The King Likes Men

•16•

"Hoseokie-Hyung, could we talk?"

Hoseok grabs a towel from his bag and wipes the sweat from his face, "Sure Jiminie. What's up?"

Jimin looks around even though its only the two of them inside the practice room. He sits down on the floor in front of Hoseok. He looks nervous for some reason, slight fidgety and doesn't stop biting his bottom lip.

"Um, the other day I saw something," Jimin whispers low. Hoseok scoots in closer to hear better. "You know the day that Jin-hyung ran out of the breakfast hall? The day we found him in the waiting room with General Min?"

Hoseok nodded. It had been a weird thing to witness. They had found Jin but he was crying in the waiting and General Min was there with him, just coldheartedly staring as snot was coming out of their hyung's nostrils. 

Thinking that Jin was crying because of the General, Hoseok had stepped in and grabbed the tiny man by the collar and asked him what did he do. General Min had just stared dully and told him to ask Jin and then just shoved Hoseok away with more strength than he thought the general had and walked out.

Jin had assured both of them that the general had actually been trying to comfort him. Hoseok didn't believe him, he didn't think that Min Yoongi was capable of such a thing.

"That night I stayed in the practice room till morning," Jimin continues, "It was probably four in the morning when I decided to go back to my room and I saw..." his voice drifted off, he took a breath and finished, "I saw the King leaving Tae and Jin-hyung's room."

Hoseok snorted, unable to hold it back, and Jimin pouted at him. "Jiminie, there's no way. The King isn't allowed in our bedrooms."

"But I saw it!" Jimin whined, "Not only that but I saw General Min dragging Taetae there too! Tae didn't sleep there that night! Jin and the King were...alone."

Hoseok didn't believe it. More like he didn't want to believe it. Because it made perfect sense. The way Jin-hyung had been acting lately, going all moody because the other candidates talked about their dates, it could only be explained by the clear assumption that Jin genuinely liked the king. However Jimin's words could create a scandal, a riot, Seokjin may end up being hung if any other the other candidates knew.

"Jiminie," Hoseok said, suddenly turning serious and placing his hands on Jimin's shoulders, "That is a very dangerous accusation."

"Would you be angry if it was true?" Jimin asks worriedly.

He paused, thinking. "No," he finally said. And it was the truth. "No. If it's Jin-hyung, then I can't get angry. He deserves something like this and if the King chose him then good for him. I'd just feel a little...betrayed? I mean he didn't tell us and also everyone is still making us go through this thing when there's already a winner."

Jimin nodded. He too understood that. They had been friends with Seokjin for years, it hurts to know that he doesn't trust them enough with his secret. "Maybe," he wanted to believe, "Maybe he just hasn't found the time to tell us?"

Hoseok cocked a brow, "Doubt it Jiminie. But still, I won't push him to tell us. I'll just secretly support them from the shadows. If it's true. Since nothing's been confirmed then I'm still giving it my all in this competition."

"Same, but I can't help but to worry, you know? Nothing can happen to the King accept people getting angry for already choosing a winner, but Jin-hyung could get a lot of hate not only from the candidates but from the public as well."

"Yeah, I hear you," the elder sighed, "I'm worried about that too."

In a way Hoseok and Jimin were like Jin and Tae. Both of them had grown up with each other, supported on another, Hoseok had always offered his home whenever Jimin couldn't go home.