Side Glances
The dance studio always smelled faintly of rosin and sweat, mirrors lined with fingerprints from eager students.
Park Jimin, twenty-six, stayed behind after his last class, sitting cross-legged on the polished floor while scrolling through his phone.
By day, he was a dance instructor at the academy downtown; by night, he was Taehyung’s best friend, the one person who always reminded him to eat and laugh when things got heavy.
Min Yoongi
Of course you’re still here.. (a low voice grumbled)
Park Jimin
(Jimin looked up)
Min Yoongi, twenty-seven, leaned against the doorway, his hair a little messy from hours in his music studio.
He was a producer, well-known in the underground scene, and Taehyung’s childhood best friend.
Yoongi carried himself like someone who hated unnecessary words, but his actions always spoke louder: he showed up, every time.
Park Jimin
Don’t you producers ever rest? (Jimin shot back, smiling too brightly for someone who was supposedly annoyed)
Yoongi walked inside, dropping his bag near the wall.
Min Yoongi
Don’t you dancers ever stop playing music so loud? I can hear you from my studio.
Jimin laughed, leaning back on his palms.
Park Jimin
Maybe you secretly like watching me dance.
Min Yoongi
Secretly hate your taste in playlists. (Yoongi smirked faintly, though the softness in his eyes betrayed him)
Park Jimin
(Jimin pretended to pout, cheeks puffing)
He would never admit it out loud, but he noticed everything.. how Yoongi stayed late just to check on him, how his rough words often carried hidden care.
And when Yoongi muttered, “Don’t overwork yourself,” before grabbing his bag again, Jimin’s heart tripped in his chest.
Elsewhere that evening, in the warm glow of Elysium Hotel’s lounge, another pair sat across from each other.
Kim Seokjin, owner of the hotel and Taehyung’s long-time family friend, lounged in his chair with a glass of red wine.
He was wealthy, polished, and mischievous.. the kind of man who could run a business empire and still spend half the day teasing people just for his own amusement.
Opposite him sat Kim Namjoon, twenty-eight, his cousin’s childhood friend and now the hotel’s lawyer.
Namjoon was the calm to Jin’s chaos.. level-headed, logical, and always armed with neatly stacked contracts.
If Jin was fire, Namjoon was the water that tried to keep it contained.
Kim Seokjin
You know.. (Jin said suddenly, studying him over the rim of his glass)
Kim Seokjin
For a lawyer, you’re too handsome. Shouldn’t you be boring and wrinkled by now?
Namjoon didn’t even look up from the papers.
Kim Namjoon
That’s both ageist and insulting.
Kim Seokjin
Insulting? (Jin leaned forward with a sly smile)
Kim Seokjin
I meant it as a compliment. Handsome lawyer, sharp mind, strong shoulders…
Kim Namjoon
Hyung.. (Namjoon finally looked up, brows raised)
Kim Namjoon
Are you teasing me again?
Kim Seokjin
Always. It’s my hobby. Buddy..
Kim Namjoon
(Namjoon exhaled, adjusting his glasses)
A faint blush crept up his neck, which Jin noticed immediately.
Kim Seokjin
If you weren’t my lawyer, I’d date you.. (Jin added casually, as though he hadn’t just detonated a bomb in the middle of the table)
Namjoon nearly choked on air.
Kim Namjoon
You can’t say things like that..
Kim Seokjin
Why not? It’s true. (Jin chuckled, satisfied at how rattled Namjoon suddenly seemed)
Kim Seokjin
Besides, I like watching you squirm.
Namjoon muttered something about “unbelievable clients” under his breath, but the ghost of a smile betrayed him.
Jin leaned back in his chair, grinning like a man who’d just won a game nobody else knew was being played.
Love was already in the air..
Not just bitter, not just sweet.. something complicated, something more.
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