The New Contract

Strange

In the weeks following the contract renewal, nothing had changed. Well, for the most part. The boys went about their usual schedule: preparing for their new album, working out and filming extra content for their fans. However, there had been an almost imperceptible change in the way they interacted with each other during these activities. 

Despite the nonchalant manner in which the boys had left the conference room that day and the fact that a certain term had not been brought up by any of the members since, it seemed to be on all of their minds. Jimin was more aware of when he touched his members' thighs or doubled over into their laps when laughing. At first, he had shied away as soon as he noticed his actions, hands quickly retreating and posture quickly recovering. He felt... self-conscious. This was only made worse when his members flinched at the touch or stiffened at his movements, obviously more sensitive to physical contact after the discussion. 

After a while, however, he began to overanalyse things. He thought his members might think his intentions were wayward if they noticed his actions changed after the contract renewal. Maybe they would think that Jimin's touches had always been more than friendly and he was now trying to repress them before anyone found out. Aish, this new term made even the simplest things that much more complicated. 

Eventually, Jimin decided he would just carry on like nothing happened. Even if he was hyper-aware of where his hands touched, he wouldn't stop them. His members seemed to become attuned to his approach, falling back into their old familiar habits, but Jimin could still feel their muscles tighten slightly under his touch as they have never done before. 

While recording a music video for their newest song, Jimin didn't attempt any of his usual affectionate displays. This was very out of character and very noticeable to the displeased director who tried to instruct the boys to act more friendly. At the end of the day, there were a few arms around different shoulders and big smiles, but no heads on different shoulders and no cheek caresses. All the boys could feel it: there was an unmistakable tension in the air, buzzing around them and creating forcefields between them. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Yet, it wasn't unbearable. It wasn't too disruptive. 

That was until dance practice started up again after a break. It was all fine at the beginning. Everyone was following the choreographers' directions, just trying to get the basic moves down. As the session went on though, Jimin found his eyes roaming away from his reflection in the mirror of their own accord. Who can blame him? Namjoon wearing shorts would be distracting under any circumstance, right? He couldn't help but focus on the way the muscles in his calves and lower thighs shifted with every movement. 

A moment later, his eyes found a new target as the rest of the group stepped aside to watch Hobi and Jungkook learn their part of the dance. Now, Hobi's moves have always been eye-catching, but this time, watching Hoseok's face take on a serious expression as he powerfully moved his body made Jimin feel weird. It was such a new experience, he didn't know how to deal with it. He felt... shy. God, what is happening to him. 

Usually, Jimin wouldn't hesitate to tease Hoseok about that glint in his eye while he danced, but today he felt like he was the one being teased. As if he had done something embarrassing on stage and his members were joking about it. He desperately hoped that his cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt given the burn under his skin. 

The sight of Jungkook provided little respite. His long hair used to seem cute, but now that it was tied up as his body flowed in waves of energy, it seemed... attractive. Of course, Jimin was merely recognising this from a purely objective standpoint, right? Of course. 

He reassured himself with this thought as the members regrouped to learn more of the choreography. But he could no longer focus. His thoughts kept straying to the way the members started sweating, wetting their hair and causing their shirts to stick to their chests, defining the muscles there. Suddenly, Jimin was silently begging for the session to end, needing to clear his head.