10.

Jungkook P.O.V

"Jungkook, this is my dance partner, the very talented and amazing Jung Hoseok."

I looked ahead and saw a lean figure emerge from the dim area. He came closer, and I could finally make out his features.

His face was thin. His pearly white teeth shone in between his smiling lips which formed a heart, reminding me of Jisoo.

His almond shaped eyes almost disappeared in his wide smile. He had shiny red hair, which had two little tiny braids on the right side. His limbs were thin and looked perfect for a dancer. His forehead was glistening with sweat and half of his tee was soaked. I assumed that he and Jimin had come from the Arts building.

"Hi, Jungkook! I'm Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi!" He said, smiling even more broadly, if that was possible. It immediately brought a smile to my face too, and I already felt at ease.

"Hey, Hobi! You can call me whatever you'd like," I said, shrugging.

"Well, then, I'm calling you Kookie." He put an arm around Jimin.

"Sure," I chuckled.

"Oh my, it's already crossed 7 P.M! We better get to the cafe quickly, and then back to the dorms," Jimin said. "That reminds me, did you find your phone?"

"Yeah, it was on the table," Hobi said.

I was just looking at my feet, feeling kind of awkward.

"Oh, okay. Anyways, Jungkook here is going to be joining us for a drink," Jimin said, giving me a sly smile.

I looked up, startled at the mention of my name. "Yeah. Wait, what? No, I'm just gonna come to the cafe with you guys, and go to the dorms from there," I said, after slowly registering what Jimin had said.

"Ah, if you're coming all the way to the cafe, you might as well stay for a drink," Hobi said.

"I wouldn't want to bother you guys though," I said, hoping they would agree.

"Come on, you wouldn't be a bother! Now, let's go." Jimin pulled me along with them.

We reached about five minutes later, and I was startled at how different the cafe looked at night.

There were more fairy lights hanging around, giving the whole place a Halloween sort of vibe. The inside apparently had actual orange LED lights, which lit the cafe brightly, contrasting with the dark but soothing hue it offered during the daytime.

We took a seat inside, near a huge window. I looked out, and found it creepy as to how deserted the place looked.

Then again, everyone must be comfy in their dorms at this time. I internally whined as I could be one of them right now, but instead I was stuck here with two people I met about ten minutes back.

I was broken out of my trance when Hobi nudged my shoulders. "Hey, what would you like to have?"

"Anything's fine."

"Oh, well I'm having the Blueberry Lemonade, and Hobi's having the Sweet Tea Mojito," Jimin said, looking through the menu once more.

"I'll have the Blueberry Lemonade too then, please," I said, shifting in my seat.

Hobi sprung up from his seat and walked up to the counter to give our orders, which left me and Jimin, sitting awkwardly across each other, staring at everything but each other.

I decided to break the ice.

"So, you're a dance major," I said, hoping he would bear with my awkwardness.

"Yeah!" He replied back, a bit too enthusiastic.

"Cool," I said, which left us in an even more awkward situation. "Which year are you in?" I tried again.

"Oh, I'm a sophomore."

I hummed, because I didn't know how to respond to that.

"When do you start your classes?" He asked.

"On Monday," I responded, meeting his soft gaze.

"Ah. You can sit with me and my friends during lunch breaks if you wanna." Jimin offered, showing his adorable smile.

"Sure." I smiled back, my front teeth automatically making themselves seen.

"Drinks are here!" Hobi's cheerful voice resounded in my ears. He came smiling his cute heart-shaped grin.

He placed the tray with the drinks on the table and sat down beside me, extra bubbly. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

Hobi and I took our drinks and each drank one sip.

"This tastes amazing." I nodded in satisfaction.

"Everything here tastes amazing, to be honest," Hobi said, sipping his drink rather weirdly from his straw, sucking in his cheeks fully.

I coughed violently.

"What happened?!" Hobi asked quickly turning towards me in worry. I drank a sip of water and continued laughing.

"Are you okay?" Hobi asked once again. I nodded, still chuckling.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that the way you drink is, uh, interesting," I said, stifling my laughter.

Hobi's eyes widened in realization. "Ah, that."

"You actually looked like a fish," I said, imagining his peculiar face, and burst into laughter again.

I suddenly felt someone grab my arm. I turned to see Hobi dying with laughter, right on the edge of his seat.

"Are you okay now?" I asked, helping him sit up straight.

"It's just that I imagined that face on the body of a fish," Hobi said. I snorted. "I regret it."

He wiped his eyes, where tears were threatening to fall.

I noticed the absence of Jimin's laughter and turned to look at him. He was staring at something behind me, seemingly in a trance. I turned around to see what he was staring at so intently.

A poster advertising an ice cream sandwich?

I turned back to Jimin, who was still staring at the poster, his plump lips unintentionally forming a pout.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face. He jumped a little in his seat, looking away from the poster.

"Huh? What happened?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"You were just staring at that poster, completely ignoring the drama taking place here."

"What drama did I miss?" Jimin asked, his gaze going back and forth between me and Hobi, his eyes enlarged in curiosity.

"Apparently, I look like a fish when I'm drinking from a straw," Hobi said, exasperatedly.

"Well, it's true; you do look like a fish." Jimin deadpanned.

I burst into laughter once, hitting the table.

"Woah, woah! Muscle boy! You're shaking the table," Hobi said grabbing my hand again.

I looked up to see a portion of Jimin's drink spilt on the table.

"Oops," I said, sheepishly.

-

We all exited the cafe, after finishing our drinks and Hobi refusing to let me pay for my drink saying that it was a treat from a newly made friend.

"So, you just go straight ahead from here, and you'll reach the dorms," Hobi said.

"You must've taken the wrong turn a while back. Everyone gets confused with that turn," Jimin chuckled.

"Ah, yeah. Lisa warned me about it, but I missed it," I said, scratching my head.

"Oh, you know Lisa?" Hobi asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah. I'm kinda friends with her and Rosé," I said, stressing on the kinda. "How do you know her?"

"She's an excellent dancer. She's a major in dance and I see a lot of talent in her. She's a part of a dance program I'm leading," Hobi said.

"Yeah, she dances amazingly," Jimin added.

"Wait. You said you're friends with Rosé too. Do you know Jennie then, by any chance?" Jimin asked, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I said, recalling our rather interesting interaction earlier today.

"Oh, God," Jimin said, running his hands through his hair, exposing his forehead.

"Ah, I see that you met Jimin's girlfriend," Hobi said, smirking.

"Wait, what? Girlfriend? So, it was you?!" I exclaimed in realization.

"What do you mean me? Did Jennie do something again?" Jimin asked urgently.

"I knew I had seen you before somewhere," I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I said, smiling secretly.

"Let's get going now," Hobi said, leading the way. Jimin was still shooting me suspicious glares but I pretended not to notice them and followed Hobi.

The boys dorm was only two minutes from the cafe thankfully, and we reached in no time.

We went up the flight of stairs, and had to depart at the second floor, as that's where Jimin and Hobi stayed.

"Oh, you guys are roommates?" I asked them, confused.

'Then what about the handsome guy I saw yesterday with Jimin and Jennie?'

"No, we're not roommates, but our dorm rooms are on the same floor," Jimin said, and Hobi nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then. Goodnight, guys, and thanks for the drinks," I said, smiling.

"Wait, which floor are you on?" Hobi asked.

"Uh, I'm on the fourth floor, near the fire exit."

"I see. Goodnight, Kookie," Hobi said, suddenly hugging me.

I was startled and looked at Jimin, only to see him leaning on the wall and laughing silently. I weakly hugged back, and he pulled away, saying goodbye once again.

I grinned at his cuteness, bid them farewell and went up to my dorm room.

I slowly opened the door, and was met with the sight of Hyunjin sitting on his bed, drying his hair.

He doesn't seem angry about the clean room. I thought to myself, walking over to my side of the room.

I put my backpack down on the floor, and went to the washroom to wash up. I switched on the geyser. Today was a long day.

I got out a few minutes later, and saw Hyunjin fidgeting with his hands.

I squinted my eyes at him, but decided to ignore him. His words still rung in my head. It might not have meant anything to him, but it did to me.

My parents were a sore topic for me, and even the mention of them made me lash out at anyone who spoke about them.

I shook my head, and sat down on the bed, to rest for a while, till the water got heated.

I laid down, feeling the soft mattress hit my back. There was complete silence, until I heard a cough.

I opened my eyes, and turned to where it came from. Hyunjin still looked uncomfortable, and kept tapping his foot, muttering something to himself.

I was going to close my eyes again, when I heard Hyunjin call out my name.

I looked back at him, unsure as to whether he had actually called me, or not. He finally looked up, and said, "Hey. Uh, I see you cleaned the room. Thank you for that."

"Well, yeah. It looked super messy, and I just thought it would be good to clean it," I said, "and I'm sorry if I touched something precious of yours."

The sarcasm was evident in my voice.

"That's alright, the cleaning of this room was long overdue anyways," he said, slowly.

"Well, I'm gonna have a quick shower now," I said, getting off the bed, and going up to my wardrobe.

"Yeah, you do that," Hyunjin mumbled, "ah, fuck it. I would like to apologise for my behavior yesterday. I was pissed, and took it out on you," he said, in literally one breath.

I widened my eyes, surprised at the sudden apology.

"I'm sorry if I came off as mean yesterday, I didn't mean to. . . and uhm," He blinked aggressively.

That's when I figured that this was what he had been muttering to himself earlier. He practices apologies? I stifled my laughter.

"Shit, I forgot what's next," he said, in a quiet voice.

I couldn't hold it in any more, and burst out laughing.

He looked at me confused, and that made me laugh even more. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off saying it was alright.

"It's okay, dude. I get what you were trying to say, and I accept the apology. I was quite rude too yesterday, so I'm sorry as well," I said, after calming down a little.

"I forgive you too. Well, let's start over again. How does that sound?" He asked, smiling.

"That sounds amazing. I'm Jeon Jungkook." I grinned.

"Hwang Hyunjin's the name," he said, giving a small air salute.

We chuckled, and I went to the washroom after picking out my clothes. I got out twenty minutes later, and saw Hyunjin, laying down in bed, with his arms behind his head.

I was about to ask him what his major was when I heard soft snores.

I looked at Hyunjin carefully, and realized that he had fallen asleep.

I'll just ask him tomorrow I guess. I shrugged.

I quietly switched off the lights, before going over to my bed, and wrapping myself in the blanket. I sighed in content at the warmth and comfort and soon fell asleep.

***

Jimin P.O.V

"Drinks are here!"

Hobi walked towards our table, with all our drinks. He placed the tray on the table and sat down next to Jungkook, who smiled back at his usual grinning face. Hobi's infectious smile put a smile on my face too.

I was about to speak up when something behind Jungkook caught my attention. My smile faded away.

An ice cream sandwich advertisement.

Bitter memories flashed before my eyes. I closed my eyes tightly, but it wouldn't disappear. I opened my eyes again and looked at the poster again.

"I'm back, Nan!"

Eleven-year-old me had called out after returning from school. Hye Jin, my nanny, came walking towards me and took the school bag from my shoulders.

"How was school, my little Prince?" She asked, sweetly.

I grinned. I would always love it when she called me that.

"It was amazing, Nan! How was your day?" I asked her.

"Ah, it was good. Go to the hall now. There's a surprise for you," she said, pushing me gently in the hall's direction.

I lived in a rather big house, so it took my short my legs a few minutes to reach the hall. I pushed the door open, expecting a wrapped present, which was usually what my Nanny used to gift me every month.

Instead, I saw the figures of my parents.

"Surprise!" They said, walking towards me and giving me a hug. I weakly hugged back still processing what was happening.

"Mom! Dad! You're back!" I had said excitedly when they released me from the hug.

My parents were lawyers. My mom helped families, as in with child custody and divorces. My dad however worked to provide justice to all corporates out there, and worked with various business men.

This was the reason, they were almost never at home.

The last time we had properly spent time together as a family was when I was five.

Nanny was a little younger than my mother and had taken care of me and saw to it that I was never missing the love of a mother, or a father, for that matter, but I still missed them, after all they were my real parents.

I met my parents twice a year, but if they were busy, we met only once a year.

They had changed. Mom had cut her long hair, which I used to adore, short. Dad's hair had looked greasy and was swept back in a formal way.

I found it scary. They looked more intimidating.

"Yes, Jimin, we're back! And guess what? We're going out for a family trip!" My mom had said excitedly.

"Really?!" I said matching her tone.

"Yes. We finally got leave for a week! So we're going to Gangnam! Your nanny has already packed all your clothes for you. We're leaving in an hour," Dad had said, smiling widely.

"Go freshen up now. We'll leave soon." Mom pulled my cheeks. I smiled and went up to my room and saw Nan zipping up a suitcase.

She turned around to face me. "Did you like your surprise?" She asked, her eyes disappearing into her smile, a feature I was always fascinated with.

"Yes! I missed Mom and Dad so much. I still can't believe we're going out on our very first family trip!" I had said, flinging myself on my bed.

Nan laughed. "Well, I hope you have fun. Tell me everything that happened once you come back, alright?"

"Of course, Nan! I'll tell you everything," I said, trying to imitate her smile.

She laughed and pulled my cheeks softly. I usually dislike it when people pull my cheeks, but Nan knew the right amount force to not make it hurt me.

"Wait, where's Chimmy?" I looked around my bed for my little chubby yellow doll, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"It's packed in your suitcase. I know you can't sleep without it, so I tucked it safely in between your clothes," Nan had said, putting her hands on her hips.

I tackled Nan in a tight hug. "Woah, there," Nan chuckled.

"Thank you so much, Nan," I had said, my cheeks squished against her tummy, voice muffled.

"You're always welcome, my little prince. Now, go freshen up. You don't want to be late for your very first trip do you?" She was still laughing. I hummed.

Before leaving, Nan had pulled me aside and given me a little cash filled envelope, saying it was my special allowance. She had told me not to let my parents know about it.

-

On the third day of our vacation, we stopped at a fast food restaurant for dinner.

After eating, a little stall outside the restaurant had gotten my attention. 'An ice cream sandwich? What was that?'

I had been sheltered all my life, and only ate what was cooked by my Nan and the other maids, and had not eaten much of outside food.

I saw a kid about my age asking her mother to buy her one from the stall, and her mother obliged.

The man selling them, handed her a brown biscuit sort of thing filled with ice cream in the centre. I had gasped.

'That looks tasty.'

I called out for my mom. She turned to look at me. I pointed at the stall with shining eyes. Before she could see what I was pointing at, Dad got a phone call.

"Yes, sir?" He had said.

I called my mom once again but she didn't hear me so I tugged at her dress. "What is it, Jimin?" She asked sharply.

I meekly pointed towards the stall.

"Your dad has gotten a very important business call, can't you see?" She hissed at me. I looked down at my feet.

"We'll be back as soon as possible sir. . . immediately? O-of course, sir. We'll leave right away," Dad had said, slowly walking out of the restaurant. My mom followed him, looking at him worriedly.

I just stood there, still staring at the stall.

I remembered the money Nan had given me and decided to use it to buy myself an ice cream sandwich. It was my very first ice cream sandwich and I was delighted.

After eating the ice cream sandwich, I slowly made my way back to the hotel we were staying in. I went up the lift to our hotel rooms to find my parents.

Mom was angrily shoving our clothes into our suitcases and Dad was pacing outside the door in worry.

Once they saw me, something which looked like relief flashed through eyes, but was immediately replaced by anger. Dad had pulled me harshly inside the room.

"Where were you?!" Dad had asked, rubbing his temples.

I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off by mom shouting. "You could have gotten lost! What would you have done then? You are still a small kid, who has no clue about his surroundings!"

"I—"

"This is why we don't go out for family trips. You are useless. We always have to keep an eye out for brats like you!" Mom shouted once again.

"You somehow found your way back this time, but what about next time? This is the last family trip we are going on," Dad declared.

"But—"

"And, that's final!" Dad roared and dragged his suitcase out of the room. Mom shot me a deadly glare and followed him.

I saw Chimmy discarded on the ground and rushed to pick him up. "You aren't hurt, right, Chimmy? They didn't hurt you, did they?" I muttered, stroking him with shaky hands.

I had taken a deep breath and dragged my heavy suitcase, while tightly gripping Chimmy in another hand, to the car where my parents were waiting.

They were true to their word, we never went on another family trip ever again.

_________________________________

A / N

[281121,, this chapter has been revamped.]

As an apology for not updating for so long, we present to you, this 3.5k words giant :')

Some fun and some angst yay?

We just realised that the story has progressed only two days and we are already at chapter 10–
😵🥴🥴🥴
But that's alright, because we had to show the backstories too, so we hv progressed a lot acc sksksksks

P.S,, the very first introduction chapter, with the quotes and the pics, were actually really important. They were an insight to their characters and how their mind works and what they think about themselves and their surroundings and obsessions in particular.

That's all we're gonna say ;)

~ VeXo 💜
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