Remedy

Chapter 4

The day before Jimin's birthday, Taehyung spends half of his day with Seokjin while Jimin's at practice. They mostly just listen to music while Taehyung hurriedly tries to finish the painting for Jimin. He makes sure to be back to prepare a small surprise at their dorm for Jimin. He has cakes and food and balloons. They watch movies together and fall asleep in the same bed and the next day they go shopping and out for dinner.

When they see Seokjin again, he wishes Jimin well and gives him a small gift that takes him by surprise. After that Jimin won't shut up about Seokjin.

"He's a really good guy Tae. I love him for you. He's going to be an amazing boyfriend."

"Jimin, we don't know for sure if he likes me in that way."

Jimin stares at him and Taehyung has to turn away.

At work he's tasked with setting up a few decorations for Halloween and he takes this very seriously. In three days the place looks festive and cute. He might have spent a few hours that he should have been studying to put together the outfit for the skeleton by the front desk. He had just needed a silver wig, some fabric he used for the dress, and some paint. The result is better than he hoped.

He likes his job at the library. He's made friends there and he's established his own space and way of doing things. He hadn't noticed before he met him, but Seokjin's friend Namjoon comes by the library a lot. He's usually there early so Taehyung sees him on days he doesn't have class until the afternoon. They've had a few chats, small talk that turned into conversations about art. And now Namjoon's showing him his favorite art book and Taehyung's getting a lot of inspiration from hearing him talk.

Namjoon invites him out for coffee so they can have more than ten minutes to talk. He didn't think he'd be hanging out with Seokjin's friends without him there, but he finds that it's really nice. Taehyung drinks his strawberry milk while Namjoon talks. He's a very expressive person, and honest too. Straight to the point. It's only when he mentions Hoseok that he seems flustered.

"My close friend Hobi, you met him a few weeks ago?" And the blushing ensues.

Namjoon gets into discussing dance as an art form. He's very passionate as he talks about the way that Hoseok expresses emotions with his body. It's brilliant. Genius. One of the greatest forms of artistic expression. Taehyung has to agree with him there. He chews on a strawberry and listens to Namjoon praise Hoseok for as long as he wants to. He recognizes how Namjoon is feeling. He feels the same way about Seokjin.

When Taehyung gets back to his room, he rushes for his notebook and sketches a few ideas before he can forget them. He develops his ideas and sets down some paint on the canvas before taking the rest of the day off to finalize his costume.

With some wire, iridescent cellophane, and spray adhesive, he has a really decent pair of wings. It takes him some time to figure out how to stick them together and wear them without them falling apart. He shapes them with scissors and uses his hairdryer and airbrush paint to add some more details. Jimin helps him make his flower crown and later on they paint each other's nails

When Halloween comes, it falls on a Tuesday and he's got an exam that morning, but he makes time to get ready before work. He's got his blue contacts on and shimmery highlighter on his cheekbones curling up to his forehead and on his collarbones. He mixes up the holographic colors on his skin and tilts his head to admire the way it shines. His makeup takes a while, so he doesn't have a chance to eat anything, but he's satisfied with his look and it's worth it. His dress is one he hasn't worn in months. It's lilac with lace sleeves, off shouldered and short, but the lace extends down further mid-thigh. He puts on his accessories before heading to the library.