lovestrippedbare | 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕠

"Maybe. Or maybe they have classical nights sometimes? Like how there are jazz bars and things like that," Jungkook muses, narrowing his eyes at the thought. It is, admittedly, hard to imagine that most people would seek out classical music for their backdrop while getting drunk. Except for maybe the sort of people who are more into wine than they are liquor and beer.

"Ah, or maybe there are fancy restaurants that'd go for that kind of thing," he points out, grinning as he turns to face Yoongi, grabbing his elbow to navigate them both down a turn. "Though it's not half as fun for me to sneak into those. Could be pretty romantic, though! I'd be the obnoxious boyfriend, telling everyone that it's my man up there."

While expanding his repertoire to include more commercial song choices probably isn't a bad idea, Yoongi likes the idea of performing in a restaurant even more. It's an audience held hostage, admittedly, even so, and most people probably don't pay the pianist any attention. Still, it would be nice to play and to get paid for doing something he loves.

He grins. "That might get us both kicked out," he says wryly, but he likes the idea of it — Jungkook noisily, proudly proclaiming their relationship to anyone who'll listen and probably more than a few people who have no interest in listening. "But it could be. Romantic. And fun maybe. I'll look into it this summer."

"...okay, maybe I'd have to keep my voice down. To make sure that you don't get fired," Jungkook muses, tilting his head back and forth as they venture down the street. As much as he likes the idea of showing Yoongi off, it would definitely defeat the purpose if doing so ended up getting Yoongi fired, especially from a job that he'd actually enjoy. One that makes real use of his talent.

Jungkook sighs, nuzzling his face briefly against Yoongi's neck before looking around for a trash can to deposit his empty cup.

"I hope we can find something. I really think it'd be great, and maybe someone would discover you that way, maybe it's something you can like... take up as a minor at school," Jungkook suggests with a small shrug. "Though any money you earn might get lost to all the meals I'd end up having at the restaurant while watching you play."

"I'm still not even sure what I'll major in," Yoongi says wryly. "But, yeah, I think about that sometimes. Minoring in music." It would be entirely self-indulgent and he doubts his father will be happy about it, but as long as he focuses most of his attention on something practical, maybe that would be okay. There's little money in music — at least, for most people that's the case — so he doesn't dare pursue it as a career in earnest, but playing at some nice restaurant doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility.

"I mean, I'd want to take those classes anyway, so I might as well."

"It sucks that they don't really give us a chance to like, try things out before we commit, right? I mean, it's not like what we learn in high school is really going to help us pick between all the different things we can study in university. We never really dive deep into anything, it's just us desperately trying to pick up on all the things we might have to know for exams," Jungkook grouses, swiping his shoe at a small pebble on the ground, kicking it down the road. Bad enough that so much of what gets pushed onto them for university sounds like it'd be incredibly boring, but Jungkook also hates the idea that it practically straps one in for life. It's not easy to adjust course later on.

Yet another aspect of life that feels stifling.

"But you should totally take those classes anyway. University's for learning, right? Might as well spend some time learning what you really want to know," Jungkook reasons.

Yoongi nods his agreement, hugging Jungkook's arm a little closer for a moment. Since he's only ever had lessons from his mother, he expects that there are things he won't quite know how to do the way the teachers would like him to, but he doesn't mind that. He'd like to learn properly, to see if they have anything worth teaching him.

"And the surface level stuff is just boring," he sighs. "Never enough to really be interesting. How am I supposed to pick a major when they don't teach us anything real?" In the end, though, he knows he'll make his choice carefully and practically, based on what kind of work he ends up thinking himself best suited for, or, at least, the work he's least likely to be annoyed by.

When Yoongi pulls Jungkook a little nearer, Jungkook does his part to close the distance as well, pressing a quick kiss to Yoongi's cheek while it doesn't seem like there are many passersby in the street anyway. The hour is a slow one, slightly after the rush of lunch but well before dinnertime and sunset, and Jungkook finds that he likes the seeming sleepiness at this hour of day.

"I'm even further away from any of the stuff that feels remotely real in school, so I couldn't say," Jungkook sighs, narrowing his eyes and vaguely processing the sights in front of them on the street. "Isn't that why everyone just tries to go for the majors that are likely to land jobs with the highest salaries? Unless you're brave enough to go for the stuff you really love, at the cost of potentially finding a job later." His voice quiets, then. On the one hand, pursuing one's true passions sounds admirable, almost romantic.

On the other, Jungkook knows there are other things he'd rather take risks on. A job seems less important in the face of needing to set up a stable future for himself and Yoongi.

"I'm not that brave," Yoongi says, quiet, though it's not like this is news. It would be incredible to be able to spend all his time playing, getting better with help and time, with the hope of one day earning a living through his music. He just doesn't have the courage for it. He's good, he knows he's good, but that doesn't guarantee anything. Plenty of people are just as talented as he is. At university, he might not even stand apart from the crowd.

What he needs is a degree that helps him get a good job, something steady that pays well enough to help support them — not just the pair of them, for that matter, but, eventually, a child or two. That may be a long time off, but knowing it's something they both want someday, Yoongi thinks it's worth planning ahead.

"But I'm sure there has to be something I can do well and enjoy," he adds, shrugging. "I just haven't figured it out yet. But there's time. And even more time for you still."

"Neither am I," Jungkook admits with a slight shrug. Belatedly, hearing Yoongi putting himself down, Jungkook wonders if calling it bravery was a mistake. There's something that doesn't sit quite right about interpreting their choices as being any less difficult, or any less brave. It takes its own leap of faith, Jungkook thinks, to pick up a job that doesn't bring one an immediate sense of joy. To have enough confidence in the rest of one's life making up for what may always lack in occupation.

Isn't it its own kind of bravery that the two of them have decided to put their all in one another?

"I just want to figure out what kind of job won't make me want to hide under my covers every morning, but also helps me earn enough for us to be comfortable," Jungkook muses, tilting his head. "Not that I think we have to be — I don't know, super comfortable or meet all of the expectations our parents have. I'd be happy no matter what, as long as I get to be with you. But it might be kind of nice if we didn't have to worry as much about the future. That's all I really want."

Jungkook grins, finally tossing his empty cup in the trash before lacing his fingers with Yoongi once more. "And I believe in us. We'll make it work, even if we don't have it all figured out right now."

Yoongi lets go of Jungkook's arm to slip his own around Jungkook's waist instead, tugging him close in a sideways hug. He likes to imagine a world in which he feels secure enough to pursue his music, knowing how much his mother wanted that for him. But it's comforting to think that, maybe, that isn't the most important thing. As long as he's happy, he knows, that would have been enough for her. And he can't imagine not being happy with Jungkook alongside him. Maybe there will be dark days, still, or times where nothing feels easy, and that's fine. They'll get through them together.

"We will," he says, quietly firm. "And we have time. It's not like we need to know right this minute." They have time before declaring majors and picking jobs becomes a necessity. In the meanwhile, they can make their plans together. "As long as we have enough to support ourselves, that's what counts. And to get a piano, of course."

"Yeah. And if you figure out that there's a kind of job that's totally soul-sucking, at least I'll have enough warning to avoid it," Jungkook laughs, a slight blush on his cheeks as Yoongi pulls him closer, smile reflecting his satisfaction with the close contact. He hooks his own arm behind Yoongi's back, fingers holding tight by his hip; his expression brightens as he spots the ocean horizon in the distance.

"We really don't need much to be happy," he muses quietly, eyes bright as the both of them continue making their way down the road. "I've never cared about having a big house or anything fancy. Having my soulmate with me is already more than I thought I might get. Just a little place, with a tiny kitchen where we can cook, and a piano, definitely. We can build up to the piano though. Like if we need to get a keyboard first, or if we need to look out for old pianos that schools aren't using anymore. Like the one in our classroom."

Eventually, they'll want more room, if they really do decide to have kids. For now, though, the future Jungkook imagines sounds ideal to Yoongi. They don't need much. As long as they can live without too much struggle, as long as they're together and there's music, that will be enough for him.

"Sounds perfect," he says, glancing from the ocean ahead of them to Jungkook, taking him in. What else could they possibly need? "I'll try to find something a little less awful than soul-sucking. But at least I'll have you to come home to."

"If it's soul-sucking, we'll just have to buy you a really sharp suit so that you can take some pleasure in being the best-looking employee. Or so that I can take that pleasure," Jungkook murmurs happily, picturing Yoongi in a suit and tie, wondering vaguely if they should raid Yoongi's father's closet once they're back in Seoul. It'll probably take a lot more than superficial satisfaction to outweigh the pressures of a draining job, but Jungkook likes musing on the ways they'll keep spirits high regardless.

On his part, Jungkook's sure that getting to come home to Yoongi will help him weather through a lot.

"Coming home to each other every single day... it's going to be so nice," he murmurs. "Even simple stuff like that sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it?"

Most days, when Yoongi comes home, the house is empty. At best, his father might be around, might even ask a couple of questions about his day, but, more often than not, unless he stays for yaja, Yoongi is home first and everything is silence. The idea of stepping into a home — a home — he shares with Jungkook sends a thrill of longing through him.

Someday. They'll have that someday.

"It does," he agrees. "It sounds wonderful. But I'll still get that suit if it makes you happy." Besides, he can cheerfully imagine Jungkook taking it off of him at the end of a long, hard day. Whether he's the best-looking in his company or not, there's no knowing now, but Jungkook's opinion is the one that matters anyway.

There are times when Jungkook wonders if he spends too much time thinking of the future, and not enough time in the present, where Yoongi is whole and beautiful and smiling right next to him. To spend too much time thinking about their home and of the beautiful suits Yoongi might don would take attention away from their surroundings now, so Jungkook simply wraps up the thought by leaning in and pressing a kiss to Yoongi's cheek.

"Everything about you makes me happy," Jungkook remarks brightly, holding back a quip about how enthusiasm is practically inevitable when it involves taking off Yoongi's clothes. Not now. They'll have time for such jokes later, when they're back in the hotel room.

For now, Jungkook's gaze turns to fix itself on the end of the street, where a few pillars block off access for motorized vehicles, and the dirt suggests a path that many pedestrians have taken down to the water.

"Think the water's cold?" he asks, picking up the pace.

Months together haven't dimmed the way Yoongi's heart lights up at those words, knowing he makes Jungkook happy. When he's had so many days where it seemed to him that there was hardly any good in him, the idea that he could bring joy to the person he loves best forces him to change his thinking. If Jungkook loves him, if he makes Jungkook happy, then he can't be all that bad.

Might even be pretty good.

"Probably," he says, hurrying up to match Jungkook's pace. They're so close now, and it's been a while since they all went to the beach together, and this is so different from that, but it's a different kind of exciting, too. Looking out at the great blue-grey stretch of water, it's possible to imagine a life full of possibility. The world is big and endless, and so are the opportunities before them. "Should we go in anyway?"

The beach here is different than the ones they've been to before, a sharp contrast between the flat dunes of sand and the high rises behind them. In truth, Jungkook thinks that he might prefer the isolation of the beach they went to as a group — something magical and separate about that location, the quiet enough to convince them that they'd stumbled into a land all their own. But there's something unique about this experience as well, stepping right off of the cusp of so much life and activity, a constant reminder that they're a part of this world, too.

It's wonderful and mundane all at once, a scattering of beach umbrellas stretched across the length of the beach, groups of friends, lovers, and families all meandering along the oceanside.

"At least a little. Up to our calves, or something," Jungkook nods, raising his brows excitedly. He remembers Yoongi wading into the beach they'd visited in the winter, the cool slate blue washing up against pale skin.

He'd never seen something so beautiful.

As they near the start of the dunes, Jungkook nudges himself out of his shoes, picking one of the many scattered umbrellas and placing the pair by its base.

Yoongi's hardly about to be outdone, so if Jungkook wants to wade in, then Yoongi will do so as well. Kicking off his shoes, he sets them down beside Jungkook's. The sand is warm beneath his feet, imparting the heat it's drawn from the sun, but still cooler than Yoongi expected, and only bound to get colder as they near the water.

He reaches out for Jungkook's hand and starts down the shore, picking his way between other visitors, glancing over at Jungkook. "At least," he agrees. Back home, headed to the beach with the others, he remembers watching the younger boys run shouting down the sand, nothing but the seven of them for miles, as far as he could tell. Like the world was finally theirs, the way they always felt it should be, the way adults never let it be. Funny how, here, in the midst of more people, Jungkook is more fully his. He doesn't mind sharing him with their friends, but it's nice to be able to walk down the beach holding his boyfriend's hand without anyone trying to steal him away for something more exciting.

"We can handle a little cold."

It strikes Jungkook again that it might be a little selfish of him to have planned his own dream trip for Yoongi's birthday, though he doesn't doubt that Yoongi's having a wonderful time. He can see the way the weight lifts off of Yoongi's shoulders while they're here, without other obligations to hold them back. Even if people glance at them twice, they're strangers. People they'll probably never run into again, once they make their way back to Seoul. It's a wonderful escape — but it's where Jungkook wanted to go most, and maybe that speaks yet again to how much Yoongi always seems to prioritize Jungkook's happiness over everything else.

Jungkook wonders, if it weren't for his influence, where Yoongi would want to go most.

The things Yoongi wants to see.

He'll have to save up more money, setting aside a little day by day until they're able to go to Vienna. It might be a couple of years out yet, but Jungkook longs to see the expression on Yoongi's face when he's in the midst of so much history and inspiration. How serene he might look, if they were to sit for a concert.

"We can definitely handle the cold, especially if that gets us away from the crowd," Jungkook grins, kicking up a little bit of sand as he walks, shivering when they reach a stretch of beach still damp from the receding tide.

There are enough people around that Yoongi doesn't dare kiss Jungkook the way he wants to, and the idea of getting away from the crowd is an appealing one. This is their little adventure. Other people don't much matter.

Instead, he takes Jungkook by the hand, kicking sand back toward him as they walk. The closer they get, the colder the sand is, though, and he laughs as they near the water. "I might have underestimated the cold," he says, eyeing the waves as they ebb and flow, inching to just before Yoongi's feet. Whether or not he did, though, isn't important. He's not about to back down from the challenge when he's this close. Bending down, he rolls up his jeans as high as he can. "Okay, let's do this."

He takes a few steps forward, a stunned laugh spilling from him as the freezing water edges up around his ankles.

His jeans are too tight to roll up as far as Jungkook would like, but he figures that no one will judge him too much for being a bit wet when they come off the beach, so Jungkook starts to walk further ahead with abandon, lingering only enough to make sure Yoongi's hand is still clasped in his own. He beams, seeing Yoongi overcome with laughter, forgetting to react to the cold on his own. Only seconds later does Jungkook realize that his teeth are chattering just a little.

March is beautiful, but winter's chill clings onto it desperately, with every breeze that rushes past them.

"Cold? You're already cold?" Jungkook teases, ignoring the shiver that runs down his spine when a small wave washes over their calves. "No way, come on. We have to at least get knee-deep. No falling behind, old man."

"You said calves," Yoongi protests, but the cold has him shivering and the shivers turn into laughter, his hand squeezing Jungkook's as they wade further out into the water. "Now it's knees. Are we going swimming now?"

He can barely even pretend to be grouchy about this, though. Jungkook looks too pleased, if cold, and Yoongi quickens his pace so he can wrap his arms around him, grinning, to try and warm him. "Twenty is not old." He has half a mind to knock the pair of them into the water, but the idea of walking back to the hotel completely soaked is unappealing enough to deter him for now.

By now, they're far enough into the water that there isn't really anyone else by their side — if anything, people seem to be glancing skeptically in their direction, most of the tourists here for the view and not yet for swimming. It all works out in Jungkook's favor, though. With the distance between them and the rest of the population, Jungkook feels less self-conscious, less concerned about the two of them being tangled up in one another, arms sliding easily around Yoongi's waist and gripping tight to keep him close.

"Oh, I don't know. Twenty means you're not a teenager anymore. That means I basically have to call you old," Jungkook quips with a snicker, leaning back just enough to get a look at Yoongi's expression, no trace of true irritation there over Jungkook's teasing. If anything, Yoongi looks beautiful in this light, perhaps woken in part by the chill of the water.

Jungkook does his best not to clumsily knock their teeth together when he leans back in, fighting off shivers as he searches for a kiss, one hand raised to cup Yoongi's jaw.

Yoongi smiles against his mouth before he returns the kiss, arms draping over Jungkook's shoulders. They're both shaking from the cold and it's a little ridiculous and he doesn't care at all. There's room to be ridiculous when he's happy like this. "Does that mean I get to call you a brat?" he teases. "You're freezing. Are you sure you want to go any further?"

Because he will, if Jungkook wants it. There's very little Yoongi thinks he wouldn't do if Jungkook wanted it.

Even this, standing in the cold water kissing where anyone might see them. They're far enough from the crowds that he doubts anyone will really notice, but it still sends a thrill of nerves and excitement both through him any time they take this kind of a risk. He's more cautious than Jungkook is, but he doesn't let that stop him now.

"You can call me a brat all you'd like, though I can think of much better ways to scold me," Jungkook teases, looping his arms low around Yoongi's waist, relaxed and pleased with the weight of the other boy against his body, shivers and all. Out in the water, it feels like they're on the edge of the world, that they've run here at full speed until no one else can touch them. It's an experience that Jungkook wants to relive time and time again, and it anchors him, somehow. Gives him a goal that he can easily envision himself working towards.

Wanting to provide a lifetime of happy memories for Yoongi.

"This is far enough for now," he murmurs, one hand rising to brush Yoongi's hair off to the side, though the currents of wind make the effort a futile one. "We'll save the actual swimming for tomorrow. Or some time when I don't have my phone in my pocket."

He laughs, even though the remark isn't all that funny. Laughs, because there's the space to do so now, with blue skies stretching above and blue water all around them, throwing his head back even as his teeth continue to chatter. The air smells nice, slightly salty and alive.

"Best birthday ever?" he asks Yoongi, raising a brow expectantly.

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