"Wow, it's been a while," Jimin reflected, the tone of his voice light with awe.

Three months, but who was counting, Yoongi thought to himself.

"I guess so," he said at last, his grip still tight on the stranger's wrist. It felt like a lifeline right now: if he dropped it, he may very well fall apart.

Jimin's eyes flitted all over his face, searching for what Yoongi wasn't sure. "You look well. How's everything been?"

Dark, lonely, isolating.

"I've been good, Jimin," Yoongi answered instead, hoping his voice sounded even and calm. "It was nice seeing you. But I was just heading out."

A few awkward moments passed as the two boys stared at each other. Yoongi didn't know why he wasn't leaving. He found himself an out, so shouldn't he be running for the hills right now?

Jimin's gaze turned upward at the guy standing right behind Yoongi, realization hitting him. "Oh. Right. You two were leaving."

"Right," Yoongi breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. More than anything, he wanted to pull Jimin into his arms and beg for the boy to take him back. More than anything, he wanted to run away so he wouldn't embarrass himself more than he already had.

"I'm Jimin," his ex said to the boy behind him. "I'm sure you've heard all about me."

Jimin reached out his hand to the stranger, letting it hang idly in the air. Yoongi waited for his cover to be blown and for the embarrassment to consume him completely. He never should have let Hoseok talk him into coming to this stupid party.

"I'm Jungkook, and sorry, no. Your name never came up."

The stranger - Jungkook - reached around Yoongi to shake Jimin's hand. When their brief greeting ended, Jungkook rested his hand confidently on Yoongi's hip.

The gesture was not missed by Jimin. "How long have you guys been together?"

Yoongi knew he was expected to talk, but no words came to mind. No matter how much he wished to appear unaffected, he was very much affected. Jimin crushed his heart and spirit during their breakup. Yoongi still didn't know how to tape the broken pieces of himself back together.

"For a while now," Jungkook answered for him, flattening his hand to cover more of Yoongi's hip. "How long has it been, baby?"

It took a moment for Yoongi to realize Jungkook was talking to him.

But Jimin sure realized it, his eyes widening slightly. "He calls you baby? That's . . . cute."

Yoongi was always the one to dole out pet names, but never was a fan of being called one himself. Jimin tried to call him all sorts of things - sweetheart, boo, love - but Yoongi thought it all sounded too cheesy.

"Yeah," he said lamely, body going rigid as Jungkook pressed himself up against Yoongi's back. The boy's other hand came to rest possessively over his abdomen.

Jimin gave him a small smile. "Well, you look happy, Yoongi."

Yoongi resisted the urge to scoff. In no world did he look happy right now.

Someone called Jimin's name, a tall, broad shouldered man who looked just like a movie star. Yoongi's heart instantly clenched in jealousy as he studied the new guy. A confident air surrounded him like an aura, his features painted in a quiet confidence.

"This is Jin," Jimin explained as the aforementioned boy joined the group.

Yoongi heard Jin's name mentioned several times over the course of Jimin and his relationship. To Jimin, Jin was one of the kindest, most caring, and funniest people the younger had ever met. The way Jimin talked about Jin wasn't outright suspicious, but Yoongi always did wonder if his then-boyfriend was harboring a crush.

The way Jin slung his arm around Jimin's shoulders now didn't help to suppress his doubts.

"Hey, Jin," Jungkook said over Yoongi's shoulder. "I'm Jungkook and this is my boyfriend, Yoongi."

Yoongi was immensely grateful to Jungkook in that moment. He was still having trouble processing everything, let alone begin trying to form coherent sentences.

Jin smiled softly at the two of them before turning his attention to Jimin. "Alright, Jiminie. Let's get out of here."

Jimin looked like he wanted to say something more, but he shook his head and let Jin pull him away. Yoongi stared at the boy's back until he was lost in the crowd, disappearing from sight.

That was not what he expected at all. Did Jimin seem remorseful or was it just his imagination? Was there a tiny bit of regret lingering in his eyes?

No, most likely not.

Yoongi doubted Jimin felt one tenth of the sadness he was feeling right now.

He felt suddenly cold and detached as hands were removed from his body.

"Oh," he murmured to himself, turning to face Jungkook. "Um, thanks for that. And sorry. I'm sure that was weird."

Jungkook ran a hand through his hair, pushing the silky strands off his forehead. "Never been asked to be a fake boyfriend before. How'd I do?"

Despite himself, Yoongi chuckled. "Not too bad."

"Not too bad? I think I was better than not too bad. I thought that guy was gonna rip my hands off of you," Jungkook revealed, humor vibrant in his eyes.

"Really?" Yoongi questioned, hating the note of hope in his voice.

"Yup. Was he an ex or something?"

Yoongi nodded his head before looking at his shoes. "We broke up a few months ago."

A gentle hand placed itself on his shoulder. "Ah, I'm sorry, man. That's rough."

The warmth from Jungkook's hand felt nice as Yoongi concentrated on the touch. It felt like another anchor, keeping him here in the present rather than being consumed with memories of the past.

"Yeah . . . well, anyways. I think I'm going to head home," Yoongi told the boy, looking up at him once more. "Thanks again."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Jungkook said, securing Yoongi in place by putting his other hand on his shoulder. "Let's talk payment, yeah?"

"I'm sorry?"

A cocky smirk caused Jungkook's lips to tilt to the side. "Fifty bucks if I pretended to be your boyfriend."

"But, you -"

"A deal's a deal, man. I upheld my side, so it'd be honorable for you to uphold yours." Jungkook lowered his head so they were at the same eye level. "Don't you agree?"

Yoongi grumbled to himself about honor, all while shooting daggers at this overconfident guy holding him down.

"And I'll make it easy for you," Jungkook continued. "You don't even have to give me fifty bucks in cash."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yoongi asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He was this close to shoving Jungkook's grip off of him.

Jungkook deftly spun Yoongi around and started pushing him towards the exit. "Let's go get some food, your treat, and we'll call it even."

Yoongi tripped over his feet as he was guided out of the apartment. "Fine. But it's not a date or anything."

A laugh ripped out from Jungkook's chest. "Think of it as a fake date for your fake boyfriend. Now come on. I'm hungry."

Yoongi could already tell he was going to regret this. How did he always manage to get himself caught up in these messes?

"One dinner and you'll never have to see me again," Jungkook promised with a mock salute.

"You're so full of it," Yoongi grumbled as they made their way into the hallway.

"And for tonight, I'm all yours, baby."

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

》 V A L E N W R I T I N G 《

First couple chapters for you guys!

Like I said on my profile, this is going to be a short story while I plan out Book #3! Not sure how many chapters yet, but this will be lighter than my other stuff for sure.

Hope it's a nice distraction for the meantime. Borahae! 💜