Hate With Benefits | Jikook

Chapter Seventeen • Love Is A Fragile Thing

Gasp! An update only six days after the last one?! What kind of sorcery is this?! :o

Sitting at their usual spot in the school's library, Jimin and his only company – his two close friends, Taehyung and Hoseok – stare deep at each other, silent eyes raking over vast expressions.

The more Jimin looks at them, the deeper the frown on his face seems to grow. There's something distasteful in the depth of his eyes as his fingers brush away the natural brown locks nearly long enough to cover his face.

"A cosplay cafe? Seriously?" His disappointment is clear in the tone of his voice as he wiggles his finger judgementally between the two boys.

"Why not?" Says Hoseok with a small whine, "It would be so much fun!"

Taehyung, the one to have suggested the idea, smiles in appreciation. "Thanks, hyung. At least someone here likes my ideas."

"I didn't say your ideas were bad," Jimin defends pointlessly, as Taehyung rolls his eyes at him.

"You haven't exactly contributed much to this conversation, you know?" The younger huffs, arms crossed in a childish manner. "We gotta come up with stuff to suggest for the school festival if we want to avoid last year's disaster. Do you really wanna let the class's president decide and have a repeat of the same shit again?"

Jimin steals a quick glance Hoseok's way. The blond shrugs with a smile, and Jimin sighs, defeated.

"Fine, fine. You're right, last year was..." He cringes at the memory, hissing low as a shudder passes through him. "Kind of a shitshow."

Taehyung snorts. "Yeah, you don't say."

They spend most of their free time discussing alternatives, different events they can later suggest to the class president and hopefully put them up for voting. They're hoping the rest of their class will have some other ideas as well this time around, since they're sure no one wants to let their president be the chosen one for a second time.

The year before, they had been uncaring of such a thing, unmotivated to participate in sharing ideas – matter of fact, most of the class was – and as a result, their event ended up as a math competition of sorts. Needless to say, they were bored out their minds in a day that was all about the students having fun and exploring more of their creative side.

Having come to the conclusion that a cosplay cafe would work better than most of their other options, Jimin then asks, curiously, "What would you guys want to cosplay as?"

"I don't know, maybe we could come up with a theme?" Taehyung suggests.

Hoseok nods and makes a sound of agreement. "That'd be cool. I think it'd be beneficial for the class, too. Team spirit and all that jazz." He laughs, but his words aren't said without purpose.

"You know, I'm surprised you're helping us out this much– you're not even in our class," Jimin muses. "Don't you have to worry about your own event? Have you guys already started pitching ideas?"

Hoseok waves a dismissive hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. My class will do the same as last year."

"Ah, you're doing theatre again, hyung?" Taehyung guesses, and the older nods as a gleeful smile plays at his lips.

"Hm, that's nice. We'll definitely be there to watch you. Can't wait to see you act again." Jimin grins when his words seem to make the boy blush. Too modest, this hyung.

Returning to their main topic of discussion, Taehyung continues, "Okay, so, in terms of themes... how about a profession one? Everyone can dress up as their dream future careers or desired job."