âOkay, calm down, itâs not a date.â Maybe it wasnât but Hoseokâs stupid brain hadnât gotten that memo, fretting about his outfit for the last two hours already. He generally had no doubts about his style, confident in his choices, it was probably his favorite hobby after all. But this time⊠he didnât want to give the impression of trying too hard. That would be embarrassing, and Hoseok was a bundle of nerves already anyway. And wasnât that ridiculous! It had been Jungkookâs idea to meet up! They had been talking for more than a year already, he knew what a dork Hoseok could be! There was nothing to worry about!
With a loud groan, Hoseok pulled off the shirt and threw it on the bed. It was probably best to just⊠go with one of his safe options. Work wear when someone important was coming over. Hoseokâs âgrown up clothesâ as Yoongi liked to call them. A bit underwhelming, just a dark button up, some mildly baggy jeans and a neutral jacket, no hat, no sunglasses, no jewelry. Or well, okay, at least one ring. Two.
He stared at himself in the mirror again and even if it was the most subdued version of himself, it was still⊠fine. Not too try hard. Not in front of someone so much younger than himself. They were talking about knitting after all, what did it matter! They were grandmas in their hearts already!
With another groan Hoseok grabbed his bag. That at least was his usual brand of stylish and cute, with a fluffy bag charm dangling from the side. He quickly shot another glance inside but everything he needed was packed, including his latest project he wanted to show Jungkook in person. He neatly pressed it into the bag again, when he noticed-
âFuck,â he muttered, looking at the dark nail polish. It was shimmering softly with the magnetic swirls he had added. But it was too late to remove them now. And⊠if he hadnât misread Jungkook completely, he wouldnât think Hoseok was an embarrassing old man desperately trying to cling on to youth, so. Another deep breath, he put on his regular ass grocery shopping shoes, put his bag on his shoulder and finally left.
When he entered the cafĂ© he was glad he had at least put on the two rings. He desperately needed something to fidget. It was a pretty non-descript place, modern and big, offering enough seats that they could chat in peace. Good choice, but it didnât do much to ease Hoseokâs nerves. It meant he had to search for Jungkook, and he had only seen a photo of him after all, and that didnât mean anything! Photos were deceiving, what if he wouldnât recognize him and stood around like a complete dumba-
Someone waved, and damn it was the same sweet smile he had seen on the photo, and without even realizing it he was smiling so brightly it hurt his mouth, waving back excitedly.
He quickly walked over, his heart beating fast enough to hurt a bit, but there he was, finally he could see him in person!
âHey Jungkook-ah, hello!â He immediately pulled Jungkook into a hug, who did look a bit surprised, but didnât try to get out of it either. âSo thatâs you in real life!â Hoseok giggled, pulling a chair out to sit down.
âYeah, thatâs me. Nice to meet you, hyung.â
And didnât he have the cutest smile and the biggest eyes, andâŠ
âOh wow,â Hoseok muttered, grabbing Jungkookâs hand. He could only see a hint of a tattoo up his sleeve, but the ones on his hand and fingers were already so intricate and pretty.
âAh, sorry,â Jungkook said, trying to pull his hand away, which made Hoseok look up in surprise.
âFor what? Ah I shouldnât have just grabbed your hand!â He giggled, finally putting his bag on the floor and sitting down properly. âBut they look great! What do you have on your arm?â
Jungkook looked away, a little blush over his nose. Hoseok wanted to pinch his cheeks.
âItâs⊠uh, itâs a sleeve. A lot of stuff, actually.â He pulled on the sleeve of his hoodie, revealing an intricate, colorful pattern with flowers and music notes, before he quickly pushed it down again.
Hoseok had leaned forward, eager to see more, but Jungkook was obviously not comfortable with it so he decided to give it a rest. It had been barely five minutes since they met!
âSo, do you like the cafĂ©? I thought we could talk here without bothering anyone.â Jungkook bit his lip, the piercing on the side of it that Hoseok had seen on the photo already. What he hadnât seen were the huge amount of earrings, the slightly stretched out ones first, dangling with a heavy loop. He reminded Hoseok of some of the singers he worked with, and it immediately put him at ease. That was familiar enough.
âItâs nice, and easy to get to. Good choice, Jungkook-ah.â He smiled, watching Jungkook fidget some more. He would have never thought Jungkook would be the shy type, eager to blab away online.
âSo, finally! Did you bring your sweater?â
Jungkook looked up, his big eyes even bigger before he nodded eagerly. âI did, yes. Did you bring yours?â
âOf course,â Hoseok said, pulling out his draft. âThatâs the pattern I was talking about, I think itâs easier to see now than on a photo. I think it turned out well after I struggled so much! Thereâs a mistake thoughâŠâ He pointed out the slightly wonky area, but Jungkook only giggled.
âCanât even see anything, really. Thereâs so much color in it as well. Who are you making it for?â Jungkook looked up, some of his long hair falling into his face, just a few strands out of his messy bun. Hoseok resisted the urge to fix it, instead he frowned, a bit taken aback.
âFor me, of course. Nobody I know would wear this!â He laughed, and maybe it was a bit too loud and a bit too forced, but what did it matter. He had so successfully tried to look presentable Jungkook didnât even expect him to wear a multicolor, striped sweater! It was ridiculous, with all his attempts to not make a fool of himself⊠he absolutely had now.
âOh,â was all Jungkook said, trying not to check Hoseok out too blatantly. âReally? I like to wear black, I usually give everything away to my coworkers.â
âAh, thatâs nice,â Hoseok said, cringing so hard he was feeling phantom pain. This was not a business meeting! He could just be himself, Jungkook knew him! âI, ah, I donât usually wear, uhm, stuff like this. Much.â
Jungkook eyed him again, less subtle this time. âLike that?â
âLike⊠this is⊠kinda boring. For me. ThisâŠâ He pointed at the sweater, âis more my style.â
He pressed his lips together, waiting for a reaction, when Jungkook nodded, a wide grin spreading over his face.
âDamn, did you want to make a good impression, too, hyung?â He looked up, and it was so cheeky that Hoseok immediately burst out laughing, and wow did it feel freeing!
âOh my god yes! I only wear stuff like this to business meetings! Iâm not even⊠wearing a hat!â He giggled again, feeling all of the anxiety fall off him. âDid you, too?â
Jungkook nodded, leaning back in his seat. âI mean thatâs my usual style, but I was really worried you would be put off from all this.â He gestured at his face. âAnd that,â he said, pulling up the sleeve of his sweater again. âI know itâs a lot. I donât mind getting attention for it, but, I didnât want you to get a wrong⊠impression.â
Hoseok felt a fondness so deep in his heart it was about to burst. He should have known better. Jungkook was maybe only 26, but he was not shallow and rash and easy to judge. Nothing had ever made him think that.
âMe too,â he said. âI didnât want you to think Iâm, uh, trying too hard.â
Jungkook frowned adorably. âWhat? How?â
âLike, looking younger than I am.â
And that made Jungkook roll his eyes in the most exaggerated manner. âHyung, youâre like, 30, get a grip.â
â38, actually. Did I never tell you that?â
Jungkook shrugged, not a care in the world. â30 something, what does it matter? Okay, now that we both embarrassed ourselves, letâs get something to drink and start knitting!â
Ah, there was the energy he had always noticed in Jungkook, even through their chats. He had sprung up from his chair, hopping from side to side as if the two seconds Hoseok needed were already to long, blabbing away about the specialty drinks and the cake and the savory treats and how he could customize so much and-
His head was about to explode, but watching his friend bounce around the café was making it worth it.
âSo how did it go?â Yoongi drawled, putting his tray down next to Hoseok. Hoseok was leaning back in his chair, completely unable to hide the shit eating grin spreading over his face.
âOh, that well? Are you going to marry?â
âShut up, you dick,â Hoseok shot back, but the grin didnât leave his face. It maybe even got wider, if that was even possible. âWe are knitting. We met to knit, thatâs what we planned to do, nothing else.â
âAnd he didnât think you were a cringy uncle?â
Hoseok waved it away, pushing his food around on his plate. Sorting it nicely into corners. âNope. He was afraid Iâd think he was a hooligan. We were both stupid. It was kind of amazing?â
Yoongi did his best to keep a poker face, but Hoseok could see the corner of his mouth twitching.
âAnyway, so the sweater he is working on is so cool, itâs a really intricate pattern and very neatly done. He showed me how to do it, and itâs so much easier to see it in person!â
âAha,â Yoongi said, starting to eat. âDid you talk about something else?â
âNo?â Hoseok said, âShould we? We met for knitting!â
âNot for your crush?â Yoongi said, the look on his face daring Hoseok to deny that. So Hoseok did the only thing he could to save his dignity, gave Yoongi a dirty glare and started eating himself.
âJust so you know,â he said with a full mouth. It was gross but he didnât care. Yoongi was supposed to support him! âItâs a soft spot. Not a crush. Stop laughing you asshole!â
Yoongi did no such thing, instead he continued his lunch with a stupid grin on his face, while Hoseok summoned all the self restraint in his body to stop protesting. He knew he would only dig his grave deeper.
âItâs not a crush,â he mumbled after a while, and Yoongi reached out, patting Hoseokâs shoulder.
âYeah. Keep telling yourself that.â
He did, in fact, keep telling himself that. The thing was, even if Jungkook did elicit tender feelings in his heart, he⊠didnât even know him that well. He didnât know what Jungkook was working, for a starter. He didnât even know⊠if Jungkook was queer. Hoseok had his suspicions, especially after he met him, but he didnât like to stereotype. Being alternative was not exclusively reserved for queer people. He had made a shawl once in the bi flag, though, but he had said himself he gave all his creations to his coworkers. That didnât mean anything either!
Positively, he was at least an ally. But even if he was in fact queer, it didnât change that he was 12 years younger than Hoseok and, of course, he didnât know him. He was a skilled knitter, his hands looked so delicate when he was working, and he pouted adorably when he was focusing, but it didnât matter. It didnât matter that meeting up with Jungkook quickly became his favorite part of the week, it didnât matter that he often forgot to knit himself because he was so lost in listening to Jungkook ramble, even though all he had wanted was someone to share his hobby with.
It didnât matter. The time they spent together was more than enough.
And wasnât it their duty as best friends to regularly tease each other? He did the exact same thing whenever the cute producer worked with them again, the freelancer who made Yoongi avoid all eye contact and suddenly turn all shy and tiny, quite different from his usual laid back self.
It was only fair Hoseok got the same treatment. Thoroughly satisfied with the fact that everything he was feeling was perfectly reasonable, he went back to his latest project. It was a secret one, a thick knit sweater jacket, black and oversized. If Jungkook never kept the clothes he made, it was only fair if he was gifted one in return. And it made Hoseok more than giddy imagining how happy Jungkook would be, how flustered, and how he would wear it, completely swallowed up with only his big eyes peaking out.
Giggling, Hoseok let the music wash over him he had put on earlier, and went back to work.
âItâs so cool youâre at the location, though,â Namjoon said, restlessly swiveling his chair from side to side.
âIs it? I donât think they actually need me there.â If he was being completely honest, he would have wished the band hadnât felt it necessary for him to tag along. He had to get up at 4 AM to make it there in time, it was cold and dark and it would completely fuck up his sleep schedule. Sure, he had choreographed it specifically to fit the location, and it wouldnât hurt to check it out in person before the performance, but⊠one of his juniors could have done the same? They were still young and full of energy.
He grimaced, wondering if they suspected him to stay the whole day.
âI never get to hear it live if I donât buy a ticket myself!â Namjoon said, laughing loudly at that before he spun on his chair the whole way around. Hoseok only glanced at Yoongi who dared to look up only when Namjoon was obviously occupied with someone else, and it was grossly sweet. Completely ridiculous. There was no way Namjoon was straight, too, sending the same gross looks to Yoongi whenever he was looking in a different direction and if Hoseok hadnât been so annoyed heâd have already thrown something at them. Unbelievable.
âHoseokie hates when his routine is interrupted,â Yoongi mumbled from the side, and the way Namjoonâs head shot up, his eyes so big and shiny was disgusting.
âOh you have one? I thought we all lost that when we were ten!â He cackled, and Yoongi smiled softly to himself, and Hoseok could do nothing more than to stare at them both darkly. No way he was acting just a fraction like that around Jungkook!
âIâm sorry Iâm a well adapted person! Whatever, guess Iâll just drink a lot of coffee and hope no one talks to me.â Hoseok turned around, just when Yoongi pointed something out to Namjoon, and they went back to working on the song they were producing together. Funny how that happened so much lately, almost as if Yoongi suggested their favorite freelancer as the perfect fit for almost every song that landed on his desk.
Rolling his eyes with more fondness than he was willing to admit, Hoseok went back to his own desk, thinking about his meet up with Jungkook in a few days, which made it easy to ignore his on site visit.
As expected it was dark, windy, cold and miserable. Hoseok was almost completely engulfed by the massive scarf and fitting hat he was wearing, one of his very first projects and still one of his favorites. Perfectly warm, too, and it hid most of his scowl. He knew most of the people around were a little bit intimidated by his mean face, but this way he could at least look as pissed off as he wanted while pretending to be happy to be there!
As if. He huffed, pulling the scarf down the tiniest bit to take a sip of his coffee. His fingers were freezing off for fuckâs sake! He wandered over to where the band was warming up, jumping around to loose their muscles. He nodded approvingly, greeted them with the tiniest amount of enthusiasm he could muster up before he searched for the best spot to hide until his presence made even the tiniest bit of sense.
When his coffee was done, the sun finally started to rise, bathing everything in the pretty morning light. Hoseok leaned back in his chair, fumbling his phone out to take a few photos while he was at it. Yoongi would like it. And also⊠he quickly posed better in the chair, did his best to look cute and made a few selfies, too.
It was seriously unbelievable he had ever thought to pretend to like bland clothes in front of Jungkook. Snorting, he chose the best one before he sent it to him.
Itâs so cold! Remember this? Itâs the first thing I ever did!
Had to get up early for work đ
He still didnât know what Jungkook was even working, or the other way around. It just never came up. They did start talking about more mundane things, like Jungkook was also an avid cook and he was drawing, designing some of his tattoos himself, while Hoseok could blab for hours about fashion, and of course Jungkook felt the need to share stupid memes with him. One thing the generational divide was maybe too wide for, but Hoseok accepted it as long as he could complain about every little ache in his aging body whenever he felt like it.
If he was being honest, he actually liked that. It was this one part of his life that could be completely work free, no matter how much he enjoyed his job. But this was harmless enough. It was about the scarf anyway.
thatâs so cute! course I remember!
Hoseok eyed his phone curiously. Jungkook wasnât a very avid texter, especially not that early in the morning. But maybe he also had a change in schedule, or he had forgotten the time and was still up. He giggled when the next text arrived.
Iâm outside too didnât bring a scarf đŹ
He sent a photo wearing a gigantic black beanie, his face buried behind a massive puffer jacket and only his eyes were visible. Adorable.
You donât look cold đ„°
That moment, someone found his hiding spot and decided it was time for him to check out the location, and unfortunately he couldnât think of an excuse quick enough, so he put his phone away, scowled into his scarf and tagged along.
There were so many stairs.
Around late morning it finally got somewhat warmer. It helped that the band was practicing with the dancers, and even though Hoseok was only observing, he was still moving around a lot, viewing them from every angle. It kept him occupied, and one of the assistants also made sure to hand him warm drinks in regular intervals. She was the best and he made a mental note to thank her specifically when they were done.
As it was the rehearsal was almost done, and Hoseok wandered over to the camera crew for one last check. They were well prepped, so he wasnât worried about it, but since he was there alreadyâŠ
Hoseok was so lost in thought, trying to spot the tiniest mistakes, that he hadnât even noticed someone else approaching, not until-
Hoseokâs head shot up, confused. He knew that voice, but who the fuck was calling him hyung at work? And that was when he noticed the huge beanie and the puffer jacket, and most of all⊠the big eyes, staring at him while holding a camera.
âJungkook?â He squeaked back, before he caught himself and gestured at the other staff members that he was done. âUh, good job everyone, no notes from me.â He quickly bowed his head, hurrying over to Jungkook with question marks seemingly flying over his head.
âWhat are you doing here?â he said, grabbing Jungkookâs arm as if to make sure it was actually him and not just a hallucination.
âWorking? What are you doing here?â He shot back.
âAlso working?â Hoseok gestured at the staff behind him, the ones he had obviously just talked to.
âFuck me, are we working for the same company?â Jungkook laughed, putting the camera down. âI donât believe it⊠are you, like, a manager?â
âChoreographer,â Hoseok said. âAnd you? Camera?â
âYeah, I usually do the music videos, but you know. Wherever they need me.â
âHuh.â Hoseok nodded to himself. âYoongi is never going to shut up if I tell him about this.â
Jungkook laughed softly at that. âTell me about it, my friends were already teasing me that I donât even know what you are working. I never expected this, though.â
That on the other hand made Hoseok retaliate. âI told you I was dancing, itâs not that far fetched.â
âI didnât mean that!â Jungkook said, and there was obvious amusement in his voice. âI thought it was a hobby. Iâm not a professional chef either.â
There was a moment of quiet, before someone called Jungkookâs name and Hoseok