousness and the police finished their investigation, but he got in trouble for having the shotgun in the first place. It cost him and Yoongi all of their savings, and as much as they didn’t want their families to know anything (although for completely opposite reasons), the event made it to the local news and was blown out of proportion. That caused another problem: Sihyuk, being the bar’s owner, also had to testify and cooperate both with the police and the press, which was very stressful for him. The bar was closed during a few weeks, and Sihyuk decided to put it up for sale, not wanting to be involved with it anymore. He said he hadn’t realized how dangerous his safe space had become, so he preferred to invest his money on something more peaceful.

Hoseok’s dream was falling apart again, with no money and no job, having to put a halt to his studies while he and Yoongi figured out what to do. None of that had been Taehyung’s fault, really, it had been the shooter’s, but his presence in the bar that night had certainly added more chaos to the whole thing. Then, the eldest Kim brother, Seokjin, bought the bar for no reason other than not knowing what to do with his money. He had no idea how to run a bar, and Hoseok suspected he had no experience with any type of business, but he had taken such a big risk. It wasn’t that Hoseok hated him, it was just that he thought he was making a big mistake. He always thought that when Sihyuk died, he’d leave the bar to him, but he didn’t expect to lose it in these weird circumstances, so maybe he was having a very hard time dealing with all that change.

Seokjin tried to make his employees respect him, but he didn’t really do anything to earn that respect. He made arbitrary decisions, terrible ones that drove everyone crazy, he made awful jokes to make people comfortable but instead came off as annoying, and he flipped from authoritarian to chill without any warning. On the other hand, he was kind enough to learn everybody’s names since the first night and take over some tasks when somebody needed a break, and well, he was beautiful, which definitely made him more likeable.

If Seokjin had been a client instead of his boss, Hoseok would have loved to pick him up, and in fact, even being his boss, Hoseok did flirt with him, but his reasoning behind it was different: if Seokjin ended up hooking up with an employee, it would give Hoseok leverage (or even blackmail material if it came down to it) to prompt Seokjin to quit. Yoongi had the same idea when they saw how nervous Seokjin got during the performance simulation he had requested them to do, so he was definitely easy to seduce… or so he thought.

Every night since the bar reopened, Hoseok did everything in his power to get Seokjin’s attention: he made him special drinks, talked to him suggestively, laughed at his stupid jokes and constantly praised his beauty. Yoongi also did his best to help, by tolerating Seokjin instead of punching him into oblivion, treating him with respect and making a few flirtatious comments every now and then. However, Seokjin continuously rejected them, even when they knew he was affected, because the tips of his ears got red or he started speaking in a high pitched tone or he quickly found an excuse to occupy himself with. That was even more annoying, because it meant that even if Seokjin was a mess, he cared enough about the business to try to do a good job.

Seokjin also tended to stay in after everyone had left, to analyze the incomes and expenses, schedules, and stock. Before, Sihyuk wasn’t even present in the bar, so Hoseok and Yoongi took care of the financial aspect, while Jungkook was the one who received the provisions and contacted the providers if there was any problem. Sihyuk trusted them, so there was no reason for him to doubt the results he was receiving; besides, the bar was doing much better than he had anticipated. Meanwhile, having Seokjin there the whole night supervising everything and then staying after closing hours didn’t really sit well with them, it felt as if he didn’t trust their work, even though they had been doing it without supervision for so long. Again, Hoseok didn’t hate Seokjin, he just… really wished he wasn’t his boss.

The last night of the reopening week, everything was going as usual. Hoseok participated in the dance shows, and the rest of the time he prepared drinks and laughed exaggeratedly at the stories from drunken clients. He also got to taste samples from the new snacks that Seokjin had come up with, another one of his original ideas to supposedly drive the customers to keep drinking. They were good, he had to admit, so in exchange for every sample, he gave Seokjin his honest opinion and served him a drink. It wasn’t forbidden for the employees to drink a bit, as long as it didn’t stop them from doing their job or they didn’t drink the expensive liquor, so it was more or less a regular thing.

However, everyone was drinking a little more than usual that night, because it was the end of a stressful week during which they had to return to their routine and also adapt to Seokjin’s new ideas (he had a new one every night). Seokjin was in his chill mode, wearing sunglasses indoors and making everyone laugh by dancing off-beat to Yoongi’s soft melodies when he wasn’t looking. The snacks were also a good way to break the tension, even Yoongi was enjoying them, and Seokjin was hyping up every single one of the shows and encouraging clients to tip the performers fairly.

Hoseok started to think that he might have misjudged him, that maybe he was just comparing him to Sihyuk instead of trying to get to know him, so he started playing along with him instead: he joined his ridiculous dances, made sure to lock eyes with him for a bit during his dance shows, made him laugh by dramatically lip-synching Jungkook’s songs, and soon enough he started finding actual humor in his jokes. It wasn’t the alcohol or the snacks, it was the fact that they were able to connect as simple human beings like they hadn’t done before, and from that point on, Hoseok started to find him incredibly, alarmingly attractive.

He shared his discovery with Yoongi who, as usual, encouraged him to go for it, but it wasn’t that simple; now that he was actually starting to like Seokjin, he was also starting to like having him as a boss, and he couldn’t have both. So, the next time Seokjin approached Hoseok with snacks while wearing a stupid hat, Hoseok was the one who avoided him in panic, but Seokjin persisted, casually slinging an arm around his shoulder and playing airplane with the snacks until Hoseok gave in and ate them. He looked very happy afterwards, with a satisfied goofy smile, and Hoseok wondered how someone so handsome could be so embarrassing at the same time.

During the rest of the night, Hoseok did the opposite of what he had been doing: he looked anywhere except at Seokjin, held back from laughing even when everyone else did, and stopped complimenting him altogether. This didn’t go unnoticed by Seokjin, who kept trying to get close to him and looked downright disappointed every time he was rejected; and it certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Yoongi either, who shook his head at him in disapproval and scowled when Seokjin was sad. As hours passed, Hoseok felt miserable, and hated the fact that he had even considered wanting Seokjin to quit, so he told Yoongi about it, who suggested talking to him to clarify everything and start over.

It was a little bit past 6, the customers had left and so had most of the staff, and Seokjin was backstage with his papers again. Hoseok asked to talk to him while Yoongi just hung around in silence, to act as a mediator if needed. It could have been a good, normal conversation, if Seokjin hadn’t been in there finishing a bottle by himself and apparently still hearing music in his head, judging by the way he was asking Hoseok and Yoongi to dance with him. Hoseok could have turned around and decided to talk to him some other day, but he was a bit drunk too (would have been worse if it weren’t for the snacks) and Seokjin’s ugly dance was weirdly distracting. Yoongi seemed to agree, too, because although he had a hand over his mouth, Hoseok knew him well enough to be able to tell that he was smiling, and that was a sufficient reason to indulge Seokjin.

So, somehow he found himself freestyle dancing with Seokjin to the beat of Yoongi clinging bottles and kicking barrels. And, somehow, he still tried to stick to the purpose of talking to Seokjin.

“Uh, Seokjin-ssi. I wanted to talk to you because I’ve been kind of…” He started, but cut off abruptly when he felt Seokjin’s hands on his waist. “Okay… I might have… How do I say this?”

“Just let yourself go, Hoseokie. Follow the rhythm.” Seokjin closed his eyes and threw his head back. Behind him, Yoongi looked absolutely delighted.

Hoseok was brought back to the times when he was at school with Yoongi and they would improvise music and dance together, how utterly happy they both were in their own world, before things got complicated for them. This moment, for some reason, felt a lot like that, but… improved. Maybe because he was already an adult and he had known true hardships, so he could cherish these moments more, or maybe because Seokjin, inexplicably, was the only guy who could easily squeeze himself into their lives and fit right in, never out of place.

As Hoseok was pressed closer to Seokjin’s body under Yoongi’s amused but loving stare, he had a startling realization: he didn’t want Seokjin to leave, he wanted more of that night: more shared snacks and drinks and more awkward dancing and loud laughter, so he tried telling him that.

“Seokjin-ssi, I want… to start over. I want to get to know you better.” He said weakly.

“Ah, that’s no good at all, I like being an enigma.” He answered, reaching his hands out for Yoongi, who quickly took them, standing behind Hoseok and caging him between the two of them as they swayed from side to side without any rhythm.

“I think he means he wants to ask you out.” Yoongi supplied.

“No! That’s not it!” Hoseok brought up his hands to emphasize his denial but only ended up placing them on Seokjin’s chest since there was almost no space between them. “I just want a good working relationship, like we had last night.”

Seokjin stared at him blankly, furrowing his eyebrows. “I see, so that was all it was, huh? Just work.”

Hoseok was confused and just a little bit mortified. Should he admit the truth? That he wanted to sleep with him and stop having a work relationship with him, but then changed his mind when he truly started to like him? Or should he lie and tell him he always respected him and just wanted to get along? What did he even want? Did he want to be friends?

“It was never just work and you know it.” Yoongi answered nonchalantly behind him. “We’ve been flirting with you all week and you’re not dense.”

Hoseok became even more nervous listening to Yoongi admit everything. Well, it wasn’t like they were ever subtle about it, but he kind of wanted to give up on that, he really wanted to start over and see what could happen without any ulterior motives.

“I noticed.” Seokjin eyed Yoongi and then Hoseok. “But that’s just your game, isn’t it? ‘Different clients will be drawn to different entertainers’, and you’re the ones I was drawn to, so you did your job.”

“No, it wasn’t like that.” Hoseok quickly denied. He didn’t know why he disliked the implication, even though his original reasoning wasn’t morally superior. “Flirting is a good way to keep customers entertained, yes, but you’re not a client, so the goal was not the same.”

Seokjin stopped swaying then, and looked directly into Hoseok’s eyes. “What was the goal then?”

Well, shit. It was time to either admit to something horrible or tell a lie.

“We just…” Hoseok practically mumbled.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you.” Seokjin’s face was suddenly very close to his, and he couldn’t step back even if he wanted to because Yoongi wouldn’t move.

“I want to get along with you.” He repeated, not wanting to admit to anything else. However, Seokjin wouldn’t move away and was now very obviously looking at Hoseok’s lips. If only this had happened 24 hours prior, the results would have been completely different, but the way things were, Hoseok didn’t really want to lose him. “Seokjin-ssi, we shouldn’t do this, you’re my boss.”

“If you want to get along, you can just call me Jin-hyung.” He replied, his alcohol breath hitting Hoseok’s lips. “You too, Yoongi. Let’s all get along.”

“You heard Jin-hyung, Hoseokie. We can get along.” Yoongi added from behind him, with a teasing glee in his voice that was instantly reflected on Seokjin’s goofy smile.

It felt nice, too nice, too comfortable. When was the last time both of them had the chance to hook up with an attractive and rich guy who made a fool of himself just to make others laugh, who respected their workplace and supported their art? Never. There had never been such a guy. Well, screw it, Hoseok thought, they’d sort out the consequences later.

And he closed the tiny distance between them by pressing his lips to Seokjin’s, replacing his dumb smile with a look of utter confusion, so he did it again, and again, until finally Seokjin gave in and kissed him back, still not letting go of Yoongi’s hands. Hoseok may have gotten ahead of himself when he wrapped his arms around Seokjin’s waist as he let himself wonder how long it would take for him and Yoongi to kiss and if they would do it here or at his house, he probably had a really luxurious house… He was so lost in his imagination that a simple ringtone startled him, but Seokjin was just as surprised as he was, and they broke the kiss and smacked their arms around before realizing what was going on. Seokjin retrieved his phone from his pocket and mumbled something inaudible before picking up the call, as Hoseok recovered from the shock and Yoongi held his hand instead, clearly missing the touch already.

“I have to go.” Seokjin announced as soon as his call ended. “I need you to leave, too.”

“Huh? But what happened to… getting along, huh?” Hoseok asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Seokjin flushed, avoiding eye contact with either of them. “We’re already past closing hours and it’s been a long week. Please go home, I’ll see you tonight.”

Hoseok wanted to protest, but he realized that Seokjin was using his authoritarian tone again, so he allowed Yoongi to tug at his hand and lead them outside.

“See you tonight, Jin-hyung!”

After that day, things went back to normal, normal meaning that the way every night was carried out greatly depended on Seokjin’s mood that time. Sometimes he was the authoritarian boss that everyone hated, sometimes he was a clown, sometimes he tried to be creative and other times he tried to be friendly; but there were no more kisses or dancing in silence or any mentions to what happened that day, so Hoseok learned to live with it, tried to convince himself that it was the best possible outcome, because that way Seokjin wouldn’t have to quit and they could have a good working relationship as well as a blossoming friendship… and a lot of unresolved sexual tension.

Yoongi dealt with it differently, because the two of them seemed to be getting closer too, in their own way. Hoseok saw them occasionally laughing together, mostly at Jimin’s or Jungkook’s expense, having some heated conversations about business or preparing new snacks together. Hoseok knew that Yoongi was just as disappointed as he was about the way things had been sort of cut off, but just like him, he was also glad they could pretend it never happened and start things over.

At least, until that other day, when the Kims had stayed past closing time and Seokjin and Yoongi were arguing about liquors and budgets and somehow Yoongi ended up revealing the one thing they were pretending had never happened. After managing to get Jungkook out of the storage room, the three looked between each other not quite knowing where to start, until Yoongi broke the silence.

“I messed up.” He said, crossing his arms. “But it was a matter of time before one of us did, anyway. It’s one thing to pretend you two never kissed, but to even deny that you had let us call you Jin-hyung… just…”

He was staring at Seokjin with a hurt look in his eyes, and Hoseok knew that he was right; Yoongi didn’t get hurt easily, only when he allowed it and by people he allowed to hurt him, so Seokjin was more important than he was aware of.

“I had been drinking that night.” Seokjin replied, looking at the floor. “My memories are vague, so maybe I did say that, maybe I didn’t.”

“Ha, you think you’re gonna convince me with that? Hoseok is a lightweight and even he remembers everything, right?” Yoongi chuckled sarcastically.

“Yeah, at least I think so.” Hoseok said. “I think you do remember, you just regret it.”

Seokjin looked at him for a second before focusing on the floor again. “I’m not sure.”

“That’s fine, you drank a little too much, let a couple of dudes get friendly with you and kissed one of them and now you strongly regret it.” Yoongi spat out with the same hurt look. “You had every right to back out then and you have every right to back out now. I just want to be clear on what terms we are on now, so I don’t fuck up again.”

Seokjin looked up again, studying Yoongi’s face and then sighing heavily, like he was letting go of a heavy burden. “You are my precious employees and I… I’m the one who fucked up, both as your boss and as your friend.”

Yoongi raised his eyebrows at that, but didn’t say anything, leaving Hoseok to intervene.

“It’s alright, Seokjin-ssi, like you said, you were drunk, so you had a moment of weakness. Everyone has made decisions that they regret, and you’re only human after all.” Hoseok tried to convey as much nonchalance as possible, but there was a knot in his throat, mourning the end of something that hadn’t even properly started.

“No, you got that wrong.” Seokjin shook his head. “I don’t really regret anything that happened, that’s the thing, it’s happening to me again. I’m simply unable to separate business from personal relationships, what’s wrong with me?”

“Hey, what do you mean it’s happening again? Do you kiss all of your employees or what?” Yoongi asked, not sounding amused at all.

“No! I just… caught feelings before.” Seokjin answered. “I… have always wanted to be a good businessman, and I have tried so hard, I’ve studied so much and practiced so much, but I always screw up because I let my heart take the lead and stop thinking with my head. That day when I got a call, it was Namjoon, and he was calling because he was already at the factory but he couldn’t find a document that I had promised I would take care of; he couldn’t find it because I forgot to do it. So, it reminded me of why I wanted to run this bar in the first place, it was so I could learn how to be a better businessman, but instead I was here having fun while my brother was carrying my responsibilities again.”

Seokjin’s voice broke at the end and he went quiet afterwards, breathing deeply. Hoseok and Yoongi exchanged concerned glances, and then simultaneously decided to take a step closer to Seokjin, but not too close to avoid startling him.

“Um…” Hoseok started, unsurely. “I don’t know the details about your family business and don’t want to intrude, but, it kind of sounds like you’re punishing yourself for having fun.”

“Or for having emotions.” Yoongi added. “You said that earlier, how you can’t separate business from personal relationships, well actually no one can. You work with people, and sometimes you grow feelings for them, good or bad.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could do this job while being detached from everyone”, Hoseok continued. “Actually, that was one of the reasons why I didn’t accept you at first.”

Seokjin and Yoongi turned to look at him with different types of disbelief written on their faces.

“You didn’t accept me at first?” Seokjin asked. “Why? Was I not good enough for you?”

“I didn’t say that!” Hoseok raised his hands defensively. “It’s just that I didn’t understand you! You were friendly one day and distant the next and you confused me. I didn’t know what kind of relationship you were trying to have.”

“I honestly didn’t want any kind of relationship, but like I said… I caught feelings.” Seokjin sighed. “Because of our social position, most of the relationships we have forged have been out of convenience, whether it’s friendships or romantic relationships, in the end everything is just business. Even though my brothers are younger, they’ve always been good at recognizing that, but not me. I fell in love with the girl I was engaged to, even if it was an arranged marriage just to merge our families’ companies, and all that happened was that we almost lost an important business partner and I got my heart broken.”

“And then you promised yourself to never love again, is that it?” Yoongi asked, but his tone wasn’t sarcastic, it was sympathetic instead.

“Damn right.” Seokjin answered, eyes widening comically. “But it wasn’t only that, though. Countless times I have become attached to people even though I know they’re not my real friends and I can’t really count on them. And now there’s this, you’re not my friends nor my lovers and you only talk to me and flirt with me out of convenience too, but I still got carried away and let you call me hyung and kiss me and here I am sharing overly personal stuff that you can use against me later, so clearly, I don’t learn from my mistakes.”

Hoseok tried not to smile because Seokjin was indeed sharing his pain, but he couldn’t help it. Even when discussing serious matters like those he still looked cute and funny, like someone who didn’t deserve to be in such a difficult position. “But you said you don’t really regret what happened that day, right? What about the other things? Do you regret having been in love or being a good friend even though your feelings weren’t mutual?”

“It’s just so complicated.” Seokjin shook his head. “I don’t regret the feeling of liking someone or the times we spend together, but the consequences always hurt, and it would be fair if they only hurt for me, but they always affect my family as well. That’s what I thought about that day, that if we kept going I could no longer be your boss and then someone would have to take care of this business and that someone would probably be Namjoon, as always. It’s as if every time I let my heart have something, my family, who I love the most, has to suffer a little in exchange. How twisted is that, huh?”

“Hella.” Yoongi answered, nodding emphatically. “If you put it that way, it sounds awful, but haven’t you considered that, maybe, ah, how do I put this gently? Maybe you’re a lot better at the ‘getting carried away’ part than you are at the ‘businessman’ part?”

Seokjin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, so Hoseok caught the idea and continued. “Yeah… I think you’re a lot more likable when you’re hyping up the shows or making snacks than when you’re randomly cutting expenses or demanding respect from us. I think you feel more genuine, too.”

“Wha-? But cutting expenses and demanding respect is part of being a bar owner!” Seokjin exclaimed. “If I don’t do that-”

“You might be happier?” Yoongi completed with a little smile. “Think about it, you’re setting yourself up for failure if you keep doing this. You already pushed us away, and it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the employees start becoming distant from you as well, some might even quit. Then you’ll break down and poor Namjoon will have to pick up the pieces again.”

“No. I promised him I’d take full responsibility this time.” Seokjin answered in a small voice. “I’m really trying, even if it means pushing away what I want, I will make this work.”

“How do you know it will work for real this time? What will make it different from the others?” Yoongi asked, fixing his narrowed gaze on him.

“Who are you? My high school counselor? This guy.” Seokjin laughed, uncomfortably moving away from Yoongi and closer to Hoseok. “I don’t know! I’m trying to figure it out here but you’re confusing me with all this rhetorical talk! I just wanna be a good bar owner!”

“Then drop the authoritarian boss act and just be yourself!” Yoongi raised his arms exasperatedly. “You suck at budgeting, God, it’s what I was trying to explain. Why don’t you let us take care of that as we always have?”

“Then what will I do?”

“Be you!” Hoseok added. “Wear stupid hats and shake your ass to ambience music and make sure everyone has a good time.”

“How is that going to help me be a better businessman?” Seokjin asked, raising his voice.

“You’ll be in a good mood, you’ll help everyone have a good time, employees and customers alike will love you.” Yoongi answered with a shrug. “Seokjin-ssi, you’re really bad at budgeting and making big changes, but you obviously love this place. The previous owner didn’t even come here even though he created the bar, but you’re here every night without fail, you know everybody’s names and you’re interested in what we do. I think that’s your true strength.”

“Well, I do like to make people have fun.” Seokjin admitted. “And I mean, it’s a gay bar, so of course everyone should have a good time.”

“Yeah, you’re our valuable moodmaker. Yoongi-hyung, Jungkookie and I can handle the finances, but only you can keep up everyone’s morale by being yourself.” Hoseok added.

“Alright… Yeah, yeah, you’re right, you’re completely right.” Seokjin nodded. “Anyone can handle numbers, but no one’s beauty can be as comforting as mine.”

“…Sure, that’s what we meant.” Hoseok conceded after a few seconds of silence. “This time you’ll succeed because you’re naturally good at making others happy.”

“This time will be different because the things you considered a distraction will actually be your new goal, so you can put all your energy into them.” Yoongi added.

Seokjin fell silent for a few seconds, processing their words, before he started yelling again. “I’ll do it! I’m going to make everyone have such a great time that they’ll never want to leave!”

“Yeah!” Hoseok raised his arms happily. This was the Seokjin he liked.

“And I’ll raise the morale of my employees at the same time! Not their paychecks ‘cause that isn’t my job!”

“Yay!” Yoongi raised a tiny fist in celebration.

“And I’ll catch feelings for whoever the hell I want!”

“Yeah?” Hoseok asked, confused.

“Yeah! From now on I’ll just follow my heart and make myself and everyone around me happy. Isn’t that my true strength?” He asked, smiling goofily at Yoongi as he threw his own words back to him.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, but Hoseok could notice from his body language that he was completely relaxed. After knowing him for years, he could read him easily, but he felt as if he was starting to learn to read Seokjin too, despite knowing him for such a short time. Yoongi and Seokjin were totally different, and yet in Hoseok’s eyes, they were both hardheaded and so easy to love.

“Now that that’s settled, can we please close for today? I’m exhausted.” Yoongi said after a few seconds. “I’ll look into the expenses thing tonight and reverse all your dumb decisions.”

“Oh! Right, we’re already past closing time. My brothers and I are waiting to be picked up, so you can go ahead and leave.” Seokjin said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay then, see you tonight, Seokjin-ssi.” Hoseok waved with a smile, reaching out to hold Yoongi’s hand.

“That’s Jin-hyung for you. And you.” Seokjin answered, pointing at him and then at Yoongi. “For real. I won’t take it back.”

“Promise.” Yoongi challenged, raising his pinky finger.

“Promise.” Seokjin held his gaze as he locked their pinkies together.

Yoongi nodded in silence, then waved off as well as they left the storage room. Hoseok hummed happily, waving goodbye to everyone as they left: Taehyung and Jimin were no longer sucking face but still sitting very close together and laughing at something on Taehyung’s phone, while Namjoon and Jungkook were finally sitting at the same table and talking.

“Ah, the magic’s still alive even after closing hours, hyung,” were Hoseok’s words as he and Yoongi left the bar.

Namjoon, who had been chit-chatting animatedly with Jungkook for a while now, abruptly cut off his monologue as he heard those words. “The magic? Does he mean the shows?”

“Uh… I don’t think so. I think he’s talking about um, the romance.” Jungkook answered, scratching his cheek. So far, he seemed to have returned to be the introverted young man that Namjoon had first met at the police station, who was so different from the singer of the bar.

“The romance…? Oh, you mean…?” Namjoon gestured with his head towards Taehyung and Jimin.

Jungkook nodded. “They met here at the bar after all, so they’ve kinda become a symbol of ‘come find love at El Mariachi’ or something.”

“Ah, I see. That’s cute.” Namjoon smiled. “I have met some of Taehyung’s ex-boyfriends, but I had never seen him so happy and comfortable with anyone. It’s like they fit perfectly.”

“Yeah… Jiminie-hyung is very happy as well, he says he found his soulmate, which makes me a little jealous to be honest.” Jungkook chuckled. “But Tae-hyung is really cool too. He tries to include me in their conversations and remembers stuff I’ve said I like, so he buys me banana milk when he invites me over to play video games with them every now and then. He’s a good person.”

“He really is.” Namjoon replied, glancing over at his little brother with affection. “I’m glad he met you guys, he was feeling really lonely in this town and well, I feel like I’ve been neglecting him a lot since I’m always busy. You’ve visited our house a few times, right?”

Jungkook nodded. “Not as often as Jiminie, of course, but yeah, a few times.”

“I have never seen you though. I’ve talked to Jimin sometimes, but I hadn’t talked to you since the night of the arrest. It’s weird, isn’t it? One of my brothers is dating your friend and the other one is your boss, and yet the two of us have only met once.”

Jungkook avoided his gaze, looking down at his hands which were playing with the strings of his hoodie. He really was a complete contrast to the Jungkook that had been performing several shows last night, but that didn’t change anything for Namjoon; he was still determined to ask him the question that had been eating him away since the night of the reopening when he first heard him sing.

“Which is really unfortunate, because I’ve been wanting to talk to you for so long.” Namjoon continued, watching as Jungkook seemed to freeze on the spot. “I’ve come to the bar a few times a week, but you always disappear right after your shows, so we hadn’t been able to talk until today, and only because we all stayed past closing time.”

“Well… the shows are only one of the things I do, I’m very busy around here, so”. Jungkook replied in a small voice, seemingly sinking into himself. He suddenly looked scared, so Namjoon quickly examined his recent words to see if he could have intimidated him somehow.

“I’m sorry, that kind of sounded like I’ve been stalking you or something like that. I’m sorry.” He tried to back off. “I just really wanted to ask you something, and normally I wouldn’t intrude, but, it’s something that has to do with me personally, so I wanted--”

“This is about the songs, isn’t it?” Jungkook raised his voice a little, but he still didn’t meet his eyes.

“Yes.” Namjoon answered. “I don’t want any misunderstandings, okay? I’m not upset and I’m not going to ask you to stop singing them or anything, I’m just intrigued, I guess… yeah, I guess intrigued is the right word. Taehyung told me that he gave you the book because you had already read most of the poems, and Jimin said you made them into songs a long time ago, so, how…? When…? Why…?”

Namjoon closed his mouth to stop himself from rambling any further. He was usually a very eloquent person, but he had never had a conversation similar to this one, so he didn’t even know how to put his ideas together.

Jungkook scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat before taking a deep breath, suddenly turning to face him. “Um. When I was younger, I saw the poems on a blog. I was going through really, really bad times then, and… sometimes I searched for words online, you know? Just trying to figure out how to put into words what I was feeling or to see if there was another way to describe the combination of sadness and emptiness and anger that I felt, and I stumbled upon RM’s blog.”

Jungkook paused and looked down again, but the determined expression on his face told Namjoon that he wasn’t done talking, so he gave him time to continue. “I read this one poem called ‘Always’ and it hit something inside of me. It was very… very much like I was feeling at the time, and even though it’s not a happy poem, it made me feel understood. So I read the others, there were already several of them. I read one after another, and um… it was as if that author felt what I felt, but he knew how to say it so beautifully. There were poems about life, about isolation and about love, and some of them were very dark while others were more comforting, but they were all like pieces of a bigger story.”

Namjoon listened in silence, recalling the time when he first started that blog, how he had been feeling back then and how he thought it was impossible to talk to others about his emotions, because he was always the responsible, reliable and diligent Namjoon, the one who had his life figured out, and he couldn’t betray the expectations that they had for him, so he had started writing under a pseudonym, still unsure if anyone was reading or not, if anyone could understand him.

“So I started following,” Jungkook continued. “Updates were regular but they weren’t always poems, sometimes they were personal posts; I liked those too, because I liked getting to know more about this person and his reflections on life. And well… I kept following until the blog disappeared, but by that time I had already turned some of the poems into songs, so I was able to memorize them.”

Something about the tone in Jungkook’s voice told Namjoon that he was done answering his questions, but he had no idea how to respond to that. He got the answers he wanted, yes, but it felt overwhelming. Jungkook had been a regular reader, he liked his poems enough to memorize them, and he sympathized with his feelings; and somehow, life had managed to bring them face to face under unusual circumstances. He wanted to thank him and tell him how humbled he was that he had chosen his poems to sing with his beautiful voice, but he didn’t know how to phrase that without overstepping some boundaries.

They barely knew each other, after all, and yet Jungkook knew so much about him, about things that many of his former classmates and even his ex partners never knew about. He supposed that was the reason why he felt overwhelmed; Jungkook knew his heart while he barely knew the basics about him, so maybe that needed to be fixed.

“I see.” He tried to answer calmly. “Thank you for answering my questions, and… I really hope we’ll be able to talk more often from now on. I’d like to be your friend, if that’s okay with you, of course.”

Jungkook made the expression of a deer caught in headlights for a few seconds before clearing his throat and answering nonchalantly. “Yeah, that would be okay with me.”

Namjoon smiled, feeling a lot lighter and yet more curious than before.

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

When he took the job several years ago, he had expected it to be a temporary thing, just another one of many part time jobs to guarantee his survival until he graduated. He didn’t anticipate that he’d end up finding his true home and the chance to fulfill his dreams.

Min Yoongi was often described as a genius by everyone around him. Proving to be musically gifted from a very young age, he was also an honor student and good at sports, so most people believed him to be almost guaranteed to succeed; however, things never came easy for him, and it was precisely because things were never easy, that he felt even more motivated to keep working hard. Yoongi refused to settle for anything, he was determined to achieve everything, to make it big in business as well as in music, which was the reason why he continued studying ambitiously and composing new music even after he had to leave his family’s home and his beloved piano behind.

Having to stay at friends’ houses, balancing his after school hours between shitty part-time jobs and spending time with Hoseok in the school’s music room, trying not to succumb to his mother’s pleads to go back home… to say that Yoongi struggled would be an understatement. But, as it always happens, the stars become visible in the darkest sky, and likewise, when Hoseok got him the chance to literally make music for a living, he thought at least he’d have an enjoyable temporary job. Little did he suspect back then that he’d stay at the job even after graduating high school and well into university, that he’d have a chance to also put into practice the management skills he learned in his online classes, that he would make friends for life, earn money for dancing with his partner and later on meet the family that would turn his world upside down, shake it up yet make it better.

El Mariachi ended up becoming his home, the place he naturally found himself at, where he fit , where he could be unapologetically himself with all his sides and all his contradictions. He didn’t admit it out loud, but the time he spent under police custody, then waiting for Hoseok to be released as well, and then pacing around impatiently, uncertain of whether the bar would close or not, was the most depressing period of his life.

At first, he had mentally blamed Taehyung for bringing the police to them, but as the days passed he realized that they would have found themselves in bigger trouble whether the shooter had ended up dying because of the head injury that could have been easily traced back to Hoseok and the bar; or if he survived and decided to take revenge on any of them; so he was able to forgive Taehyung and even feel grateful to him. Of course, Yoongi never explicitly thanked him, but he showed his gratitude by greeting him as an old friend when they reunited, something that seemed to surprise Taehyung at first but that he was able to reciprocate easily afterwards.

They developed a sort of comfortable friendship over time, especially after Taehyung practically made a home for himself in the bar as well; besides, he was the only one who could roast Seokjin in public without fearing repercussions, so he quickly earned Yoongi’s respect and appreciation.

On the other hand, Seokjin had been a completely different case: while Yoongi originally saw him as a saving grace for buying the bar and letting everyone keep their jobs, he came to resent him for the changes he tried to implement, as well as for not accepting the shift in their relationship. They were able to work it out in the end (he, Seokjin and Hoseok) when Seokjin accepted their idea to focus on what he was best at, adding a brand new energy to the bar and to their lives. After that, it was hard to remember how things used to be back when Seokjin wasn’t the owner, or when he wasn’t theirs .

When Yoongi and Hoseok became a couple all those years ago, the transition from their friendship to a romantic bond had been so seamless and natural that he thought it had been a once in a lifetime kind of event, further proven by the fact that none of the other people either of them dated could stick around for too long, whereas their love remained solid through time. Neither one of them was willing to abandon the other for anyone else, and they realized that other people usually didn’t agree with that condition unless it was just for a short-lived hookup, which was what they got most of the time. That was fine with them though, because it saved them from potential heartbreak or wasted feelings.

Of course, that had been before Seokjin came along. Seokjin with his goofy laugh and his attention to detail, with his breathtaking beauty and his encouraging words for everyone, with the ridiculous nicknames he used for them (Hobi, Yoongicchi and Seokjinie) and the easy way he made fun of himself just to make everyone feel more comfortable. Seokjin who he wanted to smack just as often as he wanted to kiss, who he helped with snacks with the excuse of having to supervise him although the truth was he simply enjoyed the action of cooking together. Seokjin who both he and Hoseok had failed to hook up with, thankfully, because their intentions back then had been selfish and Seokjin didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

Things got a lot better after their honest talk. Seokjin stopped supervising the finances and started getting more involved with other aspects. He encouraged Hoseok’s creativity with drinks, Jimin’s ideas for new dances and Yoongi and Jungkook’s adjustments to old songs. He also took over the kitchen, moving the employee who was previously in charge of preparing snacks to work as Hoseok’s apprentice, something they were both delighted with. It was like a new start, and just as it had happened with Hoseok, Yoongi was naturally drawn to Seokjin as if he had always belonged in their lives, but he probably didn’t realize it until he found himself enthusiastically helping Seokjin get ready for his first date with Hoseok.

Through the entire course of their relationship, Yoongi and Hoseok had met some of each other’s dates and hookups, some of which they had shared, but they never cared about the before or after of them. In other words, it was never any of Yoongi’s business what some guy thought of Hoseok or where he went after sleeping with him, as long as Hoseok was happy; but that was another thing that had changed once Seokjin came along, because the first time Seokjin finally allowed himself to get something good without fear of anything bad coming out of it, he asked Hoseok out, and then immediately went up to Yoongi to ask for advice on what he should wear and where he should take him.

And normally no one would have even dared to do such a thing and Yoongi would have flipped them off if they did, but he ended up helping him rather happily. He was happy, because he loved Hoseok and he really, really liked Seokjin, so he wanted their date to go well. So, when Hoseok brought Seokjin to the apartment he shared with Yoongi after their date, he took it as a sign that it had gone more than well, and according to their matching bright expressions, it had, but unexpectedly, instead of Seokjin asking Hoseok out again, he asked Yoongi.

And that was the course that things had taken ever since. Seokjin accepted that they were undividable; in fact, he was drawn to their relationship as much as he was to them as individuals, and unlike people from their past, he stuck by their side, becoming part of them just as easily as he had become part of the bar. He knew when to hold Yoongi’s hand without having to be told, knew when to give him space and when to take it. While Hoseok tended to shower Yoongi in physical affection and made him feel cared for, Seokjin relied on his judgment and made him feel needed. It was a perfect balance, and he didn’t need to say that out loud either, because they both knew it.

When Yoongi finally graduated from university (which took longer than intended, since he lost a semester after the arrest and everything that followed) he tried not to make a big deal about it, but of course he couldn’t trust his boyfriends and his close friends not to throw a surprise party for him. He knew that something was up because Hoseok was especially cheerful while getting ready for work, but when they arrived to the bar and Hoseok pretended that they were the first ones to get there, he knew for sure. As expected, once he turned on the first light switch, he heard the recorded music that played during the dance shows, and also as expected, his friends and coworkers came out from backstage and performed the choreography he had seen a million times.

“I’m not leaving tips for any of you, so don’t work too hard.” He joked, arms crossed but gummy smile on full display. He watched the routine go as usual, except of course, for his and Hoseok’s couple dance. In fact, Hoseok had disappeared as soon as they had entered the bar, which made Yoongi extremely suspicious that something Weird and Unnecessary was about to happen.

As the choreography ended still without a trace of Hoseok, Yoongi decided to take a seat at one of the bar stools and brace himself for whatever ridiculous surprise was waiting for him, but the dancers went backstage and he found himself alone in the dark, like an idiot. “Yah, what’s going on? Did Jin-hyung turn the bar into a house of horrors? I mean with this decor it was horrible already, but--”

The soft melody of a piano interrupted his sentence –and his thoughts, and even his heart- and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Then, the light from the spot where he usually played was switched on, but instead of the bar’s piano he knew so well, there was a player piano, and half laying over it dramatically, there was Seokjin, wearing a t-shirt that had Yoongi’s face and CONGRATULATIONS printed on it.

“ Why ” Yoongi muttered under his breath, rubbing his face with one hand.

Then, Hoseok appeared from backstage, wearing the exact same t-shirt and holding a microphone, which he ceremoniously handed to Seokjin. Yoongi rubbed his face with both hands as he let out a noise of frustration and embarrassment. As he feared, Seokjin began to sing, but contrary to what he feared, he actually… sounded good? Beyond good, actually. His voice was a bit strained as it was obvious that he was nervous, even though Yoongi and Hoseok were his only audience, but he still sounded great. Yoongi noticed the way Seokjin turned to look at Hoseok as if asking for support or feedback, getting two thumbs up and a bright smile as a response, and Yoongi couldn’t help mirroring the expression from his place, embarrassment giving way to pride.

Seokjin started singing louder, more confidently then, while Hoseok started dancing a routine that Yoongi was not familiar with and that he had no idea when he had the time to practice, both looking at him as they performed this act together, only for him. Soon enough, Yoongi understood the meaning of the performance: back in the days when he and Hoseok were still in high school, still figuring out who they were and who they wanted to be, they made music together, Yoongi playing while Hoseok danced. Back then, they didn’t perform for anyone but themselves, but now… now Seokjin was part of their world too, so the show wasn’t really just for Yoongi, it was for the three of them.

Once he understood the message, he stood up and walked towards the piano, deactivating the player mechanism and taking a seat to play it himself, as it should be. Seokjin changed his position so he could lie back on the piano completely, his head tossed back over the keys as he sang his lungs out. Hoseok, who had also rotated so he could face the two of them, missed a few steps when he couldn’t contain his laughter.

“ Congratulatioooooons, Yoongicchi~ ” Seokjin sang, improvising to the melody that Yoongi was making up. “ Hobi and I love you very muuuuuch~ ”

How blunt and casual. Yoongi lowered his head, pretending to concentrate on the keys he was playing, trying to hide the blush of his cheeks from view.

“You’re off-key.” He mumbled in response to Seokjin’s song.

“So are you.” Hoseok pointed out in a cheerful tone. Yoongi tried to glare at him, but instead it must have come out as a pout, for Hoseok cooed and stumbled on his feet, causing Seokjin to laugh his irritating but absolutely necessary windshield-wiper laugh into the microphone, and soon the three of them were simply laughing together.

It was a mess, they were a mess and that should be a bad sign but nothing had ever felt so right for Yoongi.

After that, the rest of the staff came back, both to congratulate him and to remind them that they actually had to open the bar in a few minutes. Seokjin and Hoseok wore their matching t-shirts during the entire night, though, and at the end of it Yoongi learned that the player piano was actually Seokjin’s graduation present from him. There was no way it would fit in his and Hoseok’s tiny apartment, so Seokjin promised to keep it in his house, where he was welcome to play as often as he wanted. Of course, that was a smooth tactic to get him to visit more often, but it worked.

‘Jam dates’ became routine for the three of them, especially after Seokjin started showing a more serious interest in learning about music theory, harmonies, and other things that Yoongi and Hoseok were eager to teach him. In exchange, Seokjin got Yoongi an interview at his family’s factory, clarifying that he wasn’t going to guarantee him a job position only because he was his boyfriend; he would simply give him the chance to be interviewed. Yoongi had initially refused, but after evaluating his options, he realized that the factory was probably the only place where he could truly learn something meaningful for his Business career without having to leave the town, so he agreed to go to the interview in the end.

Yoongi had met Kim Namjoon before, sure. First he had seen him as a customer who went to the bar every now and then and never stayed for too long but tipped everyone generously. Soon enough, he had learned that he was Seokjin’s other brother. He had met Kim Namjoon a few times at Seokjin’s place, on rare occasions when Namjoon happened to be home. He seemed nicer than Seokjin, at least, and definitely more responsible, but who wasn’t? However, Yoongi had never met businessman Kim Namjoon until he went to the job interview that day.

Seokjin, Namjoon and Taehyung were all supposed to co-manage the factory, but it was obvious that Namjoon was the only one who knew exactly what was going on in their family business at all times. At first glance, it would have been easy to conclude that Namjoon was the most passionate about their grandiose textile company, but at that point Yoongi knew that Seokjin was actually the one who really loved it the most, and he was frustrated about not having the necessary skills to take over it.

Namjoon, on the other hand… his heart definitely belonged somewhere else, anywhere but there, judging by the amount of bonsai trees and inspirational quotes over nightscape backgrounds that adorned his office, and also by the poems he used to write, which Yoongi had also managed to memorize after listening to Jungkook sing them every night and day. Namjoon projected the image of someone who knew exactly what he was doing, something that probably instilled a sense of trust in their employees and clients, but that was easy to see through for someone like Yoongi who had collected enough information about him to form a different opinion.

Either way, Namjoon seemed to be in dire need of help, and Yoongi was in dire need of putting his diploma to use, so it was a mutually beneficial opportunity. Even though Yoongi wasn’t technically in charge of administrative work at the bar, he had plenty of experience as well as the attitude of someone who worked towards getting things done, both qualities that Namjoon seemed to appreciate. It seemed that just as Yoongi didn’t have many available work options, Namjoon didn’t have many qualified candidates, so Yoongi was given the chance to start working half time, as some kind of paid internship directly supervised by Namjoon.

The pay wasn’t extraordinary but it was pretty good, and Namjoon was considerate enough to give him the afternoon shift, so he could shower and get a few hours of sleep after leaving the bar in the morning. Yoongi’s boyfriends made it easy for him to get into his new routine: Hoseok forced him to get sufficient sleep and gave him pep talks while waiting for Seokjin –who always pretended to faint at the sight of him wearing glasses and tucked-in shirts- to pick him up. In order to prevent trouble, Seokjin worked in the mornings instead, then picked Yoongi up in the evenings with Hoseok and milkshakes.

The bar was doing well which meant lots of work. The factory, despite also requiring lots of work, was not doing so well, which stressed Namjoon to no end. Yoongi didn’t know exactly how many hours a week the guy was clocking in, but he never seemed to take a day off. On the other hand, Taehyung would sometimes show up in the office with coffee and pastries, asking if they needed help with anything, but Namjoon would pat his head and tell him not to worry and to go have fun with Jimin, which seemed to make Taehyung plain sad instead.

Yoongi knew that he was in no position to judge, but it was very clear to him why things at the factory weren’t working as expected; everything was just plain wrong. Seokjin was enthusiastic but plain bad at business, Namjoon had business skills but didn’t know how to delegate, and Taehyung was treated as a child who was always out of place. Seokjin had told him that opening that factory was their father’s decision and that at first he had seen it as an opportunity to finally prove himself, but that he wasn’t clear about how long they were supposed to manage it, especially now that it wasn’t going so well. Seokjin also told him that, ideally, he would like his father to leave him in charge of it and for his brothers to do whatever they wanted with their lives.

In short, neither one of the Kim brothers was getting what he wanted. Yoongi understood how that felt because he and Hoseok, as well as Jimin and Jungkook, had experienced awful, awful times when their lives seemed to be going in the opposite direction than they intended. However, as much as he wanted to help, he was only a new employee… Well, at least at the factory.

In the bar, things were completely different. He didn’t even see Seokjin as a boss, especially since they started publicly dating and no one objected to it; he saw him as an equal, as part of the team. At the bar, Taehyung was Jimin’s boyfriend as well as a loyal customer, an easygoing person who dyed his hair every week and who voluntarily helped out the staff with a smile, contrary to the factory’s Taehyung who felt useless. And Namjoon… was an occasional customer who very obviously only showed up to see the singer’s show, which really shouldn’t even be Yoongi’s problem but it bothered him tremendously because Jungkook’s usually solid stage presence went down the drain every time Namjoon watched him.

Yoongi wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed, considering that the rest of the staff was on break during the singer’s show, but since he did the piano accompaniment for Jungkook, he could see from up close how stiff he became and how instead of using the entire stage and looking at his whole audience as usual, Jungkook would stand rooted to a single spot and either look in the direction of table 1 or at his own feet. The first time it happened, Yoongi had gotten worried, but since Jungkook was back to normal the next show, he decided to let it go. A couple of nights later, it happened again, and once more the following week, but by that time Yoongi had already figured out the pattern.

“You have a crush on Kim Namjoon.” He had concluded that time after the show, when he and Jungkook went backstage for their break.

“Ha- Me? What? You’re crazy, hyung.” Jungkook had answered, laughing nervously. “We’re friends.”

“Since when?”

“Some time ago.” He shrugged, stiffly. “That time he stayed until the morning, we talked and he said he’d like to be friends, so we are. Friends.”

“Okay…” Yoongi said, unconvinced. “I haven’t seen you get so nervous when performing in front of your other friends, though.”

“What? That’s not true. Remember the first time Jimin told you and Hoseokie-hyung that I liked to sing, and you asked me to sing something? I cried. Of course I get nervous. We’re friends.”

“Right, but you were only a baby back then. You don’t cry anymore. Anyway, I’m glad you’re friends, it must be like a dream come true for you.”

Yoongi patted his shoulder. Jungkook blushed and stuttered out something unintelligible, but Yoongi didn’t want to keep embarrassing him any further.

That had been some time ago, before Yoongi graduated and before he started working with Namjoon, and since then, Jungkook hadn’t stopped being nervous and Namjoon hadn’t stopped leaving immediately after his shows and Yoongi hadn’t stopped being irrationally annoyed by it.

“He’s an idiot, but you know who’s even worse?” He asked Hoseok on a regular Friday night, when he felt like spending his break sitting on a stool, taking a few shots of vodka and distracting Hoseok at his job. It had been a long week at the factory and at the bar, and vodka always made him more talkative.

“Well, considering I’ve spent the past 6 minutes listening to you rant about Jungkook, I guess it’s me. I’m the worse idiot.” Hoseok answered with a bored expression, serving him another shot.

“No.” Yoongi raised a finger to maintain the suspense as he gulped down the shot, slamming his hand on the counter when he felt it burning his throat. “Kim Namjoon.”

Hoseok didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised by his dramatic reveal. “You speak that way about your boss?”

“No.” Yoongi shook his head. “No, no, no. He’s only my boss Monday through Friday, from 1 to 6pm. The rest of the time he’s our brother in-law.”

That did cause Hoseok’s face to twist in simultaneous confusion, horror and realization. “Oh fuck, why would you say something so unsettling yet so true?”

“Do you see it now?” Yoongi raised his arms above his head, but then forgot what he was going to do with them. “He’s worse than Jungkookie, ‘cause, he tells him he wants to be friends, but then doesn’t give him his number, doesn’t hang out with him, doesn’t do anything friendly, just comes here every now and then to make him nervous and then leaves. Who does that, huh?”

“Perhaps… busy people?” Hoseok suggested, completely missing the point. “You know how Jin-hyung always says that Namjoon is the one who carries the factory on his shoulders, and now that you work with him you also say that he practically lives there, so, the fact that he finds the time to come see Jungkook at least a couple of times every week must mean that he values his friendship.”

“That’s the thing, that’s why he’s an idiot.” Yoongi lowered his arms, they were starting to ache. “He could have more time to hang out with him if only he learned to let go of the burdens that make him miserable.”

“Well, I haven’t heard Jungkook complain about it, so why do you care?”

“I do not care about it, you just don’t understand.” Yoongi held up his glass again. “I spend 20 hours a week with Namjoon, and the singer’s shows as well as my breaks with Jungkook, and do you know what I have to put up with? Sighing.”

“Sighing?” Hoseok asked curiously.

“Do you know what kind of people sighs? Pining people.” Yoongi took another sip, coughing a little afterwards. Hoseok’s specialty was getting people wasted quickly and efficiently. “Pining people sigh so much, and I’m the one who has to witness all of it. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Are you sure?” Hoseok’s eyes widened, as he finally seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation. “People also sigh when they’re tired, or when they’re disappointed, or--”

“Remember how we sighed when we were pining after Jin-hyung? It’s like that.”

Hoseok gasped and covered his mouth while Yoongi nodded. “But wait, how do you know they’re not pining after different people? They don’t even know each other that well, do they?”

“They’re both idiots.” Yoongi repeated. “Namjoon is Jungkook’s lifelong idol; he gets so nervous around him that he avoids him as much as possible. And Namjoon literally only comes here to see him but it’s like a platonic thing, like he’s seeing him on TV and not in person. Then, when the show’s over Jungkook spends the rest of the night sighing, and Namjoon does the same thing the next day. It’s so irritating; it’s threatening my mental health.”

Hoseok fell silent for a moment as Yoongi took another sip, and then spoke sternly. “Should we ban Namjoon? I could tell him he’s distracting our singer, or I could ask Jin-hyung to tell him ‘Hey bro, you’re my flesh and blood but your sighing is annoying my man, so beat it. Scram’.”

“No, God, who even speaks like that? You two have got to stop watching those old gang musicals.” Yoongi made a sour face that had little to do with the drink. “I was thinking more along the lines of enabling them to talk again or at least exchange phone numbers so they can interact more and sigh less.”

“Oh! What is this? This is the first time I see you playing matchmaker.” Hoseok laughed. “You really must have a soft spot for them.”

“Hey, don’t misunderstand, this is for the sake of my sanity only.” The heat on Yoongi’s face also had little to do with the drink. “And well… you know, it’s our little lamb we’re talking about.”

The truth was, of course, that it wasn’t only about the sighing, but there was no need for Yoongi to clarify that because Hoseok knew him well enough. In short, Yoongi was unable to watch people around him suffer if he could help it, probably because he wouldn’t have survived the last year of high school if it hadn’t been for the help from his friends, Hoseok’s sister, and Hoseok himself. He knew that loneliness was a rival and so did Hoseok, which was the reason why they took in Jimin and Jungkook 3 years ago when they had no one else to rely on.

Now, they were relatively stable and safe, but Jungkook didn’t have a day job nor had he gone back to school, and he didn’t have other friends aside from his coworkers at the bar, so El Mariachi had become his whole world, even though it was only supposed to be a temporary situation so he could get enough money to pursue his dreams. Similarly, Yoongi had noticed that Namjoon’s entire life revolved around the factory and his brothers, as he didn’t seem to have any other connections and according to Seokjin, he had to put his dreams on hold for an undefined amount of time.

However, what Namjoon could have never anticipated was that he would end up meeting the one person who supported his dreams silently and in the distance, that he’d be reminded of those dreams through this person’s efforts to keep his poems alive. Jungkook on the other hand, could have never anticipated that he’d meet the author who made him feel understood and comforted through the difficult years of his life. So Namjoon’s occasional visits to Jungkook’s shows were a lot more than they seemed on the surface, as demonstrated by all the sighing that followed.

Each one of them was trapped between 4 walls that they created themselves with loyalty to their loved ones and their own idiocy, and Yoongi refused to stand by idly watching them suffer. Factory worker Yoongi might not have been able to do much, but veteran pianist Yoongi certainly could; he just needed a little help from his boyfriends.

Jungkook returned backstage after his first show of the night, focusing on calming down his beating heart as he carefully removed his performance outfit, a delicate and certainly expensive three-piece suit that Seokjin got tailor-made for everyone in different colors to make the shows more visually appealing. It had turned out to be a good investment since they were receiving higher tips than ever, but they also had to be more careful with keeping them in good conditions. As he folded the suit and changed back into his own clothes to keep doing his storage/backstage assistant job, he sighed, thinking about the person who had gone to see his show again, the person he looked up to, his friend who made him feel too many things at once.

When Jungkook was a sad and broken teenager who had lost his family, RM was the coolest person in the world. Jungkook didn’t know what he looked like, but if he wasn’t lying in his personal posts, he was a guy living in Seoul, desperately trying to understand the world around him, in love with nature, pansexual (Jungkook had to look up that term and had been fascinated ), who had his heart broken a few times, not only by romantic partners but by the world he loved.

RM never specified his age but Jungkook assumed he had to be older than him (he was so wise) although he definitely had to be still young (he had too many questions about himself to be a full adult), and he was so, so cool, had such an easy way with words and recommended cool music and wrote complex, stunning poems, and maybe Jungkook had a tiny little platonic crush on him back then… and maybe he had felt so small and broken and powerless back then that he didn’t dare to leave a comment on his blog telling him how cool he was and how grateful he was for his words.

One day the blog disappeared and Jungkook mourned it, cried for all the things he never said, felt guilty for not reaching out to RM before. Jimin suggested that maybe his poems were going to get published so they couldn’t be available for free online anymore, and Jungkook held on to that hope, but he still didn’t stop singing the songs he had made out of them, thinking that it would be alright. There was no way a published author would know about an amateur singer performing his poems in a small town’s gay bar…

Jungkook should have known that destiny was real. He was now 18 years old, not as sad and a little less broken, with a family he had found in his hyungs, and RM was still the coolest person in the world. Jungkook finally knew what he looked like, certainly much more handsome than he imagined (he just didn’t think it was realistic for someone to be beautiful on top of being intelligent and sensible, but go figure), with a deep voice and equally deep dimples that only showed up when he smiled. RM was 3 years older than Jungkook, temporarily living and working in the same town as him, currently broken-hearted as he had to abandon his writing career for his family’s sake, something that Jungkook had learned from Taehyung when he let him keep the poetry book.

RM’s real name was Kim Namjoon, he was a rich company heir who worked hard and loved his family, and he was still incredibly cool, even though he no longer had time to study the world around him, much less write about it. Most importantly, he knew who Jungkook was, knew about the songs, and liked them. He occasionally attended Jungkook’s shows (just like now), took the first table (which was some kind of VIP table, but being the owner’s brother he could have it whenever he wanted), and waved at him with a shy smile, which was enough to make Jungkook lose his cool right there on the stage.

It wasn’t that Jungkook had a problem with him attending some of his shows, it was just incredibly embarrassing to sing the words he wrote back to him ; but at the same time he wanted to do those words justice, wanted RM -Namjoon, his name was Namjoon- to think he did well, which was an embarrassing thought too, so it affected his performance. Even so, after the show ended, instead of feeling relieved Jungkook felt empty and sad, secretly looking forward to the next time he’d see Namjoon again.

He sighed, crouching next to a box to start organizing supplies when his vision was blocked by a hand holding an orange drink in a tall glass.

“What is this?” He asked, looking up to see that the owner of the hand was Seokjin, who was offering the drink to him.

“Sex on the beach. A client ordered it for you.” Seokjin replied, wiggling his eyebrows. “Maybe he’s trying to send a message.”

“A client ordered it for me? They can do that?” Jungkook frowned in confusion, directing the question to Yoongi, who was resting on the couch as he often did during his breaks.

Jungkook had a few ‘fans’, some regular customers who yelled compliments and indecent proposals during his shows, some who threw money at him, occasional creeps who tried to get up on the stage to touch him, and of course, the Ultimate Creeps, the ones who tried to kidnap him or God knows what else the night they all ended up getting arrested. Just like that night, Yoongi tended to act as his personal security, so Jungkook found it very strange that he’d allow a client to buy him a drink, and it was weirder even that the bar owner would personally deliver it to him. However, Yoongi seemed to have fallen asleep, because he didn’t respond to Jungkook’s question.

“He’s not any client, you know? He’s a VIP one, so we allowed it.” Seokjin answered instead.

Jungkook frowned, having a bad feeling about the whole thing. “You’re messing with me. It’s not funny, Seokjin-ssi.”

“Wha-? I come all the way here like a stupid idiot to personally deliver this drink from our VIP client and you accuse me of messing with you? Why would I do that?” Seokjin asked, placing the drink on top of the box next to Jungkook.

“I don’t have time to play, I’m busy.” Jungkook said, avoiding eye contact with Seokjin. He was annoyed, because that ‘VIP client’ was obviously code for Namjoon, and even though he hadn’t explicitly told anyone about his feelings, Yoongi had inferred them before, and it wouldn’t be unlikely for Seokjin to use that information against Jungkook; after all, Jungkook did disrespect him a lot, so he kind of deserved it.

“I’m serious!” Seokjin exclaimed in an indignant tone. “Whatever. I’m just the messenger, my job here is done.”

Seokjin left the storage room looking upset, which made Jungkook doubt a little. Still, he eyed the drink suspiciously. Could it be true? Jungkook didn’t know if Namjoon was the kind of guy to buy drinks for his friends, or for performers he liked, or…

“You should respond to him, you know?” Yoongi mumbled. “When you buy a drink for someone you expect some kind of answer. You can either thank him or reject him by sending it back, but leaving him without a response is just rude.”

“I thought you were asleep.” Jungkook glared at him. “This is just a prank, isn’t it? Seokjin-ssi is just messing with me.”

“Could be.” Yoongi shrugged, eyes still closed. “I wouldn’t put it past him, but would Hoseok indulge him in it, though? Do you think Hoseok would prepare a whole Sex on the beach with such a pretty decoration knowing that it’s going to be used to deceive you?”

Jungkook thought about it for a moment. Seokjin was chaotic evil, but Hoseok was good, always nice and caring. “Probably not. So, um… if the client really sent it…”

“If you accept the drink, thank him. If you reject it, send it back.” Yoongi opened his eyes then. “Although, Jin-hyung already left, so you’ll have to reject him in person.”

“I don’t want to reject him.” Jungkook blurted out without thinking. “Ah, I mean… I’ll thank him. Okay, I’ll thank him.”

“You should hurry up on that though, he’s not gonna wait too long before interpreting your silence as a response.” Yoongi stretched a little like a kitten before closing his eyes again. “If you take a little sip of your drink while thanking him, that’ll make your gratitude more believable.”

Jungkook nodded and did as he was told, grabbing the glass and exiting the storage room. Taking a quick glance at table 1, he found it empty, which filled him with disappointment and a renewed conviction that Seokjin had indeed played a prank on him. However, from the corner of his eye he spotted Hoseok waving wildly at him from behind the bar counter, and, sitting on a stool facing towards Jungkook’s direction, there was Namjoon, also waving, a bit more timidly.

Jungkook waved back, stiffly, just enough to let them know that he saw them, and as the anxiety built up everywhere in his body, he willed his legs to take him to his VIP client, willed his face to remain neutral and cool as he approached the person he admired the most. No one paid him any mind; in his regular, baggy clothes he looked like another customer, not at all like the mysterious attractive singer who vanished after every show. But, the first time he had met Namjoon, he looked like his regular self, so of course he would always be able to recognize him.

As Jungkook neared the counter he realized that Namjoon had an identical drink, which meant that Seokjin wasn’t playing with him, which made him feel even more nervous.

“Hey, Jungkook!” Namjoon greeted as Jungkook took a seat next to him. “Thanks for the drink.”

Jungkook tilted his head in confusion, but figured he had meant ‘thanks for accepting the drink’, so he raised his glass, replying with “I’m the one who’s grateful”, before taking a sip as Yoongi instructed him.

“O-oh.” Was Namjoon’s only verbal response as he looked down into his own glass with a little smile. What did that mean? What was Jungkook supposed to do now? Keep drinking? Keep talking? Run away?

Thankfully, Hoseok intervened instead. “So, Namjoon here was telling me wonderful things about you, I think he’s your biggest fan.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I’m the biggest but I’m definitely a fan.” Namjoon replied, smile growing as he made eye contact with Jungkook, who was screaming internally. How could he say those things so easily, while Jungkook could barely survive being in the same room? “If I could, I’d come to every show.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened, unsure if the surprise was pleasant or not. Having Namjoon at every show would be so flattering yet terrifyingly intimidating at the same time.

“That must be great news for Jungkookie, because he’s also your biggest fan.” Hoseok added, casually resting his face on his hands. Namjoon smiled again and Jungkook held onto his glass for dear life. “You should exchange autographs, ha ha!”

“Jungkook-ssi, please sign this for me.” Namjoon joked, handing him a napkin. Jungkook laughed along, unsure of how else to respond. “In all seriousness, I’m very flattered that you chose my poems. You could be singing anything, but every time I come here and see you up there singing my words so beautifully, I become inspired by you.”

“Inspired?” Jungkook repeated out loud.

Namjoon nodded. “I haven’t written anything in a long time. I keep telling myself that it’s because I’m busy, but beyond that I guess I really haven’t been in the mood. I’m always tired, I go to bed with numbers and figures in my head, but when I come here to see you perform, it’s like all of that goes away. Everything else disappears when I listen to you sing, and when I go to sleep after the show is over, I’m able to dream again. I’ve even had some ideas that I’d like to write someday, but I don’t know, that inspiration doesn’t last for too long. That’s why I’d like to come here more often, if I did then maybe I’d be able to create again.”

“But RM-ssi, ah, I mean N-Namjoon-ssi--” Jungkook quickly corrected himself as he saw Hoseok snicker, even as he worked on an order for a client.

“You can just call me hyung. I’m your friend who’s a few years older than you, so hyung is fine.” Namjoon said, and Jungkook could swear he saw him wink before taking a sip from his drink.

“Uh… right. Namjoon-hyung.” He made a short pause to assemble his thoughts. “Namjoon-hyung, those words are all yours, you don’t need me to get inspiration.”

“Oh, so you don’t want me to keep coming to your shows?”

“No! I mean, yes! I mean, that’s not what I meant.” He tried to clarify as Namjoon laughed, all teeth and dimples and warmth.

“I’m kidding, I get what you meant.” Namjoon reassured him. Jungkook gulped down a large chug of his drink to reward himself for not passing out yet. “Even though the words are mine, they sound different when you sing them. I like my words a lot more when they come from your mouth, I guess… Well, I have to wake up early tomorrow and you have to get back to work, so again, thank you for the drink and for the rush of inspiration.”

There it was again, that contradictory mix of relief and emptiness that Jungkook felt every time Namjoon left his space.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” The words left his mouth before he could filter them.

Namjoon seemed surprised. “Oh, well, sure, I can try. I… don’t know what time I’ll leave the office, but I’ll do my best.”

“Jungkook is free during the day, you know?” Hoseok appeared by their side again. “He’s got a lot of free time.”

“Hyung.” Jungkook looked at Hoseok, cheeks warm from both alcohol and embarrassment. “He likes to hear me sing his poems, I doubt he wants to hang out with me.”

“Well, that’s not true.” Namjoon said. “I said I wanted to be your friend, so I’d really like to get to know you. The thing is… I don’t want to make plans if I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. I’d hate for you to waste your free time waiting for me, only for me to be unable to show up because something came up at work.”

Namjoon sighed bitterly before taking another sip. Jungkook nodded in understanding, and was about to tell him not to worry when Hoseok spoke again . “How about a Sunday afternoon? I doubt there’s a lot of activity on Sundays. If you really want something, you find the way to make it work. I mean, Yoongi-hyung has a full-time and a part-time job and he still finds the way to have two whole boyfriends, so you two can surely figure something out.”

This time Namjoon was the one to nod understandingly. “You’re right. And now that you mention Yoongi-ssi, he’s actually been of great help in the office. He’s very responsible and learns fast, so I wouldn’t have a problem with leaving him in charge one afternoon and leaving early.”

“There you have it!” Hoseok answered with a big smile. “More than enough time to hang out with Jungkookie, and if you need your date to extend till night hours, he’s free on Mondays; those are the only nights when we don’t have a singer.”

Namjoon looked at Jungkook again with bright eyes. “Yeah, I can make that work, but only if you want to.”

Did he want to? Did he want to spend time out there with Namjoon? Just the two of them? He would have to actually talk to him and show him who he really was under the veil of mystery that El Mariachi protected him with.

...But then again, their first meeting had been at a police station after he got arrested, so maybe Namjoon had already seen the worst of him.

“I want to.” He said simply, watching Namjoon’s smile grow, causing his own heart to start beating erratically.

Yoongi watched Jungkook return to the storage room with a silly little smile on his face and a napkin in his hand. He smirked to himself; the plan had worked. Finally, those two losers would stop sighing and he could stop suffering vicariously.

Someday, maybe in a year, he’d tell them the truth about how neither one of them had bought the drinks, that it was him who paid for them, Hoseok who made them extra sweet, and Seokjin who convinced each one that the other was treating. If they figured it out before then, Yoongi would deny his involvement, pinning the whole responsibility on his dumb, romantic boyfriends.

After all, who would ever believe him to be the matchmaking type?

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

A temporary rest stop turned into a temporary home, the truth underneath it remained the same.

Jeon Jungkook was a lot more than the enigmatic, charming singer he played at the bar, although sometimes he felt as if he was even less than that. When he first arrived at that town, all he had was his backpack, the Seoul jar, and of course, Jimin. Everything else had either been left back in Busan or buried deep in his heart, including his dreams of becoming a star and the memories of his mother.

It wasn’t that he never thought about it anymore, but since the day Hoseok made him tell him the reason why he and Jimin were on the run, he decided that it would be the last time he talked about his story out loud, not only because it was extremely painful but also because Jimin had done and sacrificed so much just to give him another chance to live, that the least he could do was try to smile and start over.

Needless to say, it wasn’t easy. For the first few months, while everyone else was at work Jungkook would stay home taking care of all the household chores and crying by himself. He had lost so much in such a short time, and there was no home for him to return to, no one in the world besides Jimin that he could call family. It had taken him a long time to finally start trusting Hoseok and Yoongi and start feeling that brotherly love towards them as well, and by the time he did, he was also crying less frequently and laughing a lot more.

He decided to turn the page over. What he had lost, was lost for good, but he had the opportunity to create a new future for himself in a new place. However, that didn’t come easy either, considering that not only Jimin, but Hoseok and Yoongi as well, had decided to protect him from everything and everyone to avoid causing him any more unnecessary pain. When he was still a minor, he was restricted from talking to anyone other than them, and after he started working at the bar, while he got along well with the rest of the staff, he had never allowed anyone else to get too close. Maybe all the things his hyungs warned him about were starting to get to him or maybe he had learned to protect himself, but either way, outside of El Mariachi, Jungkook was completely lonely.

That was why, even though it had never been his intention to stay at that town for so long, he had come to understand why El Mariachi was so popular, and he did his best to play the role he had been assigned, but when the music and lights were off, he went back to being just Jungkook, which sometimes felt like too much and other times like not enough.

“I went to your show last night.” Namjoon said, breaking off a piece of bread to toss it at some pigeons. They were sitting on a bench in the town’s square for the second time that week, because it was within walking distance from the factory where Namjoon worked (which he technically co-owned, though he never worded it that way) so it was pretty much the only way he could guarantee to be on time for their hangout date.

Not date date, because that would be absurd.

“I know, hyung, I was there.” He jokingly answered, watching attentively the way the pigeons approached them.

“Don’t make fun of me.” Namjoon chuckled. “You were amazing as always.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but feel elated at the compliment, no matter how frequently he heard it since he and Namjoon had become friends and started hanging out. He had always admired Namjoon, so receiving that kind of praise from him was something else.

“Thank you.” He said a bit shyly.

They fell silent after that, and even though Jungkook willed himself to just focus on the simple joy of feeding birds, his eyes kept going back to Namjoon’s face and wondering why he seemed so lost in thought. Over the course of the last few weeks during which they had started getting to know each other, Namjoon rarely ran out of words, to the point where he often apologized for talking too much, though Jungkook didn’t mind; Namjoon’s words were the first thing he loved about him.

“So, um... There’s something I’d like to ask you.” Namjoon suddenly said.

“What is it?” Jungkook couldn’t help feeling nervous. There had been times when Namjoon had directed questions at him to get to know him better, and though they were never too personal or invasive, he was always on edge about having to reveal something from his past.

“Well, in order to ask you, I should tell you something first.” Namjoon turned to look at him and smiled. “Recently, I’ve started writing again.”

“Woah, really?!” Jungkook exclaimed excitedly. “Are you going to post it somewhere? Or publish it? Can I read it?”

Namjoon laughed. “Actually, that’s related to what I want to ask. I decided to write as much as I could every time I came back from one of your shows, so even though most ideas were disconnected, last night I was able to finish putting a poem together.”

“A new poem! Hyung, this is so cool! I thought I’d never read anything new from you!” Jungkook was internally bouncing up and down, all of his previous nervousness replaced by pure joy. “But what is it you want to ask?”

“Well… I was wondering if… you’d be interested in turning it into a song as well? Since you did that with other poems of mine, and you’re the one who inspired me to write again, it’s only fair that you get to have rights over this one. If you want to, of course.” Namjoon answered. “Although, you should probably take a look at it first before deciding, right?”

Jungkook watched in shocked silence how Namjoon opened his messenger bag and pulled out a worn notebook, from which he extracted a folded sheet of paper.

“The original version is in the notebook but my handwriting looks like chicken scratch, so I typed this one out for you.” Namjoon said smiling softly. “Please take a look at it and let me know if it’d work as a song. If not, then we’ll leave it as a poem.”

Jungkook reached out for the paper with trembling hands, still unable to believe that that was happening. As he was about to unfold it, Namjoon stopped him. “No, please don’t read it now. It’s too embarrassing!”

“Huh?”

“Please don’t read it while I’m still here, do it later, when you’re alone.” Namjoon said with a pitiful look in his eyes. “Those are my words there, so it’d be too embarrassing to see you respond to them in real time.”

“…you haven’t shown it to anyone else?”

“Of course not.” Namjoon shook his head, making Jungkook feel even more special. It felt like a big responsibility, and yet the greatest privilege, being the first judge of RM’s newest poem.

“Okay hyung, I’ll read it later.” He replied, carefully storing it in his wallet.

They continued talking about various topics and feeding birds until Namjoon received a call from Yoongi telling him someone was waiting for him at his office, and seeing as there was still an hour left before Jungkook had to be at the bar, he decided that the best course of action was for him to go home and read the poem there in solitude and privacy.

However, as soon as he opened the door to his apartment, he found his dear childhood friend and roommate sitting on the couch with crossed arms, looking like he was making an effort to appear as upset as possible.

“Oh, Jimin-ssi, you’re here. I thought you were still out with Taehyungie-hyung.”

“I told him that we should pick you up to go for ice cream before work, but when we came up here you were nowhere to be found!” Jimin said in a scolding tone. “And! You didn’t pick up your phone!”

“Wait, how was I supposed to know you were coming back? And my phone didn’t ring the entire time I was out.”

“That’s because you didn’t bring it with you!” Jimin said, grabbing Jungkook’s phone from the couch and showing it to him. “Now tell me, Jeon Jungkook, where have you been?”

Jungkook laughed, finding the whole situation really dumb. “I’m sorry, Namjoon-hyung and I were texting and he asked me if I wanted to go to the town’s square, so I said I’d be there in 15 minutes. I went to get dressed really quickly and I guess I accidentally left my phone.”

Jimin wasn’t laughing though, in fact he didn’t seem the slightest bit amused. “Do you know what it took for me to figure that out? Do you know how many catastrophic scenes went through my mind before Tae managed to calm me down and start calling our hyungs to ask them if you were with them or if they had seen you?”

Jungkook’s smile died instantly. “I’m sorry, it was an accident really, I would have never left my phone on purpose, and I didn’t know you were coming back either, I thought you’d go straight to the bar after your date.”

“That’s not the point! Jungkook, you have to tell me if you’re going somewhere, you shouldn’t sneak out--”

“Sneak out at 4 in the afternoon?” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry for leaving my phone and scaring you, but you make it sound as if I did something bad. I literally just went to the square and came back, you can ask Namjoon-hyung.”

“Oh, I don’t have to ask him, Taehyung is questioning him as we speak.” Jimin said with the same stern tone. “Like I said, we had to call the hyungs to ask for your whereabouts, and Yoongi-hyung told us that Namjoon-hyung had gone out and he was probably with you, since this is a thing you do regularly, it seems.”

Jungkook felt his face grow warm from embarrassment. “Wait, so the person who was waiting at his office was Taehyungie-hyung? What is there to question him about? He didn’t do anything wrong either!”

“Well, for some reason, Yoongi-hyung who he met this same year knows more about his love life than his own brother, so Taehyung was deeply hurt by that. Honestly, I completely relate! How come I didn’t know you were dating until now?”

Jungkook’s eyes widened in shock, and he felt the heat on his cheeks rise to the point where it must have been visible. “We’re not dating. T-That’s insane, what gave you that idea?”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Jungkook. You’re an adult now, so I can’t tell you what to do.” Jimin sighed heavily. “But some communication would be nice, you know? I may not be your parent but I’ve done my best to keep you safe until now, so if you had just told me that you were seeing someone, I could have given you some advice. I don’t want you getting your heart broken again.”

And wasn’t that just the core of everything? The reason why Jungkook strongly rejected the concept of dating or falling in love, was because the first and only time he had developed romantic feelings for someone he had gotten a lot more than a broken heart. Specifically, in this order: a broken heart, a threat, a series of public humiliations, a trip to the principal’s office, a school suspension, a beating that almost led to his death, and having to become a runaway for an indefinite amount of time. He didn’t always think about the events in the order that they occurred, but they were intricately mixed together to the point where the sole suggestion of him having feelings for someone made traumatic memories resurface.

“I’m not ‘seeing someone’, I’m not dating anyone, I’m not lying.” He spoke as firmly as he could, holding Jimin’s gaze hoping he could see the sincerity in his eyes. “Namjoon-hyung is my friend, we go out as friends sometimes, and that’s it. The only reason why I didn’t tell you was because you’re usually not around these days, but now you know it. That’s the truth and you can ask him and Yoongi-hyung and anyone you want to question.”

Jimin seemed to believe him, as he finally lowered his guard. “Okay, you’ve made a good point. I know I’ve been neglecting you lately, and I’m sorry, but I want to spend as much time with Taehyung as possible... How about this? Tomorrow, let’s hang out together, just the two of us like in the old days. We should catch up.”

Jimin smiled at him, which Jungkook took as a sign that he had been forgiven and everything had been clarified. “Are you gonna be texting Taehyungie-hyung the entire time, though?”

“You brat!” Jimin laughed, throwing a cushion at Jungkook which he skillfully dodged. Jungkook was definitely forgiven and all was cool, even though he still felt that weird sadness he always felt when he remembered the events from his past.

“I’m gonna get ready for work.” Jungkook announced as an excuse to go to their shared room until his momentary discomfort passed.

“Hey, Jungkook.” Jimin’s voice stopped him before he could reach the bedroom’s door. “I meant what I said. I really don’t want you getting your heart broken, so you’ll tell me if you like someone, right? I promise to give you good advice this time.”

This time.

“Yeah, of course.” He lied, before going into his room.

There was no point in telling Jimin the truth about his feelings for Namjoon, since he wasn’t going to do anything about them. The story of his first crush had a tragic outcome, but this time he was going to keep his feelings deep in his heart where they belonged.

Feeling emotionally fragile as he was, he decided to safely put Namjoon’s poem inside his drawer for now. RM’s poems were always either painful or comforting, but he was sure that he’d end up crying either way, and he had a job to be at in less than an hour.

Two days later, Taehyung was impatiently waiting for Jimin at a coffee shop where they usually went for pastries and intimate conversations. After questioning Namjoon, he needed to share his very alarming discoveries with Jimin, but they hadn’t had time to meet until now. As soon as he spotted his soulmate by the door, Taehyung waved enthusiastically in his direction.

“You don’t have to do that every time, sweetheart, we always sit at the same table.” Jimin said laughing a little, before taking a seat in front of him and reaching out for his hand.

It was always a bittersweet contrast, the nightly Jimin from the bar who openly flirted with him and kissed him, versus the reserved daily Jimin who had to treat him more platonically in public places. Taehyung took a few seconds to simply smile at Jimin and rub his tiny hand with his thumb, watching him grow progressively redder.

“What? What are you looking at me like that for?” Jimin asked with a smile that reached his eyes, pretending to punch him with his free hand.

“I want to memorize your face, in case you abandon me again.”

Jimin burst out laughing. “No way, I knew you would throw it back at me. It was only one day. One day we spent without seeing each other, and it was for a greater cause.”

“I know, I know, but it was so difficult.” Taehyung sighed melodramatically. “I already got used to spending every day with you, the hours by myself were so long… I feel as if I went back to my life before I met you. So boring.”

He watched Jimin’s smile die down slowly, and then heard him speak more seriously. “Well, we’re together today, so let’s make the most of it.”

“Oh? Jimin-ah, please don’t take my words seriously, I was kidding.” Taehyung laughed lightly. “I mean, yeah it was boring but it was good for me. I need to learn to be less dependent, and I understand that you had a life before me and you continue having it now. It’s all good.”

He offered his boyfriend a boxy smile, but Jimin’s own was small and kind of sad. “It’s true that I continue having a life, but you’re also part of it now. I think I’m the one who has become too dependent, and I only realized it yesterday… Even so, I think it was a good day for me too.”

Taehyung decided not to continue on the subject of their mutual dependency because he figured that conversation would get very sad very quickly. He and Jimin had been honest with each other about how neither of them was planning to stay at that town for too long, so sooner or later they’d have to go separate ways. They were both aware of this, which was the reason why they tried to spend as much time together as possible while they still could.

“So, did you talk to Jungkookie?” Taehyung asked instead, shifting the focus of the conversation to the hot topic of the week.

“Yeah, I questioned him this Wednesday, as you know, and he told me that he’s not sneaking out to go on dates or anything like that, they’re just hanging out as friends.” Jimin answered, reaching out to grab an orange macaroon from the plate that Taehyung had ordered before Jimin’s arrival. “But he said he hadn’t told me about it because I hadn’t been around much, so yesterday we hung out like in the old days. I think we’ll do that from time to time.”

“…So you’re okay with it? If they start dating, you won’t have a problem with it?” Taehyung asked, noticing how calm Jimin looked compared to how he was two days before.

“Nah, they’re not gonna date. Kook said he’ll let me know when he likes someone.”

“Huh…” Taehyung crossed his arms. “That’s interesting, because hyung told me that he does like Jungkookie, and that he thinks he may like him back.”

Jimin started laughing nervously. “What? He must have been messing with you.”

“I don’t think so. Namjoon-hyung isn’t the type to joke about things like that, and besides, I was putting a lot of pressure on him, so it would have been easier for him to deny everything like Jungkook did.”

“Are you… suggesting that Jungkook lied to me?” Jimin asked slowly, reaching for another macaroon and narrowing his eyes to study Taehyung’s face.

“I’m not suggesting, I’m plain saying it.” Taehyung answered. “He saw the way you freaked out that day, he’s obviously never in a million years going to admit it to your face.”

Jimin started munching a bit too loudly, uncapping the water bottle on their table. “That little shit… I knew that teaching him how to lie would revert against me someday.”

“See? Now that you’re catching on, I think we should join forces and boycott this relationship together.” Taehyung said calmly, as calmly as he could considering Jimin was gulping down the whole bottle in front of him.

“This isn’t gonna work, I need alcohol.” Jimin stated, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “They don’t sell soju here, right? Let’s go to the liquor store.”

“But… can’t you just wait until you’re at the bar? We’re kind of in the middle of an important discussion here.”

“My shift won’t start until well into the evening and you can’t expect me to, like, process this information on an empty liver. This is a pretty big deal, you know? A huge deal. My only child, getting taken advantage of by an older man.”

As much as Taehyung could understand Jimin’s feelings and wanted to form an alliance with him, the wording just didn’t sit right with him. “You make it sound as if hyung is some old geezer, but he’s still young. And he would never take advantage of anyone.”

“Sorry, I know that he’s a good person, but… this is my little lamb, you know?” Jimin said standing up, apparently deciding on his own that they would go to the liquor store.

So, naturally, they did.

“Okay, I’m ready to hear it now. What were hyung’s exact words to you?” They were sitting on the front stairs of a nondescript building that just happened to be unfortunately close to the liquor store, and half a bottle of soju later, Jimin had finally spoken.

“Okay. He said they’ve been talking and hanging out and stuff, and they’ve become really close--”

“Gross.”

“I know. But here’s the worst part: he feels that they like each other but neither one of them has taken a step forward, so he decided to confess by writing Jungkookie a poem.”

“A poem?! I thought he’d quit writing! You told me he’d quit writing! Why does everyone lie to me?” Jimin raised his voice and was about to stand up as well, but Taehyung tugged him down carefully.

“No one’s lying to you. Well, besides Jungkook. I was surprised too! I told him so, and he said that he had indeed quit writing, but that after going to Jungkook’s shows he’s become ‘inspired’ and so he thought it’d be romantic to show his feelings that way. Isn’t that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?” Taehyung shook Jimin’s shoulders lightly, desperate to get his frustration across.

“Absolutely! He shouldn’t be harboring any feelings for him in the first place.” Jimin answered before taking another chug.

“Exactly! Ah, I knew my soulmate would understand me.” Taehyung brought a hand to his chest, touched. “I said it would be romantic if it were anyone else, but this is Jungkookie we’re talking about. What is he thinking?”

“I’m going to kill him.” Jimin said, standing up again. “All this time spent trying to protect my little lamb from those dirty customers’ hands, but the real threat was right in front of my face and I never noticed. This is why you can’t trust anyone that tall. Why does he need to take up so much vertical space, huh? I should have known he was suspicious--”

“Wait, wait, what do you mean by ‘threat’?” Taehyung decided to cut off Jimin’s tipsy rant before he got even more sidetracked. “I told you, hyung would never take advantage of anyone, he’s the one we should be worried about!”

“What are you talking about? Jungkook has been abstractly in love with him since forever, and he’s seducing him with poems now? Please. That’s clearly taking advantage. Jungkook won’t say no to anything, but I will. He will catch these hands.” Jimin said closing his one free hand for emphasis.

“Hyung is not taking advantage of him, he’s the dumbly in love one, Jimin, you don’t understand! He’s the one who won’t say no to anything, he’s the one giving his whole heart and time and talent to some kid, when he could do so much better.”

The moment the last sentence left his mouth, Taehyung knew he had hit a nerve, so he shut up immediately afterwards.

As expected, Jimin widened his eyes and placed his free hand on his hip. “Excuse me? Are you saying Jungkook isn’t good enough for Namjoon-hyung? Let me laugh. Namjoon-hyung should consider himself lucky. Well, he does, which is why he’s desperate to date him before Jungkook opens his eyes and realizes that he could do so much better.”

By now, Taehyung was well aware of the fact that Jimin was vindictive and not afraid to beat people at their own game, so he was only getting what was fair: he had messed with Jimin’s family so he was getting the same thing in return. That didn’t make it any less painful, though.

“Namjoon-hyung was an honor student, Jimin, and he could have been a successful writer if it wasn’t for… us.” He practically muttered the last word, feeling ashamed of himself. “He’s stuck in this stupid town because of us, but he doesn’t belong here. Someday, when Jin-hyung finally gets his shit together, Namjoon-hyung will go back to Seoul, get his Literature degree, and meet someone from that world. That’s where he belongs. He can’t get attached to Jungkook here, he can’t let Jungkook hold him back from the life that he deserves.”

“So what? How is it Jungkook’s fault that hyung isn’t following his perfectly scripted life, huh? You said it yourself: he’s free to walk away as soon as Jin-hyung takes over the business, and then what? He’ll leave Jungkook behind, again, with his heart broken, again. He’s much too young to be going through this shit a second time! What for? Just so hyung can have a temporary distraction while he’s still living here?”

“That’s not how it is! That’s not how hyung is! He’s really serious about this, scarily so. He doesn’t see Jungkookie the way you and I see him, but I don’t think he sees him as the bar goers see him either. If this thing between them works out, I don’t know what will happen. He might… he might actually stay here for him.”

“Well, that’s out of the question, because Jungkook is not staying here. We’re leaving, Taehyung, remember? One of these days, we’re leaving for real. I know I’ve been saying this since we got here, but…” Jimin took a deep breath and then let it out with a shudder. “We’re actually really close to our money goal now. So, it’s pointless for the two of them to get together because it’s not going to last anyway. It’ll just reopen a wound for Jungkook for no good reason.”

Taehyung felt his chest constrict at the words. He knew that he and Jimin would go separate ways at some point and he thought that when the time came he would simply accept it, but now that that moment was actually so close, he realized that he wasn’t the slightest bit prepared.

Almost a year had passed since the night he met Jimin, and ever since then, they had been inseparable. First they had a mutually beneficial arrangement (Taehyung had company and someone to show him around the town, while Jimin got free stuff, basically); then they developed a thing where they were best friends but they also flirted a lot and slept together often; and then as they finally became boyfriends, Taehyung felt as if the pieces of his life had fallen into place, as if finally things made sense. He thought their encounter was fated: there was a reason why he had to move to that place in the middle of nowhere and the reason was meeting Jimin, his soulmate, the only person in the world aside from his family who really knew who he was, what kind of heart he owned under his expensive clothes and illustrious name; the only person in the world he could be fully himself with.

To say that he had become attached would be an understatement, Taehyung simply couldn’t imagine a life without Jimin at that point, no matter how much he tried to rationalize it. Jimin had brought meaning, happiness and excitement to his life and he would take all of that with him if he left. When he left.

“So what you’re saying is… that you and Jungkook might even leave this town before we do? So Jungkook will be the one to abandon hyung instead?” Taehyung asked, slowly standing up as well.

“We don’t know that… it will all depend on what your parents decide, right?” Jimin replied, avoiding Taehyung’s gaze. “Does it really matter who leaves who? The point is they won’t be able to be together in the long run, and, and we should stop them before one of them falls in love for real and gets really, really hurt.”

“What if it’s too late? What if one of them has already fallen in love for real?” Taehyung searched for Jimin’s eyes, hoping he’d understand that this wasn’t really about Namjoon and Jungkook anymore. “What if I am already hurting? And what if I told you that I want to stay with you? Here or in Seoul or anywhere else.”

Jimin looked at him then, with a surprised expression that quickly faded into pure sadness. “Tae… You know that’s not possible, we already talked about it.”

“I wanna talk about it again.” Taehyung said stubbornly. “Seriously, I’m going back to Seoul at some point and that’s the same place where you’re going, so… let’s just wait for each other. We can make it work; it’s literally the same city!”

“It’s a pretty big city, though.” Jimin chuckled humorlessly. “Or rather, it’s full of people. Let’s be real, Tae, we’ll be living completely different lives in completely different districts. You said it yourself, that’s the world where you belong.”

“That’s not what I said!”

“You said it about Namjoon-hyung, but it’s the same for you. Once you get back you’ll get in touch with your old friends and make new ones, and… that’s your life. The adventure you lived in this town was just like one of the shows at El Mariachi: magical but short-lived, and you get to go home at the end of the night.”

 “Well… that’s a pretty bad analogy, because you literally went home with me the night I met you, so by that logic, the show actually never ended.”

“Oh my God, Tae, I’m trying to be serious here.”

“So am I! I’m 100 percent serious, Jimin, don’t you think there’s something actually magical about the bar? I mean, our encounter was obviously fated! We were drawn to each other multiple times on the night we met, to the point where you even ended up in my guesthouse after a series of weird events. It’s like, I don’t know, the universe needed us to be together at last, and we’ve never been apart since then. So I think, no, I know we will find each other again. There’s no use in fighting destiny, don’t you think?”

Jimin was visibly flushed, and considering he was no lightweight, it was decidedly not because of the soju. “Do you… really believe in magic and fate?”

“Well, yeah. Especially now.” Taehyung gestured at Jimin’s whole form like it was obvious. “I had never connected with someone on so many levels as I have with you, had never had anything that felt more real than this, had never felt so attracted to someone, and I don’t mean it only in the classic sense of the word, but… this powerful force that just keeps bringing me to your side, that makes me feel right only when I’m with you, so, yeah, if fate isn’t a thing then what is all this?”

“So… if you leave first… hypothetically… you’d wait for me?” Jimin asked rather timidly. Taehyung nodded enthusiastically, which made Jimin smile again. “Promise?”

“Promise!” Taehyung held up his pinky finger to seal the deal, and couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably when Jimin held up his own tiny one.

“Get over it!” Jimin pushed him back playfully, making him land on his ass on the stairs again, which became Jimin’s turn to laugh.

The fall hurt, but seeing Jimin laugh so sincerely made Taehyung feel renewed hope that they would be okay after all, and he couldn’t help but laugh along.

“I promise that I’ll wait for you.” He said through a smile. “Will you?”

Jimin pretended to give it some thought, but the smile that took over his whole face betrayed him. “I promise that I won’t get in the way of fate bringing me back to you.”

Taehyung was so happy, so relieved, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Jimin wasn’t going to abandon him, not really, as soulmates were always meant to find each other again and again. And with his happiness came a new epiphany.

“Hey, Jimin, I actually don’t wanna boycott hyung and Jungkookie anymore.”

“What? Why? I thought we were in this together!” Jimin complained, his shining smile replaced with an adorable little frown.

“Think about it: what are the odds of Jungkook meeting the writer from his teenage years in this town? What are the odds of hyung meeting the person who cherished his poems so much he turned them into songs?” Taehyung shrugged. “Must be fate, too. And if we’re not gonna fight destiny, then we shouldn’t try to keep them apart either.”

“But… what about the whole ‘Jungkook is holding hyung back from the life he deserves’ thing?” Jimin rolled his eyes as he repeated Taehyung’s words. “What if hyung just breaks up with him all of a sudden because he wants to pursue some other rich bastard?”

“I mean, he wrote him a love poem, for God’s sake, who even does that anymore?” Taehyung pretended to shiver in disgust. “I’m sorry about what I said before, I think Jungkook could be good for him, no, he already is. I didn’t mean those words, I just… guess I was shocked or something.”

“Why is that?” Jimin asked, taking a seat next to Taehyung on the stairs.

“Because Namjoon-hyung had lost his will to write and his hope to have a life of his own, but then Jungkook showed up, and in such a short time he’s already started to look more like his old self.” Taehyung explained, not only to Jimin but also to organize his own thoughts. “And I was afraid that it was all an illusion, you know? That it couldn’t be so easy, that it had to be wrong. That hyung was flying too high and the fall would hurt too much when it was over. I was afraid and I resented Jungkook a little for that, but, if this is fate too, then it makes sense. If the universe brought them together, then I’m not gonna get in the way.”

“Mm.” Jimin hummed before taking one final chug. “I’m still not entirely convinced, ‘cause I don’t want Jungkook going through a second heartbreak at such a young age, and especially not by someone he has looked up to for so long. I think it would shatter him completely.”

“Well, I know I’m biased because Namjoon-hyung is my brother, but he’s a really good and responsible person, seriously.” Taehyung said, reaching for Jimin’s free hand. “So I think that, even if it doesn’t work out between them, they’ll remain as good friends. Besides, Jungkookie is an adult now, he’s stronger and wiser than he was 3 years ago, so I don’t think he’ll let a breakup bring him down.”

“Mmm…” Jimin hummed again, resting his head against Taehyung’s arm. “Fine. I’ll give Namjoon-hyung a chance, but just one. I’m sorry for what I said, too. I actually think hyung is cool, which is why I don’t wanna have to kill him if he hurts my little lamb.”

Taehyung smiled as he laced their fingers together, not even entertaining the possibility of things getting to that extreme, as the words soulmate, together, and destiny danced in his mind. “Just one chance is all it takes.”

It was a little less-than-regular Friday afternoon in the factory. Namjoon was reviewing the balance sheet that Yoongi had sent him, while the latter was already diligently working on updating the month’s payroll, closely supervised by Seokjin, who was loudly slurping on a smoothie and watching Yoongi’s screen over his shoulders. Usually, Seokjin and Hoseok would pick up Yoongi after his workday was over so they could go to the bar together, but on this particular afternoon Hoseok was busy with a university project and Seokjin had extra time to kill, which he decided to spend visiting the factory that he co-owned and that he was seemingly finally learning to manage.

Luckily, one of the perks of being a middle child was that Namjoon had the ability of either making himself invisible or making his brothers invisible, as needed, so Seokjin’s presence could be easily ignored in favor of getting his work done. And, since he was on silent brothers mode, he didn’t notice Taehyung making his way into the office as well. What he couldn’t ignore, however, and that immediately made him look up from his screen, was the strong smell of soju.

“Namjyunie-hyung~ My favoritest world in the hyung~” Jimin was suddenly half-singing in front of him, with a sheepish-looking Taehyung by his side. The smell was evidently coming from Jimin, and judging by his inexplicably cheerful attitude, Namjoon could only conclude that he had been drinking until recently.

“Yah! How can you say that when your boss is right here?” Seokjin exclaimed.

“Not his boss during the day, remember?” Yoongi commented, still not looking up from his computer. “Right now you’re his boyfriend’s brother.”

“Oh, right, my bad!” Seokjin looked genuinely apologetic. “Yah! How come Namjoon is your favorite brother in-law when I’m right here?”

From what Namjoon had gathered, that was the arrangement that worked for everyone. Considering that Seokjin was dating two of his employees, while another employee was dating his brother, they decided to establish some clear boundaries as a way to manage problematic power dynamics. Namjoon was sure that their relationships were still illegal and even immoral, but at least everyone seemed to be okay on an emotional level.

It was also helpful for Namjoon, since he had also hired one of his brother’s boyfriends and he definitely didn’t want any additional awkwardness in the workplace. Yoongi was highly efficient and reliable, and Namjoon found it easy to separate him from El Mariachi’s pianist that often spent the night in Seokjin’s room once he started respecting the boundaries marked by work hours, too.

However, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react to Jimin throwing himself at his arms, in his office, during office hours, so he just glanced around for help. Taehyung was still standing there, hand in pocket and boxy smile in place; Seokjin looked as intrigued as Namjoon felt; while Yoongi was still typing and clicking away, fully immersed in his work. Namjoon adored him already.

“Hyung, I came to tell you that I give you my blessing. You can date Jungkookie.” Jimin was suddenly saying very close to his face.

“What?” Namjoon exclaimed, feeling all the blood in his body rush to his cheeks in immediate embarrassment.

“You don’t have to hide or anything, it’s okay.” Jimin continued with a big smile. “I think you’re good, so I’m giving you my approval. Don’t let me down.”

“Oh my God, let me call Hobi! I can’t believe he’s missing this.” Seokjin exclaimed, fishing his phone out of his pocket. “He bet Jimin would publicly threaten you and I bet he would chaperone you on your first 30 dates, but it looks like we both lost. Yoongicchi, what did you bet on? I don’t recall.”

Namjoon didn’t think there was anything higher on the scale of shame than this. “No, this is a misunderstanding. We’re not going to date. Please don’t call Hoseok.”

This was a nightmare. Four people were a large enough crowd for his humiliation; he didn’t need another person to join, not even through the phone.

“Nonsense! I told you it’s okay, I swear!” Jimin patted his shoulder, reassuringly. Maybe. Namjoon wasn’t very good at non-verbal communication. “I mean, I was going to threaten you, but then I talked to Tae, and we came to the conclusion that you were brought together by fate and stuff.”

Namjoon sighed heavily at Jimin’s words, but the latter didn’t seem to notice. He turned around to see that Seokjin was already pressing the phone to his ear with a gleeful look on his face. As much as Namjoon did not want to tell anyone about this, especially not any of the people present in the room, he had no choice but to go ahead and tell them the truth. Might as well rip off the band-aid in one go.

“We’re not going to date. Jungkook turned me down.”

“Jungkook what?!” Jimin shouted, bringing Namjoon’s attention back to him.

“Yeah…” he sighed again. “As I told Taehyung, I wrote a poem for Jungkook. I thought it’d be appropriate? You know, since he liked my poems and all. Anyway, um, I gave him the poem two days ago, and he hadn’t mentioned it at all.”

“Oh, that’s all? Maybe he’s just been busy.” Taehyung shrugged, looking relieved for some reason.

“Not really. We still text, and we’d talked about other things, but, he specifically avoided the topic of the poem.” Namjoon continued. “I didn’t wanna push him or anything, so I just waited, but since I didn’t get a response, I asked him if he’d had the chance to read it, and all I got was ‘Yeah, it’s very good, hyung, but I don’t think I can turn it into a song.’”

Namjoon sighed once again. He had memorized that text to the point where it was probably carved into his brain. Jungkook was so sweet, even his rejection words were soft and tender, but they hurt like hell nevertheless.

“What? What does turning it into a song have to do with anything?” Seokjin asked, no phone in sight anymore.

Before Namjoon had the chance to answer, Yoongi started speaking. “Namjoon-ssi, could I leave earlier today? I already sent you the month’s payroll.”

“Oh. Um. Yeah, sure, what time do you need to leave?” Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He was supposed to be working, not ranting about his failed love life. He had broken the delicate boundary agreement and now he made Yoongi uncomfortable.

“Could it be now?” Yoongi replied, and Namjoon didn’t blame him. He, too, wanted to run away from the office.

“Sure, no problem at all. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Namjoon nodded.

“Okay.” Yoongi nodded as well, but made no motion to get up. “So, as of now, I am not employee Min, right? You’re all my witnesses.”

The rest of the group agreed, except for Namjoon, who just stayed there, not liking the sound of that at all.

“Good.” Yoongi continued, slapping one of his knees with determination. “So, Namjoon-ah, what the hell is your problem?”

“What.” Namjoon deadpanned. “Excuse me?”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to yourself, and Jungkook, and all of us?” Yoongi asked, dropping the formal speech he used during work hours. “After all the troubles we went through, you just… wrote him a poem? Why can’t you ask him out like a normal person?”

Namjoon straightened up, feeling observed and judged by everyone in the room. “Do you think he rejected me because of the poem? Was it too straightforward?”

“No, not exactly… Let’s see, how do I say this without meddling?” Yoongi rubbed his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. “He tried turning it into a song, but there was an… emotional block of sorts, and that’s the reason why he couldn’t.”

“An emotional block?” Namjoon asked curiously.

 “As you probably already know, I’m the one who’s composed the music for all the other songs based on your poems, so of course, he came to me with this one, too.” Yoongi explained. “And, I actually came up with a really nice melody on the spot, but as he was singing to it, he couldn’t really move past a certain point. We tried a couple more times, and then he said we should just leave it. He seemed very affected, so I didn’t push him to talk about it, but I’m pretty sure I know what happened.”

“Was… was he hurt by my words?” Namjoon inquired, confusion morphing into concern.

“I think I’ve already said too much, and I shouldn’t be the one to answer that question. You should talk to Jungkook.” Yoongi answered, crossing his arms.

“Boo! What are you so mysterious for now? If you didn’t wanna meddle then you shouldn’t have said anything at all!” Seokjin intervened. “But you just drop half of the information on us and then act enigmatic? Awful of you, Yoongicchi.”

“It’s a private matter! I have no right to disclose Jungkook’s personal information or feelings!”

“Why would he turn it into a song anyway?” Seokjin asked, slurping loudly on his now almost-empty smoothie cup.

“Because, that’s what he did for my old poems.” Namjoon explained, skillfully averting everyone’s gazes. “He kept them alive because he memorized them through music, so I thought it would be romantic if he did the same with the one I wrote for him… if he wanted to, of course. It sounds cringey when I say it like this.”

“It’s very romantic, hyung.” Taehyung nodded firmly. “But even if he can’t make a song out of it, it doesn’t mean that he turned you down. He has… an emotional block, like Yoongi-hyung said, and this type of situation must be hard for him, but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like you. You should talk to him.”

“But I don’t wanna push him either,” Namjoon reasoned. “If this… whatever it is that you all seem to know about is hurting him, then I don’t wanna force him to give me an answer. Causing him pain is the last thing on my mind.”

“God, you’re so good for him.” Jimin said suddenly, grabbing Namjoon’s cheeks with his tiny hands. “You can come to our house for dinner anytime.”

“You’re never home at dinnertime, Jimin.” Taehyung answered. “And yeah, okay, you don’t have to push him, but don’t assume that he rejected you either, okay? Just give him time to like… process your confession.”

“But if you go back to square one, I will meddle! I can’t stand another month of all that sighing!” Yoongi exclaimed.

“Noooo, you can’t wait too long, hyung.” Jimin added, still squeezing Namjoon’s face. “We’ll be leaving this town in three months or less.”

Jimin’s revelation was received by four different intonations of “what?”

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

It’s a common belief that things may become sentient if they’re beloved by their owners. If that applies to places as well, El Mariachi was probably included; loved not only by its owners, but also by those who made a living in it, as well as the clients who went regularly looking for companionship, warmth and magic. El Mariachi had grown alongside those who found a home within its walls: the two lost boys from Busan, the perseverant couple from the town, and the three lonely brothers from Seoul.

It was always debated whether the bar’s so-called ‘magic’ was simply a product of the alcohol and shows, or if the feelings and hopes of everyone who visited it had truly given it inexplicable powers. Either way, there was always the possibility that it was sentient, that it watched everyone come and go, and that it brought soulmates together by fate.

10 weeks to go

Jungkook was alone in the backstage area, trying on the new outfit that Seokjin got tailor-made for him. Even though the dance show had just started, and thus he had plenty of time to get ready, this outfit was decidedly more intricate than the ones he normally wore, and he could no longer hold back his curiosity to try it on. It was also a designer outfit, because the Kims’ company, BTS, provided the fabrics used by some of the most recognized brands in the world, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to receive some unique pieces made by famous designers from time to time. Seokjin had somehow managed to get new designer outfits for every member of the bar (Jungkook was about 90% sure Seokjin used his own money) and he wasn’t the exception.

Jungkook was marveled, he couldn’t stop looking at himself in the mirror. This wasn’t the first tailor-made outfit Seokjin had gotten for the performers, but this one was all sparkly white, evidently expensive and eye-catching. It made him feel confident and star-like, and he allowed himself to daydream for a bit about the kind of stage outfits he would like to wear if he managed to become an idol after all.

His reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Seokjin’s voice: “Jungkook-ah, you decent?”

“Yeah, come in.” He answered with his eyes still on his reflection.

“You can go in.” Seokjin said to someone on the other side. Since the dance show was in process, the rest of the staff was busy, so unless someone wasn’t feeling well, there was no reason for someone else to be in the storage room at the time.

Jungkook turned towards the door curiously, just in time to see Seokjin’s face winking at him before letting Namjoon in.

Nooooo, he thought, loudly, but thankfully not loud enough for Namjoon to hear. Seokjin didn’t say a word before closing the door and leaving Namjoon alone with him.

“Hyu--”

“Oh. Oh, wow.” Namjoon interrupted Jungkook’s greeting, staring intently at his outfit and gesturing vaguely at his entire form. “You look… Wow.”

“Um.” Suddenly, Jungkook didn’t feel so confident anymore, just very, very warm and lightheaded. He gulped. “Thanks. You too.”

That was probably a stupid thing to say since Namjoon was simply complimenting his outfit, but, he couldn’t help himself. He was caught off-guard, and besides, he wasn’t even lying, Namjoon always looked good.

“Hah, thanks.” Namjoon took it with a little smile anyway, before glancing around. “S-So, this is your other workplace, huh? Looks really nice. Very neat and tidy, as expected of you.”

If possible, Jungkook felt even more embarrassed. Namjoon had a whole factory and all Jungkook had was a busy storage room/backstage area that wasn’t even his, but he did take pride in his cleanliness and organization.

“Thanks… um, may I offer you anything to drink?” Jungkook asked awkwardly. “You can also take a seat if you want.”

“Oh no, no, I’m good.” Namjoon answered, shaking his head. “I mean, thank you for offering, but I don’t wanna take too much of your time. I know you’re busy, and, I normally wouldn’t interrupt you. This was Jin-hyung’s idea, actually… I should probably just cut to the chase and tell you why I’m here, right?”

“Sure.” Jungkook nodded, feeling completely lost. Honestly, he wasn’t the slightest bit prepared to see Namjoon again so soon, he wanted to mend his heart and come to terms with the truth first, but it seemed Namjoon had other plans.

“Okay… here I go.” Namjoon took a deep breath before he continued. “I’m really sorry if my poem offended you or made you feel pressured in any way, I swear that wasn’t my intention. And, I don’t want you to think that I’m here to demand an answer or anything like that, either, it’s okay if you don’t give me one, I just… I don’t want us to stop being friends. I don’t want to go back to being polite strangers now… I think I might have misread things, you know? But that doesn’t mean that I don’t value you as a friend. Quite the opposite, I value you so much that I’m worried that I might have scared you away?”

“Wait, wait, hyung, it’s not like that. You didn’t scare me.” Jungkook interrupted Namjoon’s rant. “I’m sorry, I just… I really can’t turn your poem into a song. I can tell you have really strong feelings for the person you wrote it for, so… it doesn’t feel right for me to sing it.”

Namjoon was nodding along to his words, but then he furrowed his eyebrows during the last part. “Wait… the person I wrote it for?”

“Yeah… you were thinking of someone when you wrote it, right? It doesn’t seem like an abstract feeling.” Jungkook said tentatively. Even though he was sure the poem was inspired by someone, if Namjoon confirmed it, it would hurt even more. “I didn’t memorize all of it, but I remember some parts, like… ‘you were the sun that rose again in my life’, and ‘you are the cause of my euphoria’. That’s for a person, right?”

Namjoon was blushing now, but his frown deepened even more. “Please say you’re joking right now.”

“Huh? Then it’s not for a person? Did I misread it?” Jungkook’s eyes widened in confusion, and hope. Not that he had any hope of being with Namjoon, but at least he wouldn’t have to eventually meet the person Namjoon was in love with.

Namjoon just stared at him for a while, shaking his head slowly as if in disbelief. “Of course it’s for a person, it’s for the person I gave it to.”

“Ah… so you gave it to them already.” Jungkook nodded, pretending to be nonchalant about it. This was exactly the reason why he had been avoiding Namjoon for the past two weeks, he did not want to hear about Namjoon’s crush, at least not yet, but he was supposed to be his friend, right? Namjoon trusted him enough to show him the poem he had written for the person he liked, so the least Jungkook could do was what he always did: push down his feelings so they wouldn’t come to the surface. “What did they say?”

Namjoon stared at him in silence again, just studying him, as if waiting for Jungkook to say or do something else, but he had nothing. It was starting to get awkward when Namjoon finally spoke. “He said, ‘Yeah, it’s very good, hyung, but I don’t think I can turn it into a song’, and then ghosted me for two weeks.”

The words hit Jungkook one by one, like waves crashing on the shore. All the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head, as his heart started beating out of control. He struggled to find his voice, and all he managed to get out was a shell-shocked “What.”

“It’s for you.” Namjoon clarified, “Euphoria – The poem, it’s for you. About you. You were my second chance in life, and because my poems were what brought us together, I thought of telling you everything, poetically.”

This time it was Jungkook’s turn to shake his head in disbelief, staring at his surroundings, and back to Namjoon, as he tried to process this information. It was about him all along? Did Namjoon write a poem for him? Oh God, was he Namjoon’s secret crush?!

“You really didn’t know.” Namjoon’s eyes widened in surprise. “You thought it was about someone else?”

Jungkook nodded, emphatically, still trying to make sense of his new reality.

“Then… why did you avoid me this whole time?”

Jungkook opened his mouth to speak, but he was still too agitated. It took him a while to collect himself, but Namjoon waited, open and patient. “I avoided you because I thought it was about someone else… I was really sad, even though I had no right to be. I couldn’t help myself.”

“You were sad?” Namjoon asked in a small voice. “Does that mean…?”

Namjoon didn’t immediately complete the question, but Jungkook wouldn’t know how to answer it anyway. It meant lots of things, things he had never dared to say out loud.

“…you like me back?” Namjoon seemed to settle on that as an end to his question. He sounded so uncertain that Jungkook couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Like you back? Hyung, I liked you first. I’ve liked you from the start.” Jungkook finally admitted, feeling so happy that no other emotion could occupy his heart. “Ever since I first read your words, I knew I wanted to follow you, I think you were my first inspiration.”

Namjoon smiled shyly then, making Jungkook feel like he was full of colors ready to burst. “Well. How do you feel about my words now? The ones I wrote for you?”

“Ah… well, um, like I said, I don’t remember much, but I swear as soon as I get home I’ll read them and scream into my pillow.” Jungkook said jokingly (not really, he did intend to scream), causing Namjoon to smile wider.

“And then? No more ghosting?”

“No more ghosting!” Jungkook easily agreed. “Definitely the opposite, lots of communication. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done screaming.”

Namjoon laughed. “Do you promise? I’ll wait by the phone if you promise.”

“I promise! I’ll give you a detailed review of your poem.”

“You mean your poem.”

“Please… there’s only so much my heart can take at once.”

Jungkook could scream already, he couldn’t believe they were really having this conversation. This was nothing at all like he imagined having his feelings reciprocated would feel like. He had spent a lot of time daydreaming about such things 3 years ago, with his first crush, but this was nothing at all like that. For one, it was real, and secondly, it wasn’t even remotely painful, it wasn’t associated with any of the horrible memories from his past. To the contrary, the Namjoon from his past was his comfort in the middle of the pain, and the Namjoon from the present was… well, to borrow his very own words, the cause of his euphoria.

7 weeks to go

“I did it.” Seokjin announced solemnly to his two brothers who stood up as soon as they saw him walk out of the home office. His forehead was damped in sweat and his ears were bright red, but otherwise he looked calm. “I convinced him; he’ll let me have it.”

“What?” Taehyung exclaimed with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Seokjin nodded. “You of little faith, if Yoongi were here, he would support me!”

“No, hyung, I support you!” Taehyung defended himself. “I always believed in you! It was our father who I didn’t trust… Wow, this… this is a huge deal, right?”

“A humongous one, my biggest win yet.” Seokjin continued, before plopping down on the couch his brothers previously occupied. “Phew, that was the longest phone call of my life.”

Seokjin chuckled nervously, producing a small handkerchief from his pocket to wipe off the sweat from his face. It had been a scary phone call, and truly, Taehyung couldn’t have anticipated that it would actually go well. He and Namjoon had received their own phone calls already, but they had been shorter and not very pleasant, so when Seokjin’s extended, he expected the worst.

“So… officially… you’ll be the owner of the factory.” Namjoon finally spoke, looking every bit as surprised as Taehyung. “That’s what this means.”

“Yeah, Namjoon-ah, that’s what this means.” Seokjin rolled his eyes in fake annoyance, but his kind smile gave him away. “You’re free. Both of you.”

Taehyung studied Seokjin’s face, expecting him to burst out laughing anytime, but instead he just closed his eyes and sighed contently. When Taehyung turned to look at Namjoon, he found him shivering.

“How…? What did you tell him?” Namjoon asked. “He was so ruthless with me, how did you convince him?”

“Aha. He was ruthless with you because you didn’t give him the answers he was looking for. He doesn’t think you learned anything from your experience here, but I know better.” Seokjin winked. “You finally learned to delegate, you just didn’t tell him that.”

“Huh? Wait, so those calls were like, our finals?” Taehyung intervened. “He was so mean to me as well, and he’s rarely that strict with me. What was the right answer?”

“For you? Oh, Taehyung, you failed big time.” Seokjin laughed, that contagious windshield-wiper sound. “You were supposed to be clear with him and tell him you have no interest in the family business.”

“And be excluded from the will?!” Taehyung exclaimed. “And put you guys at risk of being excluded too?!”

“Nah, he never had any intention of doing that to begin with. He just used that as motivation to bring us here.”

“By ‘motivation’, you actually mean ‘threat’, right?” Namjoon asked. “So, Taehyung had to reject the business, I had to learn… something, and you?”

“I had the most difficult evaluation, of course.” Seokjin answered, with a teasing smug look on his face. “So instead of a final, I presented a project: El Mariachi, and I passed with flying colors. Turns out Hobi and Yoongicchi were right, and my unique abilities aren’t good only for the bar, but for every other business I choose to venture into as well. Dad was really interested in all my ideas.”

“You told him about the bar?” Taehyung’s eyes widened in shock. “And he liked it?”

“Yeah, that was why the call took so long. He wanted to know about everything I learned while being here, he said… He said he knew I could make it, but I was always stubbornly trying to play by the book, and you were always trying to damage control before the damage even happened,” Seokjin gestured to Namjoon, then Taehyung, “and you just obeyed us blindly. He said I was the only one who understood why he sent us here, but I actually had no idea until today… I feel really great now, though. Still in disbelief, but pretty great.”

There were a few seconds of silence during which the three brothers pondered over the recently learned facts. Namjoon was the first to break it, albeit hesitantly. “Did… did he say what he expects from us now? I mean me and Taehyung.”

“Yeah, he expects you to be free. Seriously, you can do whatever the fuck you want now.”

“That’s suspicious.” Taehyung narrowed his eyes. “First he threatens us with disowning us if we don’t take charge of the factory, then it turns out that was a trap to get us to develop other skills, and now that we failed, we can just go? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Have you met our father? This is so like him! An agent of chaos if I’ve ever seen one.” Seokjin answered, laughing. “In retrospect, it was very uncharacteristic of him to try to control our lives, but now it makes sense. He just manipulated the experience a little.”

“A little.” Namjoon nodded, stiffly. “What else? Is this town made up? Are we lucid dreaming?”

“Come on, Namjoon, you’re a man of science, you know how unlikely that is.” Seokjin shrugged.

“I was actually majoring in Literature.”

“Whatever! The point is I’m happy! Can’t you cheer up for me? My dreams are coming true here, guys!” Seokjin exclaimed. “After all this time, dad finally believes in me and he’ll let me have a factory of my own!”

“And we’re very proud of you, hyung!” Taehyung announced, launching himself at Seokjin and tackling him on the couch, despite Seokjin’s loud yelps and protests. “You’re gonna manage a whole factory and a whole bar on your own, will you be alright?”

“Yeah, I won’t be alone. I know that Yoongi and Hoseok will help me out as soon as I tell them the news.” He answered with a little smile. He looked truly happy, so Taehyung couldn’t help feeling happy for him.

But, deep down, the youngest brother also felt strange… as if things were shifting and pushing him along, demanding him to move, but where to?

“…so I called dad, just to make extra sure, and he confirmed what Jin-hyung told us.” Taehyung told an attentive Jimin, who was propped up on one elbow as they lay on the grass. “I’m free, I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want because it’s time for me to find my own way, or something like that.”

“That’s amazing, Taehyungie.” Jimin told him with a smile, trying to hide the anxiety caused by all the upcoming changes. “So I guess you’re leaving before me after all.”

“Not necessarily.” Taehyung grimaced. “I’m not in a rush to go anywhere, so I could just keep you company until you leave.”

“Oh, really?” Jimin asked, genuinely surprised. “Don’t tell me you ended up becoming fond of this town.”

“Well… I mean…” Taehyung stretched, gazing up at the night sky above them. “I’m fond of the bar and the people in it, and of the little coffee shop where we have most of our dates, and of the park where we have the other percentage of our dates. I’m fond of the factory, of course, and of this hill. I love how clearly you can see the stars from here.”

“And of yours truly?” Jimin asked teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows.

Taehyung turned to look at him for a while, long enough to turn into a serious stare. “I’m in love with you, Jimin.”

Jimin stared back in silence, waiting for Taehyung to smile goofily so he could laugh, too, but it didn’t come. He kept staring at him, his handsome face open and honest.

“Tae…” he whispered more than said. In spite of being out there on the hill under the stars, the moment felt more intimate than any other, as if the night was only theirs. “I love you.”

The trademark boxy smile made an appearance this time, right before disappearing into their kiss.

Silence enveloped them afterwards, aside from the distant sound of cicadas. Jimin lay his head on Taehyung’s chest as the latter ran his fingers through his hair. “Now’s my turn. I have my own news to share, remember?”

“Oh, right, of course. I’m listening.” Taehyung assured him.

“Right. So. I don’t know if you noticed, but Officer Jung was at the bar last night.” Jimin started, a bit unsure. “She approached me during one of my breaks, and we went outside to talk.”

“Oh no, did something happen?” Jimin could feel Taehyung’s hand freeze on his hair, and he shook his head to calm him.

“No, not really. But it’s up to me whether something can happen or not.” Jimin reached out to hold Taehyung’s free hand in his. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“I’ll try to keep this short, since I know you’re working.” Wheein started once they were at sufficient distance from the bar to be out of earshot. “Every now and then, we get reports from nearby towns and cities, of criminals on the run who might be hiding here, or missing children who could have been kidnapped and passed through this town, but, you know, we rarely get a match.”

Jimin held his breath, already getting a good idea of where the conversation was going.

Wheein continued. “It was just my luck that I got the photo of 17 year old Park Jimin, missing from Busan for the past 3 years. A healthy looking boy, that one. Very cute cheeks.”

Wheein chuckled, but Jimin didn’t react. What could he do? He was caught off-guard, he couldn’t run now.

“Anyway, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that your family has spent 3 years looking for you.” She added. “We probably got this report several times over the course of these 3 years, but we never got a match. You know why? Because you weren’t in our system. You essentially didn’t exist, officially, until you were arrested. I didn’t know about your existence, either, and even if the other cops ever saw you they didn’t think of linking you to that lovely boy in the picture. You were hiding in plain sight.”

Jimin gulped, silently staring at Wheein. That couldn’t be happening. After all they went through, now that they were so close to their goal, it couldn’t simply end there.

“I don’t know what your circumstances are, or on what terms you left, but the fact that your parents have kept searching for you is kind of a big deal,” Wheein continued. “Local police pretty much abandoned the search after a few months, when you turned 18. But, your parents haven’t stopped, so they must really want to find you.”

“…what will happen to me now?” Jimin asked in a small voice, surprised that he could even speak at all. “Will you arrest me? Or will I be sent back to Busan?”

“What?” Wheein frowned, shaking her head. “You’re a missing child, not a criminal. I can’t arrest you for leaving your home; I just came to tell you that your parents never lost hope of finding you, so you can do with that information whatever you think is best.”

“O-oh. Oh. Okay. Okay. I see.” Jimin ran a hand through his hair nervously. There were no accusations. He was seen as just another boy who ran away from home. “Thank you, Officer Jung.”

“Are you alright? You’re sweating a lot.” Wheein pointed out in a concerned voice. “I’m sorry for just dropping this on you; I just figured you might want to know. You don’t have to do anything, though. It’s up to you.”

“Woah, that’s… um, that’s good to know, right?” Taehyung supplied, unsurely. “It means they still think of you and still expect you to be alive and well. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m not gonna lie, it’s good to know they still want me as their son.” Jimin sat up to be able to look at Taehyung, who was still lying on the grass. “But she didn’t mention Jungkook even once, isn’t that strange? We both went missing at the same time.”

“Well… I think his father probably didn’t report him. Since his wife had also disappeared under strange circumstances, things wouldn’t look good for him if his son went missing too.” Taehyung reasoned. “Besides, he had the resources to search for him himself, right? He wouldn’t go to the police.”

“I know,” Jimin nodded. “I was thinking about my parents instead. Jungkook was at our house that day, and mom even told me to stay away from him. She knows I ran after him, wouldn’t she mention him to the police?”

“Mm…” Taehyung gazed at the sky for a few seconds, assembling his thoughts. “I mean, she knew Jungkook’s father was dangerous, right? That was why she told you to stay away from him. So she wouldn’t want to link you to him, since that would put you in more danger. I doubt that guy remembers you if he only dropped Jungkook off at your house one time when you were kids, but if he saw you directly involved in his son’s disappearance, he’d target you, don’t you think?”

Jimin shivered at the thought. Even after all this time, he still feared that man. Even if Jimin had never exchanged a word with him, seeing the damage he inflicted upon his best friend, his little brother, he feared him more than any of the gangs he met at the bar. “She was trying to protect me, somewhat… even if she didn’t agree with what I did.”

“And she kept searching for you in spite of everything.” Taehyung supplied. “She might not have approved of your friendship with Jungkook, but that doesn’t mean she stopped loving you. You can be sure of that, at least.”

Jimin looked down in silent contemplation. Nothing had changed, essentially, he could pretend that Wheein never approached him and just carry on with his life, but this new knowledge caused something to shift within him. “I think I want to talk to them, or to my mother, at least. I wanna hear her voice again, and apologize.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Taehyung stated seriously, sitting up as well.

“No, I do.” Jimin shook his head. “I just kept her in the dark for 3 years, not even knowing whether I’m alive or not. At the very least, I owe her one conversation to let her know that I’m okay.”

“…will you go back to Busan?” Taehyung asked after a few seconds of silence.

“No, I’ll just call her.” Jimin answered with a small shrug. “Officer Jung said she could give me my mother’s number, but I’m under the impression that she hasn’t changed it since then. I still remember it.”

Taehyung gave him a tiny smile, before reaching out to hold his hand again. “I’m very proud of you. And I’ll support anything you want to do.”

Jimin smiled back at Taehyung, feeling lighter after sharing his thoughts with him. “It’s good to have a soulmate to rely on.”

“Let’s keep going for a long time.” Taehyung kissed their intertwined hands, before raising them towards the night sky. “I only have you.”

6 weeks to go

It was Jimin and Jungkook’s weekly hangout day, and they decided to spend it by drinking beer and watching an old drama they were both fond of. However, after barely finishing the first episode, Jimin decided to pause it and ask Jungkook to talk.

“If you’re gonna confess your love to me, you’re too late. I already have a boyfriend.” Jungkook said with a grin, always enthusiastic to find an excuse to bring it up. He and Namjoon had only been dating for a few weeks, but he loved to remind everyone all the time.

“You wish.” Jimin hit him with a pillow. “Seriously, though, there’s something important that I need to tell you.”

“Okay.” Jungkook answered, obliviously drinking his beer.

“It’s about your father.” Jimin continued as tactfully as possible. In spite of that, Jungkook still choked on his drink and started coughing. “I’m sorry; I just have to tell you. But it’s good news.”

“What?” Jungkook asked weakly, with a fearful gaze. He set down his beer with a trembling hand, which Jimin took reassuringly.

Jimin proceeded to explain everything, from the moment Wheein talked to him, to his decision to call his mother, to the conversation with her, which was more emotional than he expected. His mother’s attitude was completely different from the last time he saw her; she was full of questions and yet, she respected Jimin’s time and was willing to listen. Jimin didn’t tell her of his whereabouts but he reassured her that he was okay, and that there was nothing she should be worried about anymore. She also asked about Jungkook, which surprised him considering she didn’t want him in Jimin’s life in the first place, and that was when he finally learned the truth.

The truth was that after they ran away, Jimin’s mother reported him missing, excluding the part about Jungkook to avoid drawing Jungkook’s father’s attention to him, just as Taehyung thought. Since she couldn’t give the police any signs that Jimin was in danger, she was asked to wait for a period of 48 hours to see if he’d come back on his own; after all, he was 17 and it wasn’t uncommon for teenagers to stay out partying or at friends’ houses for a couple of days. During that time period, he and Jungkook had enough time to move to the town, meet Hoseok and Yoongi, and tryout for the bar. By then, they were untraceable.

Jimin’s parents had tried conducting their own search, but they honestly had no idea where to look. They contacted some of his classmates as well as his peers from the dance academy, but no one had a clue. The dance academy was also missing another student, although there was an ‘official’ explanation for him: almost immediately after Jungkook left his home, his father hastily left as well, but his car was ambushed by one of his enemies before he was even able to leave the district. He was killed on the spot, while there were no signs of Jungkook, so the police assumed that the culprit had either kidnapped him or murdered him as well.

Jimin’s parents supposed that, since Jungkook’s mother had already disappeared under mysterious circumstances, Jungkook missing as well would bring suspicions to his father, so he tried to flee before anyone even found out that the boy was gone. His recklessness left him vulnerable to his enemies, though, and at the same time, his actions also involuntarily deviated attention from Jungkook’s actual whereabouts. Jimin’s parents remained quiet about what they knew, and just like that, the only apparent connection between the two boys was that they happened to attend the same academy.

Eventually, the police stopped searching for Jungkook. With no living relative to push the investigation, it slowly lost priority. After Jimin turned 18, his case lost relevance as well, seen as just another boy who ran away from home and became an adult somewhere along the line, just as many others. Jimin’s parents didn’t give up, though, and continued pushing the police to keep searching. Without any hints, they tried to blindly search for him themselves.

Jimin’s mother confessed to him, tearfully, that she wrote him a letter every single day, and that after reading them all in a row she realized that she slowly went from being angry at Jungkook for getting her son involved in that mess, to pitying him, to understanding him, to longing for him to be alive and well just as much as she wished the same for Jimin. Over time, she had realized how brave Jimin was and how cowardly she had been, despite being a full adult. Jimin ended up crying over the call as well, confessing how much he missed her and how he didn’t think he was so brave, he was scared most of the time.

After that, conversation was light, both careful not to break Jimin’s precious confidentiality. Truth be told, he didn’t want to end the call, but he promised to get in touch again soon. He cried for what felt like hours afterwards, an entire twister of emotions inside of him. Way too much carefully masked pain, way too many secrets, but in the middle of it all, the shining light of relief. Jungkook was free, had been for a while, unbeknownst to him. And, in logical consequence, Jimin was free as well.

“…so, he’s gone.” Jungkook said carefully after Jimin finished, quickly wiping at the tears that kept forming in his eyes but that he didn’t let fall.

“Yes. Gone for good.” Jimin assured him, nodding, still firmly holding his hand. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Jungkook broke down, then, unable to hold himself together anymore. Jimin held him and let him cry wetly all over his shoulder, softly swaying him from side to side like a child. They didn’t say another word for a while, just cried together as they so often did when they were much younger, which felt like an eternity ago.

Eventually, Jungkook pulled away, looking at Jimin with the same giant eyes he had when they first met. “Thank you, Jimin-ssi. Really, thank you for everything. I owe you my life.”

“Hey, I made you a promise, didn’t I?” Jimin said with a happy smile. “I became your family and took care of you.”

Jungkook started crying again, nodding silently. There was so much he wanted to say but didn’t know how. He was relieved, so relieved, as if he could finally fully breathe. And so grateful, even if he spent his entire lifetime thanking Jimin it still wouldn’t be enough. “Thank you for being my family. I promise I’ll make you proud.”

“Aww, I’m already proud.” Jimin squeezed Jungkook’s cheeks and kissed them loudly, just to annoy him and lighten up the mood a bit.

“Ew.” Jungkook made a sour face, just as annoyingly.

“You don’t go ‘ew’ when Namjoon-hyung tries to swallow your earlobes, though.”

“He does no such thing!” Jungkook laughed, still red-faced from crying, pushing Jimin away playfully.

“I know what I saw. You act all shy but you’re both big perverts, huge.” Jimin kept teasing. Jungkook just kept laughing and shaking his head, and Jimin too, felt as if he could breathe easier. “Remember when you said you didn’t like him like that?”

“Well… Yeah, but. You know.” Jungkook made an expression that could only be described as a pout. “I already told him about… that. My first crush, and how that worked out for me. I haven’t told him the extent of what my father did, but I think he got the general picture of how things were at home.”

“Oh. What did he say?” Jimin asked a little more seriously.

“That I didn’t deserve any of that and that he was glad I was no longer in that situation.” Jungkook answered, recalling Namjoon’s words. “He didn’t really press much, he never does. He’s just a really good listener, and lets me tell as much as I’m comfortable with.”

“And you trust him.” Jimin stated more than asked.

Jungkook nodded. “Yeah. I still haven’t told him my entire tragic background, but I would like to, someday. Definitely not yet, but sometime in the future.”

“Look at you, making plans for the future and such.” Jimin whistled exaggeratedly. “So you’ll really do it? The whole long distance relationship thing?”

“Mm. It will only be long distance temporarily, since we’re moving to Seoul soon as well, and in the meantime, he’s gonna come visit on the weekends. It’ll be okay.” Jungkook shrugged. “He said he would have waited for us, but his semester starts in a couple of weeks and if he doesn’t do it now he’d have to wait another half a year to enroll.”

“Ah…” Jimin nodded understandingly. After all, things weren’t going to be as painful as he had feared; in fact, Jungkook seemed very happy, and he was acting very maturely. He still had innocence in him, but he wasn’t completely naïve, and Namjoon didn’t look like he was planning to steal his heart and run away. It would be okay. Jimin’s mission was really complete. “So, back to the topic of my mom’s call, I’m thinking of paying my parents a visit soon, and I’m pretty sure you’re going to say no, but I need to ask either way: do you want to come along?”

Jungkook looked down and shook his head softly. “There’s nothing for me there. You should definitely go, though. You’ve missed each other like crazy.”

Jungkook’s smile was tiny and sad. Someday he might be able to remember his hometown as just that, but it would take him a while to completely heal. In the meantime, as he said, there was nothing for him there. His happiness wasn’t in his past, but in his present.

“Okay, just making sure.” Jimin said. “This will be the first time we get separated since then, do you realize? It’s gonna be really weird.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

“But. It’ll be good practice.” Jimin added. “You’re already an adult and you need more freedom.”

“Oh? So I don’t have to text you when I’m going out with Namjoonie-hyung?”

“Hey, I’m just gonna go for a few days, don’t elope yet.” Jimin teased. “I’ve been thinking about asking Taehyung if he wants to go with me.”

“Seriously? To introduce him to your parents?”

“Yeah? I mean… I’ve already been hiding for so long, if we’re gonna reconnect then I would like to be honest about my sexuality at least.” Jimin explained. “And, it’s not like Tae’s just some guy I’m seeing, I love him.”

“Wow, speaking of eloping…” Jungkook teased back. “When are you expecting to go, anyway? You should tell Jin-hyung in advance so someone else can cover for you, especially for the shows.”

“Well. I thought I’d just do it after quitting, you know? I don’t want to inconvenience everyone just to leave a few weeks later.” Jimin shrugged, uncapping another beer.

“But… aren’t we supposed to go to Seoul after quitting?”

Jimin ran his hands through his hair and shrugged again. “You can always go ahead of me.”

“Wha-? You’ll let me go alone to a new city?” Jungkook asked with wide eyes.

“I mean, this is all just an idea still, but we can figure it out.” Jimin shrugged for the third time, placing a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, we still have 6 weeks to go. Let’s talk about it again later.”

1 week to go

Feeling brand new after a well-deserved 8-hour nap, Seokjin entered his bar quietly and discreetly, as it was the middle of one of Jungkook’s shows. As usual, the audience was enthralled, the staff was resting, Namjoon was visiting and sitting at table 1 just like every other Saturday night, Jimin and Taehyung were probably making out backstage, Yoongi was diligently doing the musical accompaniment, and Hoseok was saving a seat for Seokjin behind the bar. Wordlessly, Seokjin took it, greeting his boyfriend with a short kiss and lacing their fingers together.

“Sleep well?” Hoseok asked.

“Yep. I’m ready to drive all fucking day long.” Seokjin replied, raising a thumb up. “Those two will just sleep the whole time, so I can only rely on myself and the music that Taehyung hates to keep me awake.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go? I worked at a summer camp once, I still know the songs! I can keep you awake and alert the entire time!”

“Hoba, no offense but, first: why would there be a summer camp when it’s summer all year round in this town? And secondly: you’ve worked all night, you’ll obviously fall asleep too.” Seokjin shook his head dismissively. “Besides, you need to stay with Jungkookie. He might not say it, but being separated from Jimin will probably make him anxious.”

“Mm. Both good points.” Hoseok conceded. “Just be careful on the road.”

“I will, don’t worry, that’s why I made sure to get enough sleep.” Seokjin reassured him. “And I’ll have to repeat the process again next week when I pick them up.”

“Ooh. And then they’ll go to Seoul, right?”

“That’s the plan.” Seokjin nodded. “Honestly, Jungkookie could have left tomorrow as I suggested, his replacement is already well trained.”

“His replacement won’t be here tomorrow, either. He’ll either be driving back from Busan or catching sleep.” Hoseok said. “Besides, Jungkook’s scared of going alone to a new city.”

“He wouldn’t be alone, Joon would go with him. And he could stay at his apartment in the meantime.” Seokjin shrugged.

Hoseok gasped. “It’s too soon for them to live together! That’s even scarier than going alone.”

“It’s not like ‘living together’; Namjoon offered his apartment for any of us. Jimin could stay there too; you too, if you want to visit.”

“Don’t you have an apartment in Seoul as well? Why don’t you offer it?” Hoseok raised an eyebrow.

“Why would I offer you that apartment when I have a whole house in here? A house in which I’ll officially live alone by next week.” Seokjin added, looking away from Hoseok’s scrutinizing stare.

“Hyung.” Hoseok said before making a significant pause. “Are you offering to live together?”

“Nah, I could never take you and Yoongi away from your love nest.” Seokjin answered while keeping his eyes on their boyfriend, who kept playing his piano, oblivious to the conversation between the two.

“What love nest? Please. One bathroom in your house is bigger than our matchbox of an apartment.” Hoseok grabbed Seokjin’s arm to turn his attention to him. “Look, all jokes aside, I don’t like the implication that us living together somehow places us on a different level from you, there’s no love nest if you’re not in it.”

Seokjin felt warm, a little from embarrassment and a bit from love. “But you’re so… synchronized? You wake up together and have a whole domestic routine, you’ve had it for years.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you share a space with someone you love, it becomes a home.” Hoseok explained simply. “Doesn’t mean we can’t develop our own routine, now. Or someday. Fuck, we haven’t actually talked about this before, you kinda brought it up out of the blue.”

“Yeah, I tend to do that when I’m nervous, if you haven’t noticed by now.” Seokjin smiled nervously and avoided Hoseok’s gaze again. “It’s just dawning on me that Namjoon is gone and now Taehyung is leaving too and I’ve never actually lived alone. I don’t wanna get you guys out of your home and your regular life just so you can keep me company, that’s kinda manipulative and shitty, don’t you think?”

“It would be if that were the case, but none of that’s happening. We don’t have to live together, but we also don’t have to rule it out like the thought of it is absurd. We should talk about it. All three of us.”

All three of us. Seokjin’s heart rate always picked up at the mention of them being three, no longer a guy falling for a couple, but an actual unit, the three of them. In spite of everything, Seokjin still hesitated sometimes (a lot of the time) about how close he was allowed to get to the other two. Yoongi and Hoseok had spent many years together and endured many hardships that brought them closer, none of which Seokjin had been part of, so he tended to feel left out, like he was only temporary.

“It’s been hard for the three of us to be in the same space at the same time.” He said instead, softly. “With Yoongi taking up part of Namjoon’s responsibilities, your rehearsals to become the new star of the dance shows on top of being a student, and me trying to manage the factory, the bar, and also learning to sing, our schedules never match.”

“Then let’s make them match.” Hoseok said simply. “You’re literally the owner of both places, give us all the same day off.”

“That’s hard.” Seokjin sighed. “Slowest days at the bar are the busiest days at the factory, and viceversa.”

“Mmm…” Hoseok tapped his chin. “Looks like one of us will have to skip work, then.”

“Yah! I’m your boss, I will know!”

Hoseok winked. “Perks of sleeping with the boss.”

Seokjin couldn’t help but laugh at that. He knew it was all a joke, though. Both of his boyfriends were responsible and committed to their respective arts, and they wouldn’t burden their coworkers just to have fun themselves. Still, Hoseok had a point. There had to be a way for them to match, if they put in the effort. One thing Seokjin had learned since he had arrived to that town, was that life was a lot simpler when he let things flow; and another thing he learned was that he didn’t have to change who he was in order to be successful.

He had learned both of those lessons thanks to his boyfriends, whom he had grown to love more than he ever anticipated. If this were his past self, he would already be running away, scared of becoming overly attached just to get his heart broken in the end, but instead, despite the occasional insecurity, they made him feel grounded.

“Close the door now, when I’m with you I’m in utopia”, Jungkook sang, before the audience went wild. He smiled and waved at everyone before running backstage, Yoongi following suit. In less than a minute, the lights turned back on and the waiters came out, and Hoseok’s assistant/trainee approached the counter, so Seokjin gave Hoseok a small kiss on the cheek before joining Namjoon at his table. Soon enough, Taehyung emerged as well, and the three brothers sat together and made small talk, with Jimin occasionally joining them between orders.

As it had already become routine for every Saturday, Namjoon went to the storage room a bit before the next dance show, as Yoongi emerged and went to take his place at the piano again. The bar never stopped moving. It was alive and it was loved, and the thought of it made Seokjin feel alive and loved as well. For the first time in his life, Seokjin was genuinely doing well, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

As soon as the familiar music started playing again, Seokjin’s lips curved up into a content smile.

Chapter Text

El Mariachi.

A name that instantly filled his heart with fond memories, attached permanently to the place where he met his fiancé and his found family. Despite having visited other establishments of the franchise across the country, it had been a few years since he last came here, to the first bar.

Kim Taehyung was the youngest heir of the biggest textile company in the continent, as well as a nomad artist, who spent his life on the road with the rest of his travelling theater group. It was his ideal job: he got to see different locations of the world with his fiancé while trying out different art forms and making audiences happy. After wandering for so long, not knowing what to do with his life, he finally found the place where he belonged.

But, as much as the theater company was his home, El Mariachi was still a magical place, and he was happy to be back. Grinning to Jimin who was walking one step behind him, he opened the tavern-like doors.

The bar had been fully redecorated, though Seokjin had already told him that. Nowadays, they were going for a ‘pop western’ vibe, a term that Taehyung was 99% sure Yoongi came up with, and that included furniture reminiscent of old western movies as well as potted plants, assorted colorful balloons, and pop art style murals, giving it a more lively atmosphere. The place was still the same size, but it looked more comfortable now, and as usual, it was packed. He silently reached out for Jimin’s hand and squeezed it excitedly, turning to smile at him again, finding him already looking at him with a mirthful expression.

“Is it me or are they staring?” Jimin whispered.

“Of course, they’re looking at you.” Taehyung answered with a playful roll of his eyes. “Like it’s surprising.”

“I think they’re looking at you. You’re so handsome tonight.”

“Only tonight?”

“You know what I mean.”

And Taehyung knew. He had put in a lot of effort in his outfit, wanting to impress his brothers and friends in this long-awaited reunion. He wanted them to see how well he was doing, but at the same time he wanted to show them he was still cool and easygoing, so he went with a black leather jacket on top of a white lace blouse, accompanied by jeans, red lipstick, and topping off the look with his most recent long greased hairstyle.

However, he was also aware of the fact that if anyone was stealing all the gazes in the place, it was Jimin, with his recently-dyed red hair, punk t-shirt, plaid skirt and Ugg boots. He was a dream, he always was for Taehyung, but sometimes he liked being validated by strangers too, as much as he struggled to admit it.

Among the clockwork-like movement of the waiters and the excited chatter of the customers, Taehyung searched for the source of the lovely piano melody, but as he followed it, he found a stranger sitting at Yoongi’s place.

Right. Yoongi wasn’t the piano player anymore, he had way too many responsibilities now that El Mariachi had become a franchise, the BTS factory continued expanding exponentially, and their foundation was so busy improving the lives of the town’s inhabitants. Taehyung’s disappointment of not seeing Yoongi only lasted a millisecond, replaced by an immensurable amount of pride for his hyungs.

As expected, Hoseok wasn’t the one serving drinks, either, as his former apprentice had now taken his place. He was admittedly as good as Hoseok, and just as charming too, so Taehyung had the feeling that everything was going more than well.

“Where do you think they are?” Jimin asked, his head moving around in an incessant search.

“There isn’t much room where they could be, so most likely backstage.” Taehyung suggested, navigating around the tables with Jimin’s hand in his. Before they could reach the storage room, though, the piano music stopped and the audience started to cheer, which could only mean one thing.

Loud, vaguely Latin music started playing in its place and the lights were dimmed. Every single one of the waiters, as well as the piano player and the bartender, started doing a complex choreography around the tables, and all of a sudden, his two beloved hyungs he was just thinking about, materialized out of nowhere. Jimin gasped before screaming excitedly and Taehyung couldn’t help but join him, resting his chin on Jimin’s shoulder as he did his best to observe the show without getting in the way.

While everyone was wearing cowboy-inspired outfits, Yoongi and Hoseok looked like the super star versions of them. Yoongi now had silver hair and was wearing a burgundy outfit, while Hoseok was a platinum blond with a black and white getup. As usual, their synchronization was completely otherworldly, as they danced gracefully and with ease. They were at the center of the show, smiling charismatically at the audience as they danced around without missing a single step.

As the whole bar continued clapping and cheering loudly, the two stars kept dancing around the tables and receiving some bills from the excited customers, including Jimin and Taehyung, who also received a quick hug each. Taehyung knew that they would have plenty of time for pleasantries later, but they needed to finish their show, so they gave them the space they needed.

“Hyung is so cool.” Jimin exclaimed with a huge smile.

“Yeah, the coolest.” Taehyung agreed easily, not even bothering to ask which one. They both were.

Hoseok and Yoongi finished collecting bills and giving out smiles before disappearing in the midst of the choreography, but Taehyung and Jimin waited patiently for everyone to complete the show so they could tip them too before going backstage.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” A voice called them out before they could open the doors of the storage room. “This is a restricted area. Restricted.”

“I’m sorry, I’m Kim Taehyung, the owner’s brot--” Taehyung started explaining himself before turning around to look at the person who spoke to them. It was a tall young man with medium-length purple hair, wearing a white shirt with denim overalls hanging off one side. His arms were crossed and his expression stern, but it only lasted one second before it broke off into a bunny smile.

“Jungkookie!” Taehyung greeted, but before he even got a chance to open his arms, Jimin was already launching himself at the younger.

“Hyung!” Jungkook hugged Jimin and easily lifted him up, while giving Taehyung an apologetic look. “Sorry I can’t hug you, my hands are full.”

“Holy shit, you picked me up like nothing.” Jimin exclaimed once Jungkook put him back on the ground to greet Taehyung. “I’ve gained muscle these years, how come you’re still stronger than me?”

Jungkook shrugged before doing the same to Taehyung. “Guess I’ve gained more muscle.”

“He’s also taller.” Taehyung added once his feet were on the ground again. Examining Jungkook’s face, he reached out to grab one of his cheeks teasingly. “But he’s still young.”

“Yeah, he’s still our baby.” Jimin added, grabbing his other cheek. “A baby with overalls and a pierced eyebrow.”

Jungkook just giggled along as his hyungs teased him, warming Taehyung’s heart. He might be taller and stronger than the last time Taehyung saw him in person, but his heart was still soft.

“You guys look so cool, like celebrities.” Jungkook complimented them easily. “You don’t even look jet-lagged or anything. If it were me, I’d look beaten up.”

“What are you saying? You always look so fresh, like a celebrity yourself.” Jimin smiled, ruffling his hair affectionately. “Where are the hyungs, by the way?”

“Everyone’s backstage.” Jungkook pointed his head towards the door. “You guys are the last ones to arrive.”

“We better join them, then.” Taehyung said, holding Jimin’s hand again and using his free one to hold Jungkook’s. The youngest opened the door for the three of them to join the others.

It was a mess of excited greetings in all directions. Even though they had already seen Yoongi and Hoseok, they were able to get real bone-crushing hugs and straightforward compliments this time.

Taehyung was beyond delighted to see his brothers in person again: Seokjin’s hair had been dyed a faint rose hue, and he matched the cowboy-ish aesthetic of the place with a white fringe shirt, black denim pants and boots; his greeting came in the form of a lame joke about how far technology had gone as they were just meeting online as usual. Namjoon on the other hand had combed back his electric blue hair and was dressed in a white tank top with a sleeveless black denim vest, pants of the same material, and matching boots; he made a point to compliment everyone on how handsome and healthy they all looked.

They all sat down at a large table that definitely didn’t exist the last time Taehyung was there, and he quickly noticed that even that area had been redecorated with the same vibe as the rest of the bar. Everyone had happy expressions on as they looked at each other, no one quite sure of where to begin catching up, even though they had group calls at least twice a month. Just like the bar, they were familiar yet different at the same time.

“So, how was everyone’s trip?” Hoseok was the first to speak.

“For us, it was really good.” Namjoon answered. “Jungkookie drove us all the way here, and we made several stops to take nice photos. The weather was perfect all day.”

“It was. The entire day was perfect, I’m really glad we chose to drive instead of taking the train or a flight.” Jungkook agreed easily.

“And it was more private too, right? Since Jungkookie’s famous now, your fans would have waited at the airport.” Hoseok added teasingly.

“Ah, come on, we don’t have that many fans.” Jungkook said, looking down shyly. “But I’m grateful for each and every one of them.”

Jungkook and the other members of his group, XCVII, had debuted around 3 years ago, though they had only started getting moderate recognition recently. Their beginnings had been humble and full of obstacles, not only because they were signed under a small label but also because the members were open about their different romantic and sexual orientations as well as their dating lives, something that didn’t sit right with a lot of mainstream media.

In spite of their obstacles, Jungkook and his friends persevered and continued expressing sincere messages through their music, gaining a very loyal and steadily growing fanbase, who claimed to feel seen, represented, and even saved by them. In turn, the group continued delivering songs about hope, love, and common hardships of youth, always with utmost gratitude and respect for their audience.

“You’ll get there, trust me. You’ll fill entire stadiums one day.” Yoongi said, rather ominously. When he said things like that, it didn’t sound like standard words of comfort, but as an absolute truth instead. He was also usually right, so Jungkook had learned to believe him.

“Thank you, hyung.” He answered, looking up. “But if we’re talking about famous people, that would be Tae-hyung and Jimin-ssi right here, who have performed all over the world.”

Jungkook emphasized his point by grabbing Jimin’s shoulder and effectively turning everyone’s attention to him. Jimin laughed nervously as Taehyung remained unbothered, while there was a mix of cheers and whistles around the table.

“To answer Hobi-hyung’s question, our trip was good. We flew from New York to Seoul and then took another flight to here. The only interesting thing was that we saw Sungjae in a movie we watched on the first flight.”

“Oh, true! Turns out he’s a very good actor.” Taehyung agreed. “Even though he was also a very good head waiter, I’m glad he left to pursue his dreams.”

“Yeah, we’re all very happy for him but don’t use him to avoid the topic. We wanna know everything about your worldwide icons status.” Seokjin intervened.

“Well, there isn’t much that you guys don’t already know,” Jimin shrugged with a smile. “Not only do I get to dance for a living, I’ve also learned a lot about performance arts in general, and we’ve been able to support some social movements against racism, homophobia, transphobia… we’ve been able to help real people through our art, which is all really meaningful. I’m happy.”

“And famous.” Namjoon added. “I keep seeing you guys all over social media. You’re starting a revolution.”

“Ah, no way, no way, we’re not that famous.” Jimin laughed, covering his mouth in embarrassment. “You only see us because you’re in the artsy part of social media, the general public doesn’t know us. Not that it matters to us; that’s not what we’re going for.”

“We’re just happy to be able to express ourselves, and to lend our voices for others, too.” Taehyung added, turning his attention to his two brothers. “Remember what halmeoni used to say? That because we’re privileged, we would someday have enough of an influence to make someone’s life better or worse? I see it more clearly than ever now. I spent a lot of my time wondering where my place in the world was, and now that I’ve seen so much of it, I realize my purpose has nothing to do with fitting somewhere, but rather with letting art shape me into something that makes someone’s life a little better.”

“You’ll get that recognition, though.” Yoongi sentenced again. “You’ll receive awards for your cultural influence, both nationally and worldwide.”

“Thank you, hyung.” Jimin and Taehyung mumbled simultaneously, a bit shyly.

“You too, Namjoon.” Yoongi added. This caused Namjoon to perk up while Jungkook turned to gaze at him adoringly. “You’ll get plenty of recognition for the songs you’ve written.”

“I keep telling him that, his mind is amazing.” Jungkook nodded enthusiastically.

Namjoon had participated in the composition process for most of XCVII’s songs, and although he worked under his pseudonym RM, Jungkook and the rest of the members always mentioned him by name in their albums’ Thank You notes, refusing to let him live anonymously anymore.

It had all started back when he helped Jungkook write a solo track, which they decided to title ‘Begin’, a poem of gratitude towards Jimin and the rest of the hyungs who helped him during his darkest times. XCVII’s producers were impressed with Namjoon’s work, and had even offered him to audition for the company, but Namjoon was busy with university life and his own stories to write, so instead of joining the company full time, he was called in whenever the group was preparing for comeback.

This, however, didn’t stop him from growing some kind of fanbase of his own, who discussed the meanings of his lyrics and often left him very heartfelt messages in social media. The fact that he was publicly dating –and recently living with- XCVII’s main vocalist didn’t hurt his popularity either; if anything, their fandom saw him as an essential part of the team.

“You’ll top the lists of contemporary composers, and your first book will be a best-seller.” Yoongi continued with his predictions.

“Thank you, hyung.” Namjoon bowed a little before turning to smile back at Jungkook, who squeezed his hand as if he was already happy about these hypothetical future achievements.

“How are you guys? How’s the town been in our absence?” Taehyung asked then.

“Fantastic!” Hoseok answered with a bright smile. “It has grown so much, a lot of people have moved here recently, so we keep seeing new faces all the time. It’s really fun.”

“Hobi here has been teaching kids of all ages how to dance; I don’t know where he gets the energy.” Seokjin added, smiling ever so fondly at him. “It’s part of what we do, we’ve told you about our foundation, right?”

“Only every single time we talk. The ‘Adorable Youth Foundation’, right?” Taehyung asked.

“No, no, it’s ‘Adorable Representative MC for Youth.” Hoseok said in an exaggerated Americanized accent. “ARMY for short.”

“Much easier to pronounce.” Seokjin added. “But anyway, that’s what we’re going for. We want to really reach out to the youth in this town and encourage them to find a dream and go for it. Dance is one way to explore it, of course, Hoseok knows that better than anyone.”

Hoseok nodded. “But that’s not all we do. We teach them lots of other stuff, practical skills, too. We let them explore whatever they’re interested in: baking, woodcarving, cooking, pottery, sewing, anything we can offer.”

“We don’t do everything ourselves, of course. We volunteer on our own time, but all the other instructors get paid, so it’s good for everyone involved,” Yoongi added, smiling a bit sadly, remembering the struggles from his and Hoseok’s youth. After everything they had gone through, now that they were in a much better position, he realized that now they had a responsibility to pass on a message of encouragement to the next generation, not through clichéd sayings but with real impactful actions.

“There are many other things we want to do, but we’re a bit limited right now,” Seokjin added. “Not financially, thankfully. The factory and the bars are doing extraordinarily well, but, you know, doing all of this is already ‘threatening’ for some people.”

“By ‘people’ he means politicians, cops, and gangs.” Yoongi clarified. “In short, criminal organizations.”

“Right.” Hoseok agreed. “It’s been hard, to be honest. We’ve been in danger many times, and we’ve had to pay a lot of these bastards to get off our backs, but it’s been worth it.”

“Yeah. At first I was scared and kept telling these two that we should just move out, that it wasn’t worth it, but, this is their hometown, you know? And over the years, it’s become my own home too.” Seokjin added with a little smile.

“Woah. Please be careful, hyungs.” Jimin replied.

“We are, don’t worry about us.” Hoseok answered, glancing at his watch. “Jin-hyung, it’s time to get ready.”

“Okay. You heard the man, everyone get out of here.” Seokjin gestured at the rest to leave.

“What? You’re kicking us out?” Taehyung asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. I don’t want you guys pestering me while I get ready, it’s a spiritual moment. Get out.” Seokjin insisted.

“But—We were just catching up.” Namjoon said.

“But we are working.” Seokjin answered. “Go back to the tables and we’ll talk again when I’m done.”

Yoongi and Hoseok stood up at once, pulling up Jimin and Jungkook respectively from their seats and then slinging an arm around their shoulders as they led them to the door.

“Huh. Getting déjà vu here.” Jungkook commented.

“Same. This feels oddly familiar.” Jimin added.

They allowed the older boys to lead them out without protest, with Namjoon and Taehyung following behind. Table 1 was empty, reserved only for them, and they promptly took their seats. The bar had gone back to its usual post-dance-show activities, with the piano player, bartender, and waiters in their respective positions, while the clients had a good time drinking and chatting. Taehyung observed his surroundings with nostalgia and smiled to himself; this bar that had seen all kinds of people come and go, that served as the background for all kinds of stories, had developed a soul of its own. Taehyung was sure of that.

“So…” Jungkook’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “How are the wedding preparations?”

“Oh, to be perfectly honest, we haven’t even had time to prepare anything.” Jimin answered, rubbing his ring as he always did when their engagement was brought up. Taehyung had got him a white gold band with several small rubies engraved on it, alluding to their first meeting, to symbolize how far they had come. “Our schedule is packed these days, so we don’t even know where we’ll get married.”

“You have to let us know ahead of time, I don’t wanna miss it for anything in the world.” Namjoon added with a smile.

“Of course! We have to coordinate everyone’s schedules like we did for today’s reunion.” Taehyung replied. “Well, better than we did for today. The hyungs aren’t actually free.”

“I don’t think they ever are.” Namjoon shook his head. “That was me years ago, remember, baby? I could never catch a break.”

“Mm. The hyungs actually had to intervene to make sure we’d have time to meet, now look how the tables have turned.” Jungkook answered.

“There’s a huge difference there, though. The hyungs actually enjoy everything they’re doing.” Taehyung intervened. “Meanwhile, Namjoon-hyung was sacrificing for our family. But you’re a lot happier now, right, hyung?”

“Happier than I thought was possible. I’d already given up on my own dreams, but now I’m living them.” Namjoon answered with a sincere smile, one that Taehyung hadn’t seen in years. It made his heart ache in a good way.

Jungkook giggled, poking one of his dimples.

 “Ah, I’d forgotten how disgustingly cute you two are.” Taehyung deadpanned. “You’re so much worse in person.”

“I apologize on behalf of my son.” Jimin half-bowed, immediately getting into character.

“This son of yours… is a troublemaker, but not as bad as my brother.” Taehyung followed along, shaking his head slowly. “Did you know he used to steal my sweaters when we were little?”

“I did not.”

“Picture this: a young boy, named Kim Taehyung, shaking as a leaf in the merciless winter. ‘Why, hyung, how could you do this to me? I’m your own flesh and blood!’”

“That… never happened.” Namjoon commented.

“Atrocious. But can his evil deeds really match my son’s?” Jimin asked dramatically. “After I spent countless hours making porridge for him, he fed it to the ducks!”

“I’ve never seen a duck in my life.” Jungkook added, but it was useless, for the two performers had already engaged in their favorite hobby: improvised role-playing.

It wasn’t long before the bar’s lights were dimmed again and a pleasant piano melody started filling the air. Jimin and Taehyung interrupted their comedy bit to give all their attention to the empty stage.

Slowly, the curtains were lifted to reveal Yoongi playing the piano, now dressed completely in a white and silver three piece suit. Atop the instrument, sat Seokjin, with a matching outfit, his hair combed back, and a pink microphone in his hand.

Taehyung and Namjoon turned to look at each other, sharing proud smiles for their older brother.

Seokjin started to sing the most beautiful song, full of melancholy and sentimentality. Time seemed to stand still for everyone except the singer and the pianist, as the entire audience held their breaths in anticipation for the chorus.

“When I’m with you, there is no one else, I get heaven to myself”, Seokjin sang in his melodious voice, hitting every note flawlessly. It made Taehyung gasp; he never knew his brother could sing like this. Seokjin himself didn’t know it, and would’ve never figured it out if he didn’t give himself the chance. He would’ve continued wasting his life trying to prove himself useful to his family instead of pursuing things he was actually interested in.

It was yet another thing to thank El Mariachi for.

For the second verse, Seokjin moved on the piano, draping himself over it to sing to Yoongi: “You and me; like a star that doesn’t shatter” as the latter made a visible effort to keep his focus on the keys.

The final verse found Seokjin completely lying on his back as he sang his heart out, at which point people were already giving him standing ovations. The song ended on a beautiful note, after which both Yoongi and Seokjin left the piano to bow to the audience. Yoongi bowed one last time and waved to the audience as he exited the stage, at the same time Hoseok joined it from the opposite side.

“Thank you so much.” Seokjin spoke into the mic, at the time Hoseok stood behind him and started fiddling with his jacket, apparently tying something to it. “I got help from some friends to write this song to everyone I love. My family, my partners, my friends, and all the people we’re helping through the foundation, and all the people who make it possible. I’m not good at saying things like ‘I don’t want to lose you’, or ‘Please stay with me forever’, it scares me a lot, to be honest… so instead, I wanted to tell my loved ones what they mean to me in this moment.”

Hoseok finished with his work and made an OK hand gesture for Seokjin. Taehyung then realized that what Hoseok attached to Seokjin’s jacket was a cape, the kind that a superhero would wear.

“I also want to tell you all that you can do anything you dream of,” Seokjin continued. “Whether it’s tuna, flatfish, mackerel, or shark, anything is possible!”

There was absolute silence for a grand total of 2 seconds as everyone tried to interpret Seokjin’s words, but this analysis process was interrupted by upbeat, eurobeat-like music playing all of a sudden and a simple choreography executed by Hoseok and Seokjin.

“My heart is beating, flap-flap, where did my fish go?” He sang about fish this time, and he still hit every note.

Hoseok put a lot of enthusiasm into his dance and background vocals, although he kept breaking into laughter every time he made eye contact with Seokjin. Despite having such simple steps, it was clear to anyone watching that he was a professional. The two got the entire audience dancing and clapping along.

It was jaw-dropping.

“Woah, oh, su-per tu-na!” He finished his song, receiving even louder applause and cheers.

Some of the clients screamed love confessions while others were visibly in tears. Seokjin and Hoseok bowed to the audience before exiting the stage.

“That was… Something.” Namjoon commented, clapping slowly.

“No, hyung, it was everything.” A teary-eyed Taehyung corrected.