Chapter Text
From there things move into action. Hoseok comes over often like he usually does but unlike usual, Namjoon sticks to the plan and starts being around more and hanging with them.
The first time, Yoongi and Namjoon were in their living room. Namjoon had a cushion on his lap and a book in his hands while Yoongi sat crossed legged and typed away on his laptop. They both hear their lock beep signalling the arrival of someone and Namjoon’s heart skips. They both knew who it was, even though all their friends have the code to their apartment in case of emergencies, only one person is comfortable enough with their space to let themself in.
On a different day, even one week ago, Namjoon would stay seated to not make it too obvious and after greeting Hoseok, he would stretch and yawn and announce he was going to take a nap.
Not today though. Today was day one.
Hoseok rounds the corner dressed to the nines in a simple baseball shirt over a much larger t-shirt and baggy jeans with a backward baseball cap on his head.
Its just not fair how he can make a simple outfit look so good. Of course it would make sense for Yoongi to fall for him, no matter what Hoseok says.
Namjoon instinctively narrows his eyes at him but when Hoseok’s eyes fall on him he tries to wipe the look off his face.
“Hey, Seok-ah.” Yoongi greets without even looking away from his screen to check who it was.
“Hyung, Namjoon-ssi.” Hoseok greets and moves to sit between Yoongi and Namjoon.
He removes the cap and fluffs his hair and Namjoon follows the movement of his hands as it makes its way all the way down to Yoongi’s calf where it lands with ease. Yoongi doesn’t react to the touch because this is normal for them .
This is when Namjoon would have to leave for his own sanity but instead he closes his book.
“Hello, Hoseok-ssi. How are you?” Good job Namjoon, try to sound less robotic next time. Yoongi tilts his head at the greeting but doesn’t stop his work on his laptop.
“Tired.” Hoseok whines. His other hand comes down and touches Namjoon’s thigh and Namjoon immediately freezes up, his eyes widening in shock. He almost instinctively moves away before he catches himself.
Hoseok looks toward him, trying to gauge Namjoon's reaction to the contact but when Namjoon doesn’t pull away he doesn’t remove his hand. Okay, they’re really going for it. “I had practice today and it was harder than usual.” Hoseok continues.
“Oh? I thought you said you were enjoying this project.” Yoongi laughs at him and finally looks up from his laptop to Hoseok. His eyes travel down Hoseok sitting between them and Namjoon can see the moment he spots where Hoseok’s other hand is because his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and his eyes snap to Namjoon.
Namjoon is still pretending nothing strange is happening so instead of acknowledging Yoongi’s reaction he turns to Hoseok, “Practice for what?”
“Hoseok-ie is a dancer.” Yoongi offers, eyes narrowed at them quizzically.
“Really? That's cool.” Namjoon comments and begins to sink back into the couch to hopefully get out of Yoongi's eye line. “What kind of dance do you do?”
“I do HipHop.” Hoseok's face lights up as he begins to speak about his hobby. “That's why this is so tiring.” He responds to Yoongi’s earlier taunt. “Our assignment is to perform a dance outside of our focus and I got placed in Modern Dance,” he explained to Namjoon. “I have not done much Modern in recent years. At my high school academy they made us dip our toes in everything but we were still allowed to specialise. It is challenging because it requires me to actually think about how I’m moving more than popping for example. With popping I can just focus on the music and let that guide me, but it's also nice to have a challenge sometimes.” he leaned his head back while explaining, giving Namjoon his full attention.
“You’re a dance major?” Is what Namjoon could bring himself to ask about. Hoseok's face… beamed as he talked about dance. It made Namjoon want to ask him more about it. He has never had that face from Hoseok directed at him before, he has seen it here and there directed at his hyung, at Hoseok's friends on campus but never at him and it made him curious .
Namjoon wanted to question him more about that, ask him about what made him choose HipHop in the first place and how that was different to the other dance he mentioned, popping. Does he like any other types of dance Namjoon doesn't even know enough about dance where he would understand even if Hoseok explained. How he got into dance and what made him decide to stick with it. How long he's been dancing for.
Hundreds of questions raced through his mind just so he could see that expression a little longer and he didn't really understand why. He also knew it wasn't his place to ask about any of that. “I always thought it was music because that's where you met Yoongi-huyng.”
“Yeah, Music History was one of the mandatory modules for me but it's dance for me. Always has been.” He smiles softly. “I’m part of a dance crew too. We compete in competitions here and there.” He adds on and Namjoon's tongue itches to ask more about that.
“He means they win competitions here and there.” Yoongi snorts as he finally turns his attention back to his laptop.
“Hyung~” Hoseok whines, “I didn’t come to get bullied. I’m in pain and exhausted.” He pouts to Yoongi.
This is strange. Namjoon has purposely avoided Hoseok for the almost year they’ve known of each other and the times where he did not have a valid excuse to not be around him and Yoongi like this, Hoseok has never acted this… relaxed.
Namjoon has never seen them interact like this, is Hoseok always this whiney to his Hyung. Does Yoongi always try to hide his smile and tease Hoseok? Yes, Namjoon doesn’t like being around them but this dynamic is a completely new experience to witness.
“I’d love to watch you sometime.” Namjoon musters up the courage to say. He tells himself he's just sticking to the plan, planting seeds. That he's not actually interested at all in what Hoseok does and doesn't actually want to see. It's all for the ploy.
“They have a YouTube.” Yoongi pipes up again and without waiting for Hoseok, he closes his laptop and leans forward to grab the TV remote.
Hoseok groans and brings both his hands to cover his face.
It leaves the spot on Namjoon’s thigh feeling cold and he wonders if Yoongi’s calf feels the same.
Yoongi pulls up a YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. “You guys are popular.” Namjoon comments as Yoongi goes down the list to select a video. Namjoon tries to spot Hoseok in the thumbnails but most of the shots are far away and everyone is wearing matching outfits.
“Seok-ie was the centre in this one.” He hits play finally and they all sit back to watch.
“Wait, why are you actually good?” Namjoon questions leaning forward to get a better look.
“Actually?” He turns to Namjoon with furrowed brows and Namjoon heart skips, he didn't mean for it to be an insult, didn't mean to broadcast his original scepticism.
He opens his mouth to apologise but Hoseok continues speaking. “You thought I was going to be bad?” He exclaims with indignation causing Yoongi to laugh.
“No, I-I, it's just-” Namjoon stutters out a reply causing Yoongi to laugh more. Hoseok joins in on the laughter and Namjoon realises he was being teased. Instead of finishing his sentence, he sits back in his seat and faces the screen. Their laughter dies down and Hoseok's hand finds its place back on Namjoon’s thigh. Namjoon stiffens for a second, not expecting it a second time but he wills his body to relax.
~
Later that night his phone buzzes as he prepares for bed. They watched a few more of Hoseok's dance videos before Yoongi announced he was going to order takeout. They ate, watched an episode of a drama that Yoongi and Hoseok were apparently watching together already and then Hoseok left.
Unknown Number (XX-XXX-XXXX)
9:38 pm
that was good👌
u did well
Thank you. You too.
Namjoon begins to type out an apology for his comment earlier. Even though Hoseok laughed it off, the knowledge that his previous actions, as unintentional as they might have been, were noticed by Hoseok weighs on him. He doesn't know if Hoseok was hurt by his actions but he does know it's not the best feeling to have someone show animosity to you, especially when you've done nothing to deserve it. Hoseok didn't deserve it.
Before he can hit send another message from Hoseok comes through.
i think we have to work on your
reactions a bit but other than
that if we continue like this we
are gonna succeed in getting a reaction
out of hyung in no time😏
Haha, yeah.
Just prepare yourself to take me out for
my expensive meal.
no need, im right ☝️
Namjoon considers leaving it at that but decides its worth more to correct his wrong than his pride.
Also, I wanted to apologise for what I said about your dancing. I didn't
mean anything bad by it and I know you laughed it off but I still wanted to
apologise. I don't know many dancers but you're actually one of the best I've
seen and I hope I didn't come off as snubbing you. You're really good.
Namjoon sits in the chat and watches as the text bubbles appear and disappear a few times before a message comes through.
thanks. i really didnt take
it negatively, i know how you are
haha
‘I know how you are’ makes Namjoon's heart pang in his chest. Was he that much of an asshole all the time?
Namjoon wonders how much his inability to hide his emotions has unintentionally hurt others before.
i really did just think it was funny.
but i appreciate you apologising
anyway. so thank you for that :)
goodnight namjoonssi
Goodnight, Hoseok-ssi.
~
Hoseok is over at their apartment often which gives them a lot of opportunities to act.
So far Yoongi has not called him out on anything but Namjoon can tell he is itching to. Namjoon isn’t ready for the call out. They need more time.
Now instead of retreating to his room, he would stay and interact with Hoseok and try to be an active participant in the conversation. It has only happened two other times where he stuck around and they have alluded to spending time together.
They have not actually spent time together outside of the brief moments where they were waiting for Yoongi to return to the apartment. Yoongi always looks a bit surprised when either scenario happens but it he doesn’t question it.
At least he doesn’t question Namjoon. Hoseok has reported that Yoongi has started trying to get information about it one evening while they waited for Yoongi to get back from his afternoon class.
“He tried playing all cool and went ‘So… Namjoon-ah fixed your laptop issue?’”
“That’s it?”
“What? Thats big! He has never asked me for a follow up on people fixing my laptop before. He asked because he’s noticing~.”
“How often do people fix your laptop?”
“Hey, this thing has been with me through thick and thin. It just needs a little extra love sometimes.”
“Do you want me to actually check out your laptop?”
“Oh my gosh, will you?”
The one day that Namjoon walked in on them in the apartment together after another horribly long Wednesday, instead of bee-lining it to his bedroom like every Wednesday before, he moved to the living room where both men were sitting and working on their laptops separately with an afternoon drama playing in front of them.
“Namjoon-ssi, hi.” Hoseok greeted first. Namjoon almost moved to sit on the single chair before he caught himself and instead changed paths to sit on Hoseok’s left. “My laptop is running so much better now, I swear those other people I went to were scamming me.” He turns his body toward Namjoon and places his hand on Namjoon’s chest. Namjoon only freezes for one second before recovering this time.
“If you’re having any other issues you can come to me.” Namjoon assures him and for the first time, he reaches out and pats Hoseok’s shoulder. Big moves . When he looks over and catches Yoongi staring at him, he just flashes a hopefully convincing smile, and asks. “So what are you guys watching?”
~
Now it is officially one week since this has started. Namjoon has spent more time talking to Hoseok this week than he has at all in the past year.
Namjoon is done with classes for the day and Yoongi has to meet up with his classmates to work on an assignment.
Hoseok texted him that he will be visiting to “address some things” which had Namjoon on edge all day. That edge has not eased up as he now sits on his bed with Hoseok standing five feet away from him.
“I think we are doing well so far but there are some things that need fixing.” He starts after placing his things on the desk chair. He moves a bit slower as he looks around the room. Almost like he is taking it in for the first time. “Firstly, your reactions. You can’t continue to look upset every time you see me.”
“I’m not-” Namjoon begins to defend. He truly isn’t upset every time he sees Hoseok. Hoseok just dresses well so sometimes Namjoon gets a pang in his chest. He wishes he could look that effortless. He doesn’t mean for it to show on his face as upset at Hoseok.
“It’s fine how you feel but you have to try masking it. Also, great pat on the shoulder but you can’t freeze every time I touch you.” He continues his critiques. “How are we supposed to kiss if you can’t-” Namjoon doesn’t hear anything beyond that though he knows Hoseok is still talking. His mind is racing a mile a minute as he tries to make sense of the word.
“I’m sorry, what?” Namjoon cuts him off finally.
“No need to get upset about it. You just have to relax a bit is all I’m saying.” Hoseok reassures him.
“Not that.” Namjoon corrects. “What do you mean kiss?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean kiss?” Hoseok shoots back looking more confused than Namjoon feels. “We’re supposed to be a couple. Couples kiss. I kiss my partners all the time.” he continues. “I asked if you were okay with everything.”
“I thought you meant like hand holding or something!” Namjoon is buzzing under his skin. How could Namjoon possibly guess that Hoseok meant kissing. That is so out of the realm of possibility and just as Namjoon thinks he has Hoseok figured out he surprises him again.
Silence stretches on between them, Namjoon’s shocked and Hoseok’s confused.
“Listen,” Hoseok sighs and tries to look Namjoon in the eyes but Namjoon avoids it like his life depends on it. “I know you think fake dating is childish but we aren’t actually twelve Namjoon-ssi.” Hoseok spreads his arms. He talks slowly like he’s trying to find the right thing to say as to not spook Namjoon even more. “This is what they do in the webtoons and-” he pauses and recollects himself before continuing, “Okay. So as I said before I’m very affectionate and Hyung has seen me in a relationship before. Actually probably everyone has seen me to be fair, I don’t really hide it when I’m in a relationship so I thought you understood.” he says. What a roundabout way to say he’s into PDA. “If you’re truly uncomfortable you don’t have to, I’m not trying to pressure you in any way but this is just what I meant by obnoxious and in his face about it.” He explains once more. “ But we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Namjoon doesn’t respond. He truly feels like he has whiplash from this whole thing.
When the seconds turn to minutes and Namjoon doesn’t respond Hoseok sighs. He walks over to the desk and starts gathering his things, “I really came over to practise the other things I mentioned but I understand you need time to fully think about this. You can sleep on it and let me know what you think. Don’t completely discount it immediately. Remember you don’t have to but just let me know what you decide.”
Then Hoseok opens Namjoon’s bedroom door and walks out.
~
Namjoon thinks about it.
What Hoseok said makes sense. The whole point of them doing this is so that Yoongi sees him in a different light. Show that Namjoon isn’t always available. Namjoon has never been big into PDA but it is also not something he has ever shied away from.
He has also never done anything like that in front of Yoongi and the thought of it brings heat to his cheeks. He feels scandalous just thinking about it.
Then he thinks about it some more.
He has never brought any of his partners around Yoongi either. None of them, besides Hyeji, were ever serious enough to bring around. He has never even held hands with someone else in front of Yoongi.
This leads Namjoon to think about how long it's truly been since he has had any kind of intimacy with anyone. Where he felt comfortable enough to just go in for a hug, much less a kiss.
Even with Yoongi, they don’t touch often. Hugs are rare and only for seemingly big moments. Sometimes Namjoon might notice his shoulders are tense and give a short massage but even that feels like a lot sometimes. Beyond that there's not much else. He doesn’t get what Hoseok sees there.
Suddenly Namjoon feels lonely. Longs to hold someone. To hold Yoongi. He feels like he isn’t allowed that.
Namjoon likes the physical side of relationships. When he knows it's allowed he can’t get enough of it even when he feels awkward reaching out for it. In truth, he loves kissing especially. It is one of his favourite forms of intimacy and he could spend hours doing it, probably . He wouldn’t know for sure, no one ever wants to kiss for too long.
Kissing Hoseok though? As a ploy ? He doesn’t know how he feels about that.
Would it just be regular pecks or did Hoseok have something more in mind?
Namjoon decides it is worth texting him about.
Unknown Number (XX-XXX-XXXX)
11:54 pm
Hello.
Just to clarify, when you say ‘kiss’
what exactly do you mean?
Namjoon is not expecting a response right away. It's late on a Friday, Hoseok is either asleep or out. Which is why he’s actually startled when the read receipts turn from 1 to 2 and the text bubble pops up immediately. He hurries to close out of the chat so it doesn’t look like he is sitting there waiting for a response.
Unknown Number (XX-XXX-XXXX)
11:56 pm
hey
nothing too serious
whateva youd be comfortable with
just a cheek kiss here and there ig idk🤔
Okay.
So no lips?
im not against it at all but not if ur uncomfy
its all gud to me but if u not down for that
we gud 👊
Okay. Yeah, I don’t think there should
be any… lip action.
It does not seem like it would be necessary to
complete our goal.
totes understandable
alr so ur fine w/ other types of kisses?😚
When it is necessary, yes.
dont wry
we shouldnt have to get to that until
much later if at all😌
after we ‘confirm’ it to hyung or something
Makes sense.
Namjoon feels uneasy about the whole thing but that's been his constant feeling since Hoseok knocked on his door. He’s about to lock his phone when he remembers something else he had to question Hoseok about.
Unknown Number (XX-XXX-XXXX)
12:02 am
One more thing.
What did you mean when you said you came
over to practise earlier?
haha😂
that was about working on ur reactions to me
u get too… jumpy?😳😓
hyung will never buy it if everytime i touch u
u look like ur gnna jump out ur skin
and when u walk in and see me there
or i walk in
you look all grumpy
this u 😠
so we have to wrk on that a bit
I’m trying my best.
i believe u 😂
but we just have to train that out of u ig
i have practise all of tmrw tho so i can on sunday
if ur free
Hyung and I are supposed to go to a gallery on Sunday.
We can in the afternoon if you want.
I guess I can drop another “I’m hanging out with
Hoseok.”
sunday afternoon is gud
and thats gud. we need to “hang out” some more🤔
okay so see you then
WAIT 😰we cant practise w/ hyung around so
we cant do it at ur place if hes home
and i doubt u wanna practise in public🤫
so…
if ur okay w/ it u can come over to my place or somethin
if not then we can do it some other time when hyung is out
I’m okay with coming over. Just send me your address.
ok cool😎
see u sunday😙
Namjoon feels excited about seeing Hoseok’s place for the first time. He tells himself it's just because he wants to uncover Hoseok’s deep dark secrets that he’s hiding in his evil lair. No way someone is that kind and happy all the time. He has to be covering up something… sinister. Namjoon is going to visit Hoseok’s place and scope out the scenery.