lovestrippedbare | 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕠

Yoongi pulls a face at the idea of their being anything like their teachers or parents. "We will," he agrees. "After all the shit we've been through, we won't forget." It's not like he plans to let memories of his difficult adolescence mar his adult years, but he doesn't think anyone can just leave behind the pain and the trauma he and his friends have endured. They'll be better. They'll be more compassionate.

"They can't all be terrible," he allows, "but maybe the ones who are nicer, who remember, just don't become teachers." Not all of his teachers have been horrible, but even the good ones have failed to make him understand why the school system is the way it is. Most of them are, at best, indifferent. Maybe they've seen too many kids who didn't care for the same reasons he doesn't care. He only works as hard as he does for his father's sake and his future with Jungkook, not because any of it matters much.

"I guess being a teacher doesn't pay as much as entering the corporate world," Jungkook nods, nose wrinkling at the thought. He's never thought particularly much about what sort of job he wants to have in the future, though sparing other kids the kind of trouble they've been put through feels like it might be a worthy cause. He'd be more attentive than most of the teachers he's had, Jungkook thinks. Even if he wouldn't necessarily be the best at preparing them for exams, he'd care about the students as individuals, he'd keep an eye out for anything bad that might be happening for them at home.

Isn't that what kids need most, sometimes?

"Seems like it could be pretty rewarding though. Maybe lots of kids are jerks, especially when they're our age, but... kinda makes you wish more adults fought for us. Cared about us," Jungkook shrugs. "Even the troublemakers have redeeming qualities, if you look for them."

"What, like us?" Yoongi teases, nudging Jungkook with his hip. For all that he plays hooky more than he should and gets into fights, Yoongi knows there are kids who are more trouble yet. His teachers are more exasperated by him than angry most of the time. They talk about wasted talent, but he still gets good grades and, in the end, with the way school is, that's what counts. "Yeah, I mean, I guess we might have one or two good qualities."

It really is a problem, though, and though he only has to deal with high school for a few more months, it's something Jungkook is stuck with for a while. Besides, he suspects university professors aren't likely to be much better. "Maybe I should teach music."

"I always thought of us as more the 'not living up to their potential' category than the troublemaker category," Jungkook admits, pausing in his steps until he's able to briefly bump his knee against Yoongi's butt. The truth is that Yoongi probably has a point — all of them skip class fairly regularly, which should be enough to get on the administration's bad side. Even with passable grades, the empty desks can't be a good influence on other students.

But if their grades stay up, what's the point of sticking around any longer than they have to? Jungkook's never quite understood the need of adults to keep track of every minute of their schedules.

"I think you'd be really good at teaching music," he adds, tone softer. While Jungkook tends to refrain from pushing the idea too much, knowing how much else Yoongi's balancing in his pursuit of higher education, he'll never be able to find it in himself to dissuade Yoongi from exploring his music further. "Make sure the love of classical doesn't disappear with the next generation."

It's something Yoongi's found himself thinking about since Jungkook first suggested it. He always assumed that university would be followed by an office job somewhere he could work slowly and steadily up the corporate ladder, but the idea has never been fulfilling. But then, he never thought fulfillment was the point; that would be something he'd find outside of work. With a future in Jungkook's embrace planned, that didn't seem so bad. But maybe, maybe, he doesn't have to worry so much about what he'll be able to make when they'll both be working. Maybe a teacher's salary is good enough. Maybe it would be worth it to feel he was doing something that makes a difference. Music might not help anyone pass their exams with better grades, but it matters.

"I think I'd really like that," he admits. "And there's always a need for teachers, right? Even music teachers." He tugs gently at Jungkook's hand, urging him to fall back into step alongside him. "Ah, but what would you teach if you became a teacher?"

"There will always be a need for teachers. Like, plenty of parents who want their kids to get started on learning an instrument early too, even if there aren't school positions," Jungkook agrees readily, thinking about how many of their classmates know how to play an instrument, even without having taken classes in school for it. None of it will matter half as much as their entrance exams for university, but there's still a certain amount of prestige that comes with knowing an instrument, a sort of admiration that parents will pour on the younger generation.

He's even seen some of it from his own mother, though he's sure she'd be more enthusiastic if she heard Jungkook play more often than she does.

But Jungkook pauses them, running over the latter part of Yoongi's statement again in his head. "Wait, are you — did you really — are you implying that I don't have any skills?" Jungkook laughs, elbowing Yoongi in retaliation. "C'mon, I'd at least be decent as a physical education teacher."

Yoongi laughs, elbowing him back. "I meant, what would you want to teach?" he corrects, but he can't begin to hide his amusement at Jungkook's reaction. "Gguk, you'd be great at it." His expression softens a little, fondness coloring his expression. "You'd be great at whatever you wanted to do." Some subjects may be more his strong point than others, true. But Yoongi has no doubt that, anything Jungkook really set his mind to, he would accomplish.

He can imagine it, too, how easily they could be happy that way, with him teaching music and Jungkook out on the field with the kids. It isn't simple work by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be satisfying in a way he doubts office work would be. Some people are cut out for that kind of thing and he thinks he'd be good at it if he wanted to, the way he always planned to be. It's just not where his heart is.

Jungkook wrinkles his nose in a pout, only slightly marred by the way he can't seem to stop smiling. Okay, so maybe Yoongi didn't intend on insulting Jungkook's intelligence after all — but the sudden turnaround to believing that Jungkook can do anything he wants also doesn't feel right. "Bullshit," he blurts out with a laugh, grinning from ear to ear as he shakes his head. "If I suddenly decided I wanted to go, I don't know, astrophysicist or something, there's no way that I'd actually be able to get that done. I'd need like. Three of me to all be spending time constantly studying."

It doesn't bug Jungkook much that there are certain things he'll never accomplish. Maybe it'd be nice if he tried a little harder for his mother's sake, tried to make things work in math and history and all those subjects that he just doesn't have the heart for, so that he at least keeps career options open in the future. But the thing is — he just doesn't have the interest. He'll pull teeth where he needs to in order to make a comfortable living, but getting him to reach above and beyond in his efforts will be hard.

"Maybe we just have you go the teaching route and I'll... I don't know, I know mom probably doesn't want it, but I always figured something more hands-on was right for me. Something where I can work until my body's exhausted."

Yoongi bites his tongue, trying to stifle his laughter, at Jungkook's response, which is, admittedly, perfectly fair. If Jungkook really wanted to apply himself, there's plenty he could accomplish, but he's no more capable of being an astrophysicist — or even a math teacher probably — than Yoongi is of giving up music.

"Well, it's your life," he says, "not hers. If you want to do something hands-on, you should." It's easier to say than it is to actually go against what their parents want, admittedly, but he still believes it. He can imagine his father's disappointment if he goes into education, but shouldn't he be able to do what will make him happy? It's not like he can't earn a living from it. They might have to look a bit to find a place where they can both satisfy themselves, but he doubts they'd want to stay in Seoul anyway. "What would you do? What kind of hands-on?"

"Yeah... best of both worlds would be to make her proud while also not draining my soul, though," Jungkook admits. He knows that it doesn't make sense to let a parent dictate a child's entire life, but there's also a significant part of him that feels indebted to his mother for all the years she spent looking after him, particularly the years between his father's death and her marriage to his stepfather. Jungkook knows how much stigma she faced, remembers all the nights she cried.

It makes it hard to think of disappointing her, even if Jungkook knows that chances are he might do that anyway, being a son who's in love with another boy. Being a son who has no desire to live out his life in corporate offices.

"But, I don't know, I'd have to look into salaries, but like. Being a physical education teacher wouldn't be bad! Or a gym trainer. Or dirtier stuff, like being a mechanic or being a farmer, it all sounds pretty fine to me. I just like the feeling of my body being totally worn out from work. Feels like a lot more of an accomplishment than finishing a book," Jungkook muses.

"Ah, well, if that's what you want," Yoongi says, trailing off with a suggestive arch of his brow. He huffs out a laugh a moment later, tipping his head back to look at the sky. Really, if they're being serious, they both have to consider salaries and benefits and what their choices mean for their future. He still thinks now and then of having children someday, and though that's a long way off, what he chooses now still affects their future.

But that's the thing. It's their future. They have to make something of it they can be happy living with. "We could work at the same school. Be the teachers everyone gossips about. Though any of that could be good. And you've got time to decide which one to pursue."

"Y'know... that's not a bad point," Jungkook remarks in earnest, blinking at himself and nearly stopping in his tracks. "If I'm totally tired out by work every day, then I won't have as much energy for — huh. Maybe I should get a desk job. Work on gathering some pent-up energy."

Out of all the things to consider, it probably shouldn't be as high on the list of considerations as Jungkook makes it. But physical intimacy has quickly become one of Jungkook's favorite ways of showing affection — one of the most vulnerable and emotionally charged. He'd hate if it ever got to the point of feeling like a chore, or something he couldn't spare the time for.

"But teachers at the same school would be neat, too. I'd get to have lunch with you every day," Jungkook grins brightly. "And we'd get to keep up the bathroom make-outs. And not have to deal with hall passes!"

Yoongi laughs, head tipping back, at Jungkook's priorities, though he's entirely in favor of them. He's so earnest about it that it's cute, so enthusiastic about the possibility of not dealing with passes. Sometimes he forgets how young Jungkook is, too caught up in him to think about it, especially since things between them have evened out into a more equal relationship since they first started dating. Right now, though, it's impossible to miss, which is more charming than anything else.

"See, I didn't even consider the make-outs," he says, grinning, and lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of Jungkook's. "Or how exhausted you'd be, hmm. Whatever you pick, you'd better save some of that energy for coming home to me." More important than that, of course, is that Jungkook find something where he'd be happy, but he'd be lying if he said that sex wasn't an important consideration, too. He enjoys the intimacy, the connection, of their nights together too much for that not to be the case.

"You didn't even consider the make-outs? That's probably the one thing about school that'd really make me want to go back," Jungkook giggles, watching with a grin as Yoongi kisses the back of his hand, then shuffling up against Yoongi's side a moment later. So maybe they've got a little more skinship than the average friends. Given how no one at the beach questioned them, Jungkook figures the crowd leading up to the aquarium shouldn't be too bothered, either.

He tilts his head, briefly leaning against Yoongi in thought. "I really can't imagine a situation where seeing you wouldn't immediately bring some of my energy back. But maybe I'm underestimating how much being older will tire us out? I don't usually think about how much action people in their fifties or whatever get." Jungkook grins. "But I bet you'd look really good older. We already know you can pull off any hair color."

"Mm, you think I'd look good with grey hair?" Yoongi teases. "Silver might not be a bad look." By that age, he knows, he'll probably have given up dying his hair — or, at least, won't be doing it much and the flamboyant colors he's tried out recently might be ridiculous on him then. Whatever the state of his hair, though, he knows Jungkook is right. How could they see each other and not feel that spark?

He glances over, smiling at the sight of Jungkook's head against his shoulder, though it doesn't last long. "And I don't know. Even if getting older slows us down, I don't know if anything could stop us. I can't imagine not finding you ridiculously hot anymore." Maybe when they met, it was different. Jungkook had such a baby face back then. He's grown into himself quickly, and Yoongi's pretty sure he's only getting hotter with time, whereas Yoongi suspects that, by the time they reach their fifties, he's going to have to work hard to keep up.

"Definitely," Jungkook affirms, reaching out with his free hand and gently plucking at the hair on either side of Yoongi's temples. "Like if you get all salt and peppery here... or if you're one of those people who gets that single random streak somewhere that makes you look like you really must have used some part of your brain a lot. Or even if you just go gray all around at the same time. It'd all look good. No question."

Briefly, Jungkook pulls his hand away from Yoongi's, taking a few quick steps forward and turning around to walk backwards, taking in the sight of Yoongi from head to toe. He hopes his hands out, as though forming a frame for a shot.

"You're also going to be one of those super annoying people who doesn't wrinkle easily, I can tell," Jungkook says, pursing his lips. He hears enough about wrinkles and skin care from his mother that he's fairly certain Yoongi will get off light. He doesn't make extreme expressions with his face; the corners of his eyes don't even crease unless he's really lost himself to laughter. "Thirty years from now, I'll probably be the one who looks like the old fart."

Yoongi huffs, brow raising, and shakes his head. "Please," he says, "you're gonna be gorgeous forever. It's annoying, honestly." He'll probably do okay himself — Jungkook is probably right about the wrinkles, at least, and his hair, but he's going to have to do more work if he wants to stay relatively in shape — but Jungkook is beautiful. Maybe it's that there's something so sweetly youthful about him, but Yoongi doesn't think that's all. It's his quick smile and his kind eyes, more than anything; those are things that stay beautiful, no matter at what age.

"We can just be that couple," he says, rather than protesting Jungkook's appraisal of him. "The one that drives everyone else nuts by being perfect. Hot and ridiculously in love. Even thirty years from now. Even fifty." The way he feels around Jungkook, that sense of comfort and home, that's not something that burns away. Maybe the passion and energy and heat will fade with time, but the love never will.

"Forever? No way. I don't even wear sunscreen half the time," Jungkook laughs, raising his hands to his face, pulling at the corners of his eyes. "I'm going to look like an old, wrinkly raisin. But at least I'll be a jolly one. You know, those halabeoji who look like they might date back to the beginning of the century, and you can't even count the number of creases in their skin, but they smile and they're happy and it makes you happy too. That's the kind of guy I wanna be. And hopefully you won't just leave me if I stop being gorgeous."

He briefly positions his hands underneath his chin, a rare display of aegyo before he stops in his tracks, holding out his hand and letting Yoongi catch up those couple of paces.

"I think people are gonna be jealous already just from the way we look at each other. Even if I stop being swole. Don't you ever get that feeling when you see an older couple? All the ones who're still holding hands, even if it looks like the wind might blow them over," Jungkook says, scanning the area for an example. "Those are the people I envy most."

The difference, of course, is that all those couples Yoongi's seen have been straight. He has to hope that, by the time they're that age, things will have changed around here, that they won't be hiding anymore (if not especially well, he has to admit).

"I'm never leaving you," he says, grinning. "Please, you'll have to pry me off of you." He reaches out for Jungkook's hand as he catches up to him, his other hand going to Jungkook's waist. He's all but stopped caring about who sees them. It's so easy here to get lulled into a sense of security that's probably undeserved. He's pretty sure that nowhere they go is exactly safe for them yet, but it's easy to forget that here, far from home. "I'll be holding your hand till the day I die."

Already, he thinks, people should be jealous. It's rare anyone finds their soulmate so young, and they'll live to be exactly the kind of couple Jungkook means. They've barely gotten started and they're already luckier than anyone else Yoongi knows.

Jungkook laughs as he feels Yoongi's hand come to a rest by his waist, feeling himself drawn into Yoongi's orbit, both comfortable and ever-dizzying. It's the only possible reaction to the way love feels like it's practically bubbling over in his chest, spilling into every corner, this love for Yoongi that can't be contained. To anyone else, maybe it'd sounds mundane, the two of them walking down the street to the aquarium, doing little more than holding hands and gazing at each other's faces.

To Jungkook, it's the best feeling in the world.

"I bet we'd kill all of those handcuffed for twenty-four hours challenges," Jungkook smirks, leaning forward to feign biting Yoongi's nose, chest aching with the desire to kiss him. But maybe this isn't the best location for it, as they draw closer to the aquarium, more and more families with kids appearing in their general vicinity.

Not that Jungkook's particularly concerned about showing their love in front of kids — but parents are always another story.

Yoongi laughs, ducking his head instinctively when Jungkook snaps at his nose. "Oh, definitely," he says, grinning. He's reluctant to pull back, but if he stays like this much longer, he's going to kiss Jungkook and then they really might run into trouble. There's no telling what the people around them are like. They might all be remarkably tolerant, but he's not about to hold his breath.

"Although," he says, "if it's a full twenty-four hours, we might get a little..." He shrugs, a playful smile on his lips. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? Handcuffs." He can only imagine, though he probably shouldn't do so, out and about like this. Really, sometimes being around Jungkook in public is a test of his patience, if only because he'd much rather they were alone. Even if they did nothing but talk, it would be nice not to have to consider his phrasing in case someone overhears. Still, they'll have plenty of time like that later tonight. For now, it's nice just to be out together.

It's impossible to deny that the thought is appealing. Of course, Jungkook knows that there are probably a whole host of impracticalities that come from being handcuffed together, that it'd probably make even the simplest of tasks seem monumental — cooking would be difficult, and as much as they've had fun in the bathroom together, Jungkook is pretty sure he'd be at least a little mortified by having Yoongi there while he does the less appealing business. But perhaps the benefits would outweigh the costs.

There's a lot to be said for the security of imposed closeness.

"Oh, we'd definitely get at least a little," Jungkook agrees with a small smirk, ducking his head in embarrassment as he turns back in the direction that they ought to be heading, trying to calm himself before his cheeks grow too flushed. "Handcuffs sound fun. Appropriate for roleplaying, maybe."

Yoongi stifles a laugh, leaning over to press a quick kiss to Jungkook's cheek. "I'll remember that," he says, lightly teasing. He can't imagine where on earth he would get handcuffs, but it's still information worth tucking away for later. He can figure it out. They don't sound as comfortable as ribbon, but, really, the ribbon is more for his benefit than Jungkook's, both aesthetically and for giving him at least the illusion of not hurting Jungkook. But maybe he'd like that, the cold metal biting into his wrists.

"I don't think we're capable of going a full day without being at least a little," he admits, ducking his head. He can't help it. There's nothing wrong with being ridiculously attracted to his boyfriend, even if they don't get a chance to act on it. How's he supposed to help it? They're young and in love and Jungkook is hot as fuck.

"You can be the young hot cop who's like... so handsome that it makes my bad boy self decide to go the straight path, or something," Jungkook suggests, his nose wrinkling as he stifles a laugh. So maybe he's not the best storyteller ever, and maybe he's taking one too many cues from terrible, terrible porn plots, but Jungkook thinks that a little bit of ridiculousness can't be a bad thing in an actual loving relationship. Also, Yoongi would be incredibly attractive as a cop.

Something he might see in a few years, Jungkook thinks to himself, wondering distantly if they'll enlist at the same time.

"And you are correct. We would not be capable of going a full day without more than a little. Wouldn't be able to go without a lot, actually," Jungkook muses to himself. Even when their bodies are exhausted, worn down too much to easily come, Jungkook finds that intimate touches are still worth it, in large part because it's always been more about the emotional connection than pure lust.

(Not that they're lacking on the latter front.)

Yoongi laughs, a short, bright burst, and shakes his head. "What are you watching when I'm not around?" he asks, hugging Jungkook's arm. He's pretty sure he couldn't ever playact such a thing without being reduced to incoherent giggles, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They'd have fun, at least, and he likes the nights when they end up laughing and joking in bed as much as the tender, quiet nights.

Well, for a given value of quiet.

"Besides," he says, mock-thoughtful, "how am I supposed to punish you if you go straight?" He manages to stifle his laugh this time, at least. But then, he's not sure the point of such an endeavor would be to maintain seriousness anyway.

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