A part of him wishes he would have stayed a minute longer just to ask Jimin. Another part fears doing so would have made matters worse, so at this point he decides to just accept taking slow steps is the only way to go.

But it bothers him. It really bothers him.

And Jeongguk's aware it's common knowledge: you can't solve a problem if you don't know what the problem is - and even if it's possible to solve, it can't be easy.

Hoseok knows. Jeongguk knows Hoseok knows, if not everything then at least something, some crucial bit of information.

His request was turned down once.

But after arriving home and hurrying straight up to his room, he decides to try again.

-

me
hoseok, you gotta tell me

Hoseok
?

me
jimin, what's wrong with him??

Hoseok
nothings wrong with him??

me
you know what i mean...

me
i stopped by his house today and was talking to him and i complimented him and he just went into this trance??

me
it freaked me out cus now i know there's gotta be something seriously wrong

me
what happened??

Hoseok
jeongguk we've been over this

Hoseok
if he wants you to know, he'll tell you

me
but i'm seriously worried!! how am i supposed to do anything if i don't know what's wrong??

Hoseok
what do you want me to say, jeongguk?? its jimin's life not mine. i'm not gonna overstep my boundaries as his best friend and share extremely personal information about him if he doesn't want anyone to know

Hoseok
he's recovering okay? from serious trauma and i need you to understand that much before you go all gung-ho and demand from him directly "what's wrong with him"

me
right

me
i'm sorry hoseok...

me
i'm being really ignorant right now i'm sorry...

Hoseok
it's ok guk

Hoseok
this is just a really sensitive subject, even for me

Hoseok
i appreciate your concern tho honestly

Hoseok
but please, jeongguk for jimin's sake just don't push him

Hoseok
baby steps out of his comfort zone are one thing but you need to realize where his comfort zone is and where is "too far"

Hoseok
is this making sense?

me
yeah...

me
thanks hoseok

me
sorry again

Hoseok
it's fine, i'll see you tomorrow :)

-

He lies flat on his bed just to stare at the ceiling for a while. Over and over in his head, he replays that recent memory of Jimin, the one that made his stomach churn. And he still feels it. That strong uneasiness that he just can't set aside. So quickly it became deep-rooted. An awful gut feeling.

He can't ask directly. He didn't plan to do so to begin with, but now that Hoseok stressed it outright, Jeongguk feels he's walking on even lighter eggshells.

He can't ask. But he can still talk to Jimin. Even if just about casual matters, casual conversation. To get closer to him. To make Jimin feel more comfortable around him.

-

me
jimin :)

Jimin
?

Jimin
what's with the smiley face

me
just cus

Jimin
is something wrong? did you leave something at my house?

me
yeah, you ;)

Jimin
(⁄ ⁄•⁄_⁄•⁄ ⁄) ?

me
THE EMOTICON AW

me
i'm just teasing, jimin

me
but like i was wondering mayyybbeee

Jimin
...maybe?

me
idk wanna do something this weekend?

Jimin
why

me
because i think it'd be fun to hang out

Jimin
but why with me?

me
because i want to

me
i'm not gonna force u to say yes :(

me
but it would make me sad ('；__；')

Jimin
i'm boring what would you even want to do...

me
you're not boring (￣^￣)

me
we could go to the mall, or, if u didn't want to do that, we could just watch a movie or play video games at my house or something

me
OOH

me
maybe u could teach me how to knit ( ・∇・)

Jimin
you'd actually be interested in that...?

me
yeah absolutely!

me
i think it sounds fun

Jimin
you're not just saying that are you...

me
jimin i swear i'm not

me
you made that beautiful scarf all on your own i'd love to learn how you did it :)

Jimin
...at your house?

me
well yeah unless you'd rather us go to yours

Jimin
not really...

Jimin
i know my aunt and uncle would probably ask questions...or tease me or not leave me alone, especially my aunt

Jimin
do you have a big family?

me
nope, just me, my parents and my lil bro

Jimin
a little brother? how old is he?

me
four (*'꒳'*) he's a little cutie, but a respectful little cutie so if i asked him not to bother us he'd probably listen

me
probably

me
but he's four so ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌

me
so is that ok?

Jimin
i'd still be nervous

me
nervous is ok

me
you make me feel a little nervous sometimes too

me
cus of how cute you are ＼＼\٩(๑'^'๑)۶//／／

me
not quite sure what that emoticon is but yeah

Jimin
what

Jimin
no no no i'm not cute stop...

me
:( i'm saying it anyway tho cus it's true

me
anyway so is friday good?

Jimin
you're serious about this...

me
of course :)

me
after school on friday i can drive by your house to pick up your knitting stuff and then we can go back to my house

me
we have coffeeeee :D

Jimin
if you're really serious...

me
great! can't wait（＾ν＾）

-

It went better than expected. Way better.

A spontaneous action, a random idea that popped into Jeongguk's head, and it just worked.

Still lying on his bed, he purses his lips in an attempt to restrain his widening smile, but with little success.

Tae, I gotta tell Taehyung.

-

me
iVE GOT A DATE

me
okay it's not /technically/ a date

me
but whatever close enough

Taegchi
whoa okay wait hold on a second

Taegchi
who

me
who do u think

Taegchi
bro i can't believe you'd just ask hoseok out like that i feel betrayed

me
what

me
why would i think i asked hoseok out

Taegchi
you're gay, he's hot

Taegchi
it makes sense

me
tae

Taegchi
real talk tho today? his hair?

Taegchi
chefs kiss

Taegchi
no cap, hottest guy in school

me
tae, brö, that's literally gay

Taegchi
no but like hear me out

Taegchi
if he starred in a superhero movie? i'd be his damsel in distress like no questions asked man i'd volunteer

me
i literally don't even know how to respond do you expect me to say anything

Taegchi
not particularly

Taegchi
so anyway you've got a date?

me
jimin's coming over my house on friday

me
he's gonna teach me how to knit

Taegchi
is that code for kissing

me
WHY WOULD IT BE

Taegchi
idk romeo what else would "knit" mean

me
knitting, tae

me
as in making clothes and stuff with yarn

Taegchi
i fell asleep reading that

me
yeah well i fell asleep waiting for u to man up and ask hoseok out before i do

me
also don't be a bully tae

Taegchi
wait legit you'd do that

Taegchi
wtf guk

me
you're so dense

me
but yeah i still can't believe he agreed i'm kinda nervous??

Taegchi
dude i have a brilliant idea

me
okay share

Taegchi
play spin the bottle

me
there's literally two of us

Taegchi
full proof plan right

me
no but thanks for trying

Taegchi
do u have plans other than knitting?

me
idk yet

Taegchi
👀

me
tae we're just hanging out

Taegchi
guk i know i know chiiillll

Taegchi
i'm just saying

me
stop you're gonna make me even more nervous...

Taegchi
dude guk u got this

Taegchi
movie, arm over shoulder, u know the drill

me
he'd freak out i know he would

Taegchi
just tryna show my support, man that's all

me
lol i know tae i appreciate it

Taegchi
but like if there is some lip locking action hmu

me
why, are u saying you're interested too?

Taegchi
never say that to me again

me
yeah agreed i'm gonna go brush my teeth

—