second choice. ʲʲᵏ ˣ ᵖʲᵐ

[03]

"yooo gguk!"

a way-too-excited taehyung stood in the doorway, dressed in a button- up shirt and some jeans, his hair combed back. "your 20 minutes is up, bro."

jeongguk watched as his expression turned from excitement to surprise as he noticed jimin in the room, who had suddenly turned to look at him, confused.

"oh, sorry, i should have knocked. the door was slightly open so i thought- "

"it's alright," jimin said, eyeing taehyung up and down and then glancing at jeongguk questioningly. "he's... a friend of yours?"

"yeah- "

"best friend, actually," taehyung announced, sauntering over to where jeongguk stood and throwing an arm over his shoulder. "we've known each other since we were in the womb." jeongguk rolled his eyes and elbowed him in his ribs slightly, to which he let out a small squeak.

jimin's eyebrows raised, a small smile playing on his lips. he was clearly entertained by the situation that was playing out in front of him.

"i'm sorry about my friend, he's a little- "

"i'm kim taehyung. nice to meet you," he said, holding out a hand, which jimin shook in amusement. "by the way, i'll probably stop by here often, just a head's up." he clicked his tongue and winked.

"-loud and obnoxious." jeongguk finished his sentence, glaring at taehyung, who was grinning at jimin and wiggling his eyebrows.

at jeongguk's words, taehyung turned to glare back at jeongguk. "um, excuse me. that's super rude, bro. how dare you."

jimin laughed. "i like this guy. i'm park jimin, nice to meet you." then, realizing the way they were both dressed, he scrunched his eyebrows. "are you guys headed somewhere?"

"yeah the opening party for the new school year! are you coming?" taehyung piped, obviously pumped. jeongguk's ears slightly perked at the idea of jimin coming along.

"oh! uh, maybe another time. i have some things to take care of. you guys go and enjoy."

jeongguk tried not to let his disappointment show. half of him wanted jimin to come along; he would probably get to learn more about jimin and he so desperately wanted that. but the other half of him accepted it'd probably not be the best idea right now... in case he'd make a fool of himself again, or even worse, if taehyung told jimin something embarrassing about him or accidentally hinted that jeongguk found him extremely attractive.

and with that, he let taehyung drag him out of the room, waving a small 'bye' to jimin (who returned the gesture with a kind smile) as they exited the dorm and made their way to the party.

•••

the loud music blared into jeongguk's ears as they entered the room. taehyung whooped in excitement and pulled him in by his arm.

the large room was filled with people dancing and talking in groups. it was mostly dark, expect for a few lights around the corners of the room and the disco lights in the center. at the back of the room, we're two long tables with a bunch of snacks, punch, and a bunch of very suspicious looking glass bottles and red cups. there were definitely going to be a lot of drunk people here, jeongguk could smell it.

"oh, you meant a party party?" he shouted over the noise.

"what else does a party mean, dumbass?" taehyung shouted back. "let's go get some drinks!"

"wait- " before jeongguk could protest, taehyung was pulling him to the tables at the back.

"would you boys like some punch?" the girl behind the table asked. she had long black hair and wore a short form-fitting black dress. she was pretty, nonetheless, but jeongguk was too distracted by the environment of the party to notice.