Before the Dawn (jikook/ vminkook)

22. Secrets

When dance practice was over, Taehyung nearly collapsed. He found a wall to steady himself against and slid pitifully to the floor.

"Don't worry, your stamina will increase after a couple weeks of this," Hobi smirked at him.

"Yeah," Taehyung agreed breathlessly, hardly comforted. First he'd have to live that long.

"Sure you don't want to quit yet?" Yoongi teased, playfully tossing a small sweat towel into Taehyung's face.

"Not a chance," Taehyung gave him a sour look as he begrudgingly wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Good," Yoongi just smirked.

Taehyung watched as Jimin approached him, extra water bottle in hand. He was glistening with sweat, shirt sticking to the ridges and dips of his arms and chest... yup, Taehyung could endure the physical torture just for this moment alone. Just a glimpse of this, every day.

"Here," Jimin offered the bottle. "Drink before you die on us,"

"Thanks," Taehyung croaked.

Jungkook came to Jimin's side, handing him his water bottle even though Jimin had his own a few meters away. Jimin took a long swig.

"You're going to have to work hard if you want to make it into our final audition tapes at the end of the year,"

Taehyung had a hard time concentrating on what Jungkook was saying, instead focusing on the small bit of taught stomach he was exposing as he pulled up the fabric of his oversized shirt to dab at the sweat on his temples. He could see the top of that perfect 'V' as Jungkook's hips shifted, musculature flexing beneath smooth, golden skin.

If the exhaustion didn't kill him, this just might.

Thankfully Taehyung's face was flushed from all the dancing, otherwise the others would have seen his blush clear as day-

"Taehyung,"

"Hm, yeah?" He snapped back to reality. "Right, I know," He tried to recover.

"Do you think you'll opt in?" Jimin asked, looking skeptical.

"Uh, yeah, maybe," Taehyung didn't even know what they were talking about, but he was not about to reveal how distracted he'd just been.

Jungkook just raised a brow.

"Alright, well... good effort today. Let's keep up the energy tomorrow,"

Right, tomorrow. Taehyung was positive he was going to die.

Jimin and Jungkook left practice together. Hobi and namjoon apparently lived close to one another, so they left together, too. Jin seemed to be in a rush to go meet San for something they'd had planned.

By the time Taehyung had gathered the strength to pick himself up off the floor, he and Yoongi were the only ones left. Yoongi just didn't seem in a rush to leave, unlike everyone else.

"Are you trying out for the, the ya know, auditions at the end of the year?" Taehyung asked clumsily.

Yoongi side-eyed him for a moment, but Taehyung couldn't read his expression.

"Yeah, of course," He shrugged his bag over his shoulder. "I don't necessarily want to be an idol, but it could give me more opportunities, a way into the industry. You know," he motioned vaguely with his hand, assuming Taehyung did in fact know what he meant.

Tae wasn't sure, but he nodded along anyways.

"So how does it all work?" He asked, this time earning a small smirk.