Seungmin crossed his arms over his stomach, nervously scratching one of his elbows. The car ride had been so quiet, and it was unnerving that his manager wasn't saying anything.
Instead, Jisoo was scrolling feverishly through her phone. The phone suddenly rang, making Seungmin jump slightly. Jisoo didn't flinch, flipping her hair over her shoulder and answering the call.
"We'll be there in three minutes. Yes, exactly three." She hung up without a goodbye and huffed. Seeing Seungmin's worried expression, she smiled.
"Don't worry, they already love you. They wouldn't have signed you if they didn't. I'll take care of everything. Your job today is to get settled in the dorm and meet your co-workers."
Seungmin nodded, but he didn't feel any less nervous.
The cab pulled up to the front of the BTSKZ building, Seungmin dizzy from its height as he stepped out of the car and looked up.
Jisoo appeared beside him, squeezing his shoulder. "You've got this. It's going to be fun; you'll see. It won't be like last time."
The pair entered the building together but parted once they got to the reception desk. Jisoo went one direction to the office portion of the building, and Seungmin went the other way towards the dorms. His suitcases felt like they were getting heavier with each step.
When the elevator door opened to his floor, he saw the hallway was a buzz of activity. A guy was standing across from the elevator, and he stepped towards Seungmin with a big smile, cute bunny teeth front and center.
"Hi! Are you Seungmin?"
Seungmin nodded. The guy was clearly older than him, but not by much. He had large, round eyes that seemed to sparkle when he smiled. His hair was black and shaved partially on the sides to create an attractive undercut. He had on a black tee and Seungmin saw a whole sleeve of tattoos on one arm, plus a lip ring and an eyebrow piercing. It was interesting how he looked like such a badass and such a softy at the same time.
"Cool!" he said. "I'm Jeongguk, your roommate. I thought I could show you around."
The kid was coming on a bit strong for Seungmin's taste, but he also knew if Jeongguk hadn't been here he would have isolated himself immediately. Instead, he gave a small smile to Jeongguk.
"That'd be nice, thank you hyung."
"How do you know I'm older than you?" Jeongguk said as they began walking down the hall.
"You look it." Seungmin replied simply.
"Ouch," Jeongguk grinned, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that as an insult," Seungmin said quickly. "You just look more put together, I guess."
He needed to work on his conversation skills.
"All good, man," Jeongguk said, smiling and nudging Seungmin with his shoulder.
The hall was loud, full of other what he assumed were his fellow members as well as a few trainees who were singing, dancing, and chatting with each other. They were all gorgeous, Seungmin thought as he and Jeongguk walked by. There were lots of people, but a few caught his eye in particular.
There were two tall men leaning against the wall facing each other laughing hysterically at something only they knew. One had a heart shaped face and deep dimples on both cheeks. The other one was so handsome he looked like he'd stepped out of a period piece about royalty.
Another guy was sitting with his back to the wall, legs outstretched, headphones in while he messed with a hand-held synthesizer. He was nodding his head to the beat, a hoodie pulled over mint-green hair. Jeongguk casually stepped over the man's legs, the latter of which didn't move or even look up. Seungmin took Jeongguk's lead and carefully stepped over the baggy jeans blocking the hall.
At the end of the hall was a pair who were literally making out. Seungmin was shocked, but everyone around him didn't pay any mind and acted like this was a common occurrence.
Jeongguk groaned as he unlocked the room across from the kissing couple. "Will you two knock it off?? We have a new dormmate, please don't traumatize him before you've even introduced yourselves."
The shorter of the two turned to Seungmin, his chipmunk cheeks a deep shade of pink; though it was obviously from the making out, because his face showed no shame for his current actions.
"Hi, I'm Jisung, and this is Minho. If anyone upstairs asks, we're... just friends. More like work colleagues, really."
The Minho guy chuckled and pulled Jisung back in for a kiss, not even looking at Seungmin.
Jeongguk closed the door behind them as he and Seungmin entered their shared room.
"They're not work colleagues. If that wasn't clear," a new, deep voice said, and Seungmin looked up to see another drop-dead gorgeous man sitting up on what Seungmin assumed was Jeongguk's bed. He had a magazine in his long, delicate fingers. His honey skin and medium-length sandy blonde hair brought out his perfect features, particularly his tiger eyes.
Jeongguk hopped onto the bed and sat next to the other guy.
"I mean, we technically do work together as members of Butterfly Venom," Jeongguk turned to Seungmin while he rolled his bags to the other bed. "I'm a singer and dancer. Jisung is a singer and rapper, and Minho is a dancer."
"And I'm Taehyung. I don't work here."
Seungmin raised an eyebrow, "Then...why the hell are you here?"
"Hey now! This guy is your hyung!" Jeongguk said, throwing his arms around Taehyung. "And he's my boyfriend. And he's a model. Obviously."
Jeongguk kissed Taehyung on the cheek and the model giggled.
Great. I have a horny couple across the hall and another in my actual room.
As if reading his mind, Taehyung spoke up. "Don't worry, we won't be fucking here. I have a much nicer apartment nearby. In fact, you may not see much of this guy at all." He ruffled Jeongguk's hair.
"Not going to lie, that's fantastic to hear," Seungmin said, and the older two laughed. "So, the company allows you to come here, and let's Jeongguk stay at your place?"
"Oh fuck no," Tae said, putting down the magazine and standing up, stretching his arms. "It's definitely not allowed. We just don't give a shit. Me in particular." He yawned as he finished stretching.
Seungmin grinned – he liked these two.
"Anyway, I've got to go. It was nice to meet you, Seungmin. I'll see you tomorrow, Jungkookie." Tae kissed his boyfriend and walked out.
After seeing all of these new people, Seungmin was intimidated, to say the least. He was joining a group that had already been working together for almost two years. They were older than your average debut group, but that was what was hot at the moment. Seungmin was the youngest at 22, the oldest being a guy named Jin, who was already 27.
BTSKZ wanted one more singer in the group, and Seungmin had gotten the spot. It was such an honor, and he was excited; but he was also terrified. He was a complete outsider to the group and would always be lacking the intensity of the bond the others had with each other. He was fulfilling his dream of being a singer, but he knew it wouldn't be what he imagined when he thought about an idol group dynamic.
"So!" Jeongguk said excitedly, jumping off of his bed like a little kid. "Want to go on a tour?"
"Actually, I'd like to unpack, if that's okay." Seungmin was feeling overwhelmed.
"Sure! Dinner will be in an hour, the dining room is at the end of the other hall, across from the dance studio."
Jeongguk left the room, and Seungmin was taken aback by the sudden silence. He slowly unpacked his things, putting them away neatly. When he was done, he looked around his new living space.
It was a small room, but still had enough space in between beds to make it feel more individualized. He had a simple chest of drawers and a small desk. They had their own bathroom, which was nothing special but was clean. Seungmin couldn't help but notice Jeongguk's side of the room was covered in dark-colored décor, mostly black, making the younger's side look overwhelmingly white. He'd need to add some color to this place.
It was nearing dinner time, so he decided to change into something fresh. He chose a light blue, fluffy sweater with dark jeans and converse. It was casual but would still look put together.
Seungmin stripped down and reached for new boxers. Before he could put them on, the door to his new bedroom swung open and a tall man barged in.
"Kookie, do you still have that dress that you –"
The man that entered stopped once he saw Seungmin and widened his eyes. "Shit, I'm sorry! Fuck!"
The guy put his hands over his eyes.
"Will you shut the door??" Seungmin yelled, mortified as he yanked the comforter off his bed to cover himself.
The guy nodded, reaching behind him and closing the door, his eyes still closed.
"With you on the other side of it, shithead!" Seungmin picked up his shoe and threw it at the tall guy, who was now blindly grabbing for the door handle..
Seungmin was beyond irritated. He pushed the guy aside, opening the door and shoving him out into the hall.
The guy turned around to face him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't –"
But Seungmin cut him off with the slam of his bedroom door.
"God damn it," Seungmin said to himself, locking the door and getting fully dressed. "I really hope that guy isn't in Butterfly Venom."
Still embarrassed, Seungmin made his way to the dining room. There had been lots of people in the hallway before, but there were only six men sitting down to eat. Since he made seven, Seungmin assumed this was all of Butterfly Venom. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't see the blond man who walked in on him changing.
"Hey, Seungmin!" Jeongguk waved him over, patting the seat next to him. "Get over here, I'll introduce you to everyone."
Seungmin smiled as best as he could to hide his nerves as he sat down at the table. He recognized the guys from the hallway earlier, the ones who had caught his eye.
"This is Jisung and Minho, but you already met them."
Minho did a small two-finger salute and grinned at Seungmin. Seeing his face more clearly now, Seungmin saw how utterly handsome he was. He had thin features and piercing eyes, his hair a chestnut brown. Jisung was next to him, his blue hair peeking out from under a beanie. He had food stuffed in his big cheeks and was chewing adorably, a tiny smile on his lips. The sight reminded Seungmin of an animal he'd seen before, but he couldn't think of its name.
"That's Jin there, he's a singer. Next to him is our rapper, Namjoon."
The two tall men he'd seen earlier smiled and greeted him hello.
"Lastly there's Yoongi, he's the grumpy looking one at the end there with his headphones still in. He's a rapper an also our main producer."
Seungmin looked over to Yoongi, who finally looked up and moved his headphones down to around his neck.
"Nice to meet you, Seungmin. I saw your tapes and heard your recordings. You're fucking good. I can't wait to work with you." Yoongi said it so bluntly, like he was just stating facts instead of giving a compliment. Then he pulled his headphones back up over his ears and went back to eating.
"Wow, that was uncharacteristically open of him to say," Namjoon said, shaking his head. "Anyway, we're all glad that you're here. I hope we can make you feel like part of the group."
"We have dance practice in the morning, so that should show us your potential of being 'part of the group'." Minho said, leaning back in his chair as he took a big swig of water.
"Don't be a dick," Jin said, reaching around Jisung to repeatedly slap the back of Minho's head.
"Ah, I'm sorry hyung! Stop that!"
The group laughed, and Seungmin found himself laughing along with them. He was much more relaxed now that he had faces to names and they didn't immediately reject him.
They all chatted for a while and continued talking after all of their plates were picked clean.
Jeongguk's phone buzzed and he pulled it out. "Shit, guys, I gotta go." He said, pocketing his phone and standing up. "Hyunjin needs the dress that I...borrowed... for Tae. He's going to get in trouble if I don't get it to him by tonight."
Seungmin's eyes widened, and he found himself standing up to follow Jeongguk as he walked towards the hall.
"Hey, um, this Hyunjin guy...what does he look like?"
Jeongguk looked at him strangely but answered. "He's fairly tall, has long blonde hair, usually in a half bun. Why, do you know him?"
Seungmin thought back to the guy that walked in on him. Now that he was focusing on the face in the memory, he could see Hyunjin matched that description. He was also unfathomably good-looking.
"I don't' know him, but earlier –"
"Ah, there he is," Jeongguk waved to Hyunjin who had just stepped out of the elevator.
Without thinking, Seungmin ran back into the dining room, almost tripping over himself and running into Yoongi in the process.
"Woah, careful there," Yoongi said calmly, taking off his headphones. "You okay?"
Seungmin sighed. "I don't know you at all but for some reason you're the one I'm okay telling this to."
He explained what had happened earlier with Hyunjin and how embarrassed he was by it since they were total strangers.
Yoongi smiled kindly, "Hyunjin is chill. Dramatic, but still chill. Just don't be weird about it, and neither will he. Trust me, you're going to see more skin than you want to of these guys." Yoongi started to walk away, and Seungmin followed him.
"Does he work here or something?"
"Yeah, he's our main stylist. A fucking genius. He's so young, 24, but holds a lot of power here. He'll be styling you, so you'd better get used to him being around."
With that, Yoongi went into his room and closed the door behind him. The hallway was now empty and quiet. Seungmin wanted to go back to the dining room, but all the guys were now leaving and saying their goodnights.
Hoping his shared room would be empty, Seungmin carefully opened the door.
No such luck.
Jeongguk was fumbling with a pile of clothes, tossing articles aside in search of the dress. Hyunjin was yelling at him, something about not stealing and mistreating his clothes. Jeongguk was spewing apologies, finally pulling out a black sequined dress and shoving it to Hyunjin's chest.
"My pieces are one of a kind, no one gets away with damaging them! They're my babies!"
"Damn chill, I said I'm sorry!" Jeongguk said, grabbing the giant pile of clothes and setting the whole thing down on top of his dresser.
"Oh, hey Seungmin," Jeongguk said, just now noticing him in the room. "Have you met Hyunjin? He's our stylist. You'll be working with him a lot in the beginning to narrow down your style in the group."
"Um, hey." Seungmin said, awkwardly raising one hand in greeting.
"Hi Seungmin. I'm sorry about earlier, I promise I didn't see anything."
Seungmin felt his face go red. Why did he say that with Jeongguk in the room?
Jeongguk, however, was no longer paying attention. He seemed to lose focus quite quickly.
"It's okay. It just wasn't an ideal way to settle in this new space, that's all."
Hyunjin cocked his head to one side. "Seems a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
"I'm sorry, weren't you just the one that yelled at Jeongguk at the mere possibility of him damaging your 'baby'? It's just clothes." Seungmin responded bluntly.
"First of all, he stole it. Secondly, my clothes are my art. Think of someone tearing or drawing over a painting."
"Huh. Fair point." Seungmin said.
He saw a small smile pass over Hyunjin's lips before he got more serious. "I'm sorry about earlier. I hope you're not embarrassed."
"Definitely embarrassed." Seungmin replied, feeling his face turning red at the sudden change in subject.
"Well, I'll be seeing a lot of your body as your stylist. So, we can just consider earlier to be an icebreaker, yeah?"
"Uh...you saw me fully naked, hyung. That's one hell of an icebreaker." Seungmin said nervously.
"I didn't see anything, if it makes you feel better."
Seungmin didn't respond. They stood silently for a moment, Jeongguk now in the shower singing loudly. His voice was angelic.
"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Seungmin. Have a good night." Hyunjin smiled, and Seungmin felt his heart skip a beat. He was breathtaking on his own, but with that smile he was irresistible.
Wait, why the fuck am I thinking about that?
There were countless other unattainably gorgeous men here, but none of them got his heartrate up the way this guy just did. Seungmin smelled a faint perfume as Hyunjin glided past him, his walk graceful and sexy. He felt disappointed when the smell faded and Hyunjin was gone.
No. Seungmin was not going to immediately have a crush on this guy, or anyone. He just got here literal hours ago. If anything, it was probably his excitement for his new life that was being fixated on this one person.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he got ready for bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling. The bed was somehow more comfortable than the one he'd had at Jisoo's apartment, and it was easier than he expected to fall into dreams.