lovestrippedbare | 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕠

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yoongi

𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕠

There are times, Jungkook thinks, when unexpected changes in plan work out for the best. Giving up on the idea of Busan during winter break wasn't the easiest choice at the time — Jungkook had expected it to be the highlight of their winter, and giving into the pressure of Yeongwook's blackmailing hurt on multiple levels. But distance seemed safest. Planning, biding their time, having Jungkook carefully siphon a portion of his allowance over to Yoongi for safekeeping, every passing day made the trip feel more viable again, until the two of them suddenly realized that Yoongi's birthday would be an easy occasion to leave for, and that was that.

They've picked up memories along the way. The first night Jungkook had Yoongi stay over. The first dinner together with his mother, with her offering countless thanks for helping her youngest with his studies. A trip out to a nameless beach, all seven of them together, huddled and bracing against the last of the winter winds.

Getting to March isn't as difficult as Jungkook expected it to be, and now that they're here, the wait has made everything all the sweeter.

He takes countless pictures with his camera — of their seats together on the train, of the little box meals they buy from the lady with the cart. Of the ramyeon they buy an hour later, when it's clear that the box meals are more packaging than substance.

Of Yoongi, staring out the window of the train car, a soft smile on his face.

At first, Jungkook struggled with the idea of spending much of Yoongi's birthday on the train, but the trip to Busan takes several hours at best, which would have required missing class on Friday. Seeing Yoongi's peaceful expression on the train helps to set a little of that regret to rest, as does the stifled laughter they share as they stumble down the hall to their room in the hotel.

"Hotel Elysee," Jungkook says with a flourish as he waits for Yoongi to swipe their room key. "Is that, like, French?"

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"You're so pale, and it's fucking beautiful," Jungkook murmurs in an undertone, gaze flicking to meet Yoongi's. Jungkook doesn't particularly like ascribing value or preference to different shades of complexion, but Yoongi's is striking for how rare it is, a pristine sort of pale that has to be kept carefully protected when the sun's out. It doesn't hurt that the complexion makes it so easy for Yoongi to pull off any hair color, any shades of clothing — giving Yoongi a freedom of expression that Jungkook envies. Jungkook would love to play with color, to be able to paint himself in all the colors he uses on his canvases, but it doesn't work half as well on him.

Which is fine. Maybe it's actually a blessing that Yoongi's the one with the flexibility. It's not like Jungkook spends half as much time looking at himself.

"Okay, so stacking buckets is boring when you've got opposable thumbs, but maybe we pick something for you that humans can't do that easily, then," Jungkook reasons. "Also, which one of us looks better shirtless is definitely debatable. Your belly is a lot cuter than mine."

Yoongi's not especially self-conscious about his appearance. At least, he doesn't think of himself as such. He's fairly confident that he's reasonably attractive. Jungkook, however, has a way of making him feel like he must be fucking gorgeous, and it makes Yoongi briefly shy. The soft, pleased smile turns wry in a moment, though, brow arching, and he smacks lightly at Jungkook's stomach. "Okay, well, if cute is the only goal, I guess I do win," he says. "Because yours is not cute." He lets the way his voice lowers fill in the rest. Cute might be a fitting descriptor for his stomach — flat enough, but not exactly fitted out with abs, not quite as defined as Jungkook's. He doesn't really care. He doesn't work out and his boyfriend is stunning; he wins on every front.

"You're cute," he amends after a moment. "Eh, he's still cuter than both of us. Look at his little paws." He curls his fingers, mimicking the otter, his other arm slipping back around Jungkook's waist.

There aren't very many aspects of his looks that Jungkook finds himself particularly proud of, but his abs might be the exception to the rule. As far as his face goes, his nose is a bit large, his teeth jut out in an overbite, and while Jungkook isn't short by any means, he's also not tall enough for it to be a particularly notable feature. But his abs do offer a point of pride — it's nice having some physical proof of all the time and effort he puts into training, into bettering himself.

"I like how smooth your belly is, though," Jungkook murmurs, reaching out with his hand and briefly brushing across Yoongi's abdomen, ruffling the fabric of his shirt. He leans in, lowering his voice to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. "Very kissable. Bite-able, too."

He pulls back only when Yoongi comments on the otter again, Jungkook pursing his lips as he surveys the animal. And, okay. The otter is cute. The paws are particularly cute. It'd probably be too much for him if the otter were actually dry and fluffy, like Jungkook's seen in pictures. "His hands are even smaller than Jimin hyung's," Jungkook remarks with a soft snicker.

For a moment, Yoongi's mind is alive with the memory of lips and teeth on his skin, neck and ears flushing at the thought of it. He has to look directly at the otters and not at Jungkook as he tries to push it away. Now isn't the time, appealing as the thought might be. If he lets himself think too much about such things when they're not alone, he'll only frustrate himself.

Still, it's nice. Even if Yoongi knows the physical appeal he holds for Jungkook, it feels good to hear it, bolstering his confidence even further. It's one thing to think he's attractive; it's another entirely else to be reminded other people agree, especially Jungkook — who, although clearly biased, is also the person whose opinion matters most.

"Itty bitty," he says, stifling a laugh. "Aw, cute. You know they hold hands so they won't lose each other?"

"Really?" Jungkook asks, blinking as he quickly scans the exhibit, trying to find a pair of otters. He's always thought of them as cute, but the idea that otters also have certain traits that bond them as pairs or groups only further endears them to Jungkook — especially since he has a heightened fondness for holding Yoongi's hand already. He does so now, giving Yoongi's hand a squeeze before tugging both of them down the line of the tank, leaning back and forth to try and squint between the rocks and around the path of flowing water.

And indeed, he manages to spot a pair of otters floating near the end of the exhibit, their hands clasped. One of them has its eyes closed, basking in a ray of sunshine, while the other blinks passively at the nearby humans. A couple of kids giggle behind the glass that lines the tank, one little girl smacking her hand against it, as though doing so might help her to catch the animals' attention.

"...okay, okay. Otters are especially cute when they're holding hands," Jungkook murmurs with a nod. "But which one's you and which one's me? You're the sleeping one, right?"

Yoongi snickers, dropping his head briefly against Jungkook's shoulder. "Oh, I'm definitely the sleeping one," he says. "'cause you're there to hold onto me, so it's okay." The otters won't lose each other, least of all in such a small enclosure, and he stays fixed onto Jungkook, giving his hand a soft squeeze. He always sleeps better when they're together, whether it's a lazy cat nap or a long night with Jungkook helping to chase away the thoughts that plague him and keep him awake other nights. Maybe it's silly, but Jungkook's right. They're the otters and the penguins and everything else. They're in love and they're everywhere. Even in a place that doesn't want them to be in love, he can see them reflected back in every surface, in every sweet thing.

He glances over at the kids near them, offering them a smile, too. "Careful," he warns, though his voice is far softer than it would be if he were to say the same thing to any of his friends. "You might scare them if you make loud noises, okay? Be gentle."

With a sudden laugh, Jungkook raises his chin, pleased at the way that Yoongi describes the time that they spend dozing off together. It's true that Jungkook tends to be the one who holds onto Yoongi — he likes being the big spoon, he likes being able to completely engulf Yoongi with his arms, sneaking gentle kisses to his forehead when Yoongi's breathing is heavy enough to indicate deep sleep. It might be a little naive to think that what the otters are doing is quite the same thing, but Jungkook also doesn't see how it'd hurt to attach some hypothetical emotions to the animals. Plenty of creatures in the world have varying means to keep track of one another, after all, but not very many hold hands. Maybe that means otters have a greater affection for one another, lending each other the most useful part of their bodies.

"I'll hold onto you for the rest of our lives," Jungkook declares softly, giving Yoongi's hand a squeeze.

He glances down at the girl shortly after, not having taken much notice until Yoongi speaks up. The girl gives a small pout, duly chastised even by Yoongi's gentle tone, and pulls her hand back from the glass. "But... oppa, how will I get the otters to look at me if I don't make noise? I wanna play with them."

Yoongi glances back at Jungkook, his heart suffused with warmth. It's ridiculous, how much just a little squeeze of the hand can mean, how soft words he's heard before can still fill him with love. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and, at a moment like this, it seems like such a vast expanse of happiness, Yoongi can hardly imagine it. Things have been hard since his mother died, and, while he knows he's never really going to get over that, these days, it's like the sun has come back into his sky.

He barely expects the girl to answer. Silly, he realizes, to assume she'd be as shy as the other children when she has no qualms drawing attention. She poses a good question, too. "You know, I don't know," he admits. "Is there another way you can get their attention? Maybe we could wave to them. That wouldn't scare them. They won't want to play if they're scared."

He's also pretty sure the otters can't play with kids even if it were something otters wanted to do, safely enclosed in their tank, the walls a little too high for children, but he doesn't want to crush her hopes entirely.

The girl gives Yoongi a heavily disgruntled look, and Jungkook can't help but laugh at the sight. He doesn't blame her for being skeptical of the idea to wave at the animals — there are so many humans that pass each exhibit by that Jungkook can only imagine that motion isn't something that fazes the creatures much at all. A wave doesn't have the same meaning to an otter as it does to a human. She'd probably have better luck if there were some way of offering a treat to the otters, maybe a piece of shellfish or some other toy, but Jungkook guesses that if the staff allowed one girl to do so, that others would quickly want to follow suit.

"Here, why don't we try something?" Jungkook suggests, breaking away from Yoongi for a moment. He nearly decides to pick up the girl altogether, then thinks better of it once he's actually by her side. Kids are small. Jungkook can't help but marvel at it every time he encounters one. They're small, and somehow both fragile and resilient all at once.

So he holds out a hand to her instead.

"Wanna let oppa pick you up? That way you can see the otters more, and maybe the otter will look at you once you're super tall, taller than all the other kids here," Jungkook suggests. The girl gives him a similar glare, but then begrudgingly nods, and Jungkook chuckles to himself before he picks her up and lifts her over his head, settling her down on his shoulders.

Whether or not the otters really care to look at her now, Jungkook can't say, but judging by the girl's squealing (which sounds more delighted than it does terrified), he thinks he's probably made a decent call regardless.

"Yah, you would have the better idea," Yoongi says, but he can't sound the least bit bothered when the girl is perched on Jungkook's shoulders, pleased with her new position up high. She looks so happy about it, and all Yoongi can do is lean against the glass, beaming at them both. It would be nice if they could convince a trainer to let her throw the otters some fish or something, but he's pretty sure that's not allowed. It's not like with the stingrays. This seems like the better alternative.

"Look at you," he adds, glancing up at the girl. "You're taller than both of us. They've got to be able to see you now. They're really cute, huh?"

He glances around after a moment to make sure the girl's parents aren't worried they're gonna run off with her or something, then returns his attention to the two of them. The girl is happy with herself, but Jungkook looks pretty damn pleased, too, and it's the cutest fucking thing Yoongi's seen all day. "Are the otters your favorite?"

When Yoongi praises the idea, Jungkook only beams even more broadly, pleased to have come up with an idea that seems to work all around. He can feel some movement up on his shoulders, and he wonders if the little girl is finally waving after all, taking Yoongi's suggestion now that she has a boost of height and confidence alike. It's not very often that Jungkook feels like he's the clever one in coming up with an idea, but sometimes it's a little easier when the main tool he's focused on using is his body. He has pretty decent spatial awareness, and little fear when it comes to pushing himself.

Now he's starting to realize how much of an asset that can be with kids, and though they're still far too young yet, Jungkook can't help but imagine how much better moments like these will be when it's their own child that they're caring for.

"Yeah! Um, there's these books I read, they're called the Harry Potter books, and there's a girl in them and her Patronus, um." The girl pauses, and Jungkook snickers silently, wishing he could see the expression on her face. "...her favorite animal's an otter. And maybe cats. But definitely otters. So I really like otters, too."

It is, Yoongi is pretty sure, the cutest fucking thing he's ever seen or heard. Maybe that's because the girl is perched on Jungkook's shoulders and that makes it so easy to think Someday... Maybe it's just her enthusiasm for both the books and the animals or the unguarded way she talks to them like it's never entered her mind that they're strangers and therefore maybe not safe to trust. If she were their daughter, he can't help thinking, he'd caution her against talking to strange boys or accepting shoulder rides from them. But she's not and he's glad she doesn't think twice about these things, because it means they get this moment.

"I know Harry Potter," he says, gently smacking Jungkook's side for laughing at her. He can't remember whose Patronus is what and he's not about to make a guess, because he doesn't want to look like the dumb adult in front of this cute kid, but it's nice to be able to say that and watch her face light up with surprise. "I haven't read them in a while, but they're really good, right? Is that your favorite character, the girl?"

He used to run around more as a kid, he thinks, but he's not sure he was ever so bold or self-assured with adults as she is, and he feels an odd burst of pride in her.

The fact that Yoongi smacks him only further goads Jungkook, who's never been more glad that a kid isn't able to see his face as he turns slightly towards his boyfriend and wrinkles his nose, stifling silent laughter. Nerd, he mouths, and it's a comment that's directed more at Yoongi than it is the little girl. Not that Jungkook is entirely oblivious to the world of Harry Potter — it is, after all, one of the defining series of their generation — but he definitely paid more attention to the films than he did the books, and he definitely never read the books with enough care to remember who had what Patronus. Except for Harry, Jungkook supposes. Because they kept on beating that point over the readers with a stick.

Truth be told, Jungkook likes kids who are nerds. They have all the qualities that Jungkook himself lacked as a kid, and that he's only become covetous of now that it's a little late to change course. Jungkook was always so focused on sports, on building friendships, that he now feels slow in a lot of other respects.

Hopefully, he'll be able to close some of that gap by university.

"Yeah, she's totally my favorite," the girl remarks with a nod, now thoroughly distracted from the otters and locking gazes with Yoongi. "I think the series should be named after her. She's a lot smarter than Harry Potter. Also she saves the day more than he does."

Yoongi arches an eyebrow at Jungkook, not even fazed. It's not the first time he's been called a nerd and it won't be the last, though it's more often for the fact that he loves classical music as much as he loves hip-hop than it is for his taste in books. He's usually too immersed in his music and his studies to read for fun anyway, but that wasn't the case when he was younger.

Somehow, he thinks, the hours got shorter as they grew older. He used to be able to play the piano and read and run around outside and still keep up with his schoolwork. Though, of course, his schoolwork also got harder.

He's now positive that otter-Patronus is Hermione, and he feels pretty confident in nodding along with the girl's assessment, even as he fights not to laugh. As if to compensate for his own amusement, he nudges Jungkook's ankle with his toe. "Oh, Hermione is definitely the smartest one," he agrees. "They would have been completely lost without her. I bet you're pretty smart, too, huh?"

It's tempting to lean over and give Yoongi a kiss on the cheek. Someday in the distant future, maybe they can have that — maybe once the world accepts the idea of couples like them being capable of parenting together, the public also won't mind if they share a sign of affection or two. But for now, Jungkook is content to simply bask in the dynamic the three of them share, with Yoongi being the more thoughtful half of their pair, and Jungkook the more physical and tactile.

He lets Yoongi handle the conversation, wondering what it'd be like to have a precocious kid like the girl on his shoulders. Jungkook would probably feel pretty quickly out of his depth — this girl wants to name the Harry Potter series after the bossy know-it-all, which can't be a very popular perspective. She probably reads all the time. Probably tries to learn as much as she can. (Though, at least for now, she's also still young enough that smacking a glass barrier seemed like a logical choice to get an animal's attention.)

"Oh, definitely not smart like Hermione. She's a genius," the girl explains, drawing out the word. "But I wanna be as smart as her, so I'm reading lots of books and I like going to school."

"Ah, you're better than me," Jungkook muses aloud. "This oppa didn't read enough books when he was your age. Now he's more like, uh. The other one, the red-haired kid."

"Ron," Yoongi says, "and if you call me a nerd again —" There's no threat he can make that is appropriate for a child's ears, if only, at the very least, because he shouldn't advocate violence, never mind the withholding of sex. They'd both know he doesn't mean it anyway, so he lets the implied threat hang in the air for a moment, his brow arching. It's impossible not to wonder what Jungkook is thinking, impossible not to guess he's considering the same things Yoongi is, imagining their future child.

Dealing with this adorable little girl, it doesn't matter to him that they're still too young. It's enough for him to be sure that, one day, they're going to be good at this. They won't be like their own fathers; they'll be kind and attentive, as firm as they are encouraging, showering their child with love.

"She's better than me, too," he adds after a moment, glancing up at the girl, at once sheepish and mischievous. "I don't always go to school when I should. But if you keep working hard like that, I bet you'll turn out to be a genius, too."

"You'll what?" Jungkook asks, his voice pointed though he keeps the volume quiet, not wanting to distract the young girl with their bickering, fun though it may be. He knows that there's unlikely to be very much in the way of true punishment that Yoongi throws at him — not while they're on this trip, enjoying the rare opportunity to be away from all their stresses back home. And, truth be told, Jungkook simply can't imagine Yoongi punishing him for much of anything, period. Or most of his hyungs, for that matter. For all their teasing, being the youngest of the group has its perks.

But even he knows not to focus too much on that right now, when they've got a little girl on their hands. He turns around, belatedly wondering where her parents are, and spotting a pair of adults leaned against the opposite exhibit. The father — or the man Jungkook assumes to be the father — raises his hand in greeting. It surprises Jungkook a little, having grown accustomed to the rather distant nature of most of the people in Seoul, but maybe the little girl and her family are on vacation from a smaller town, Jungkook muses. Her accent doesn't sound like it's native to Busan.

He finds his heart aching slightly, wondering if there might be rural villages where everyone's far more welcoming than home.

"Oppa doesn't always go to school?" the girl asks, incredulous. "Why not? Oppa, you should really go to school. That's how you become smart and then when you're smart, you can get the better jobs and stuff."

"Yah, listen to how smart she is already," Yoongi says, amused and oddly proud. She's not his kid, but he feels like they've temporarily adopted her, and she's a clever little thing. At her age, he was running around, getting into scrapes, more athletic and outgoing than he later became. She's already working hard for her future.

"Sometimes oppa wants to go have fun instead," he admits, "but you're right. I'll go to school. It is how you become smart." There are so many other kinds of intelligence, he knows, other opportunities in the world not worth missing, but she's young and he has no desire to be a bad influence. It's different with boys of his own age; encouraging the others to slack off with him isn't so bad when they all do the same. She's too young for any of that. Besides, when someone so small scolds, it's actually adorable.

He's forgotten about the otters now, engaged in their conversation, even as he reaches out to poke Jungkook in the side. "And if you don't go, teachers get mad. You don't want that. What job do you want when you grow up?"

"She's gonna tell us how school's fun, isn't she?" Jungkook asks, glancing up towards the sky, even though the girl is leaning back far enough that he can't see her at all. She's expressive enough with her tone that he thinks he can picture her face — a little precocious, more than a little disappointed. Probably mimicking whatever kind of scolding she's witnessed from adults over the years. Probably not all that unlike her fictional idol, overbearing but incredibly cute about it.

(Incredibly cute from the perspective of an adult, anyway. Jungkook doesn't doubt that as a kid, he would have clashed pretty severely with her type of personality. He knows better, now.)

"School is fun," the girl chirps up from above, giving Jungkook's head a little swat before she thinks better of herself, glancing nervously at the ground. For his part, Jungkook doesn't punish her for the gesture, rude though it is to be coming from a kid. He makes more of a face at Yoongi, when he feels the finger poking in his side — he raises a brow in warning, unable to promise that he won't shake things up a bit if he's tickled, which the little girl might not appreciate. "The teachers are all really nice, as long as you don't make trouble for other kids. And, um. I wanna be the president when I grow up. Or prime minister. Both of those are okay."

Yoongi ducks his head, trying to hide his amusement. He wants to tease Jungkook, but, really, if he's honest, he's no better about school. Sometimes he studies harder, but he pays just as little attention in class and attends just as infrequently. He has no room to scold or mock.

Granted, the girl isn't entirely right either. The teachers for younger grades probably are pretty nice, but as they got older, their teachers definitely got meaner.

Or Yoongi started making more trouble.

Both, probably. He can admit that.

"The president," he echoes, nodding, "wow. That would be pretty okay, yeah. Well, if you keep up doing so well in school, I bet you can do it."

"It's gonna be really hard," the girl says, preening slightly when the shorter oppa tells her that she can do it. She's not stupid, of course. Being the president is really tough business — only one person gets to do it every five years. She's not even ten yet. But she likes it when adults tell her that she can do it; it makes her want to prove them right. "But I want to be a really good lady president, because President Park Geun-Hye wasn't very good, my mom says. And that's too bad, because she was the only lady president so far. So I want to be a better one."

Jungkook laughs at this, soft and fond as he lowers his head. This little girl isn't even half his age, probably, and she's got enough ambition for the both of them. Of course, her age might have something to do with it; Jungkook remembers when he used to want to win Olympic medals for taekwondo as a kid, only to realize as he got older that the competition only got fiercer over the years.

But it's not too bad for a person to have a dream when they're that young, he thinks.

"Well, we'll vote for you, right Yoongi?" Jungkook asks, then tilts his head back to try and get a view of the girl's face. "Should we be letting you get back to your mom and dad now?"

"Mm," the girl nods, though her voice sounds reluctant. "Yeah, I guess so."

It would be a lie if Yoongi said he hadn't once held grand dreams, too, though his were still less ambitious than the girl's. Being a concert pianist seemed much more in reach than he imagines being president would be. Still, if she can hold onto this conviction, then maybe she has a shot. Someone's got to do it, after all. Why not her?

"Probably a good idea," he says, smiling at the both of them. "They might start to worry. And you'll definitely have my vote." Never mind that he doesn't know the girl's name and probably wouldn't remember it for that long even if he did. It doesn't hurt to encourage her, even if she's already more confident than he is. "Come on, let's get you down. It was nice meeting you."

With Yoongi echoing the sentiment, Jungkook proceeds to reach up and lift the girl under her arms, carefully hoisting her over his head and then lowering her down to the ground. Whether or not she was able to get much of a response out of the otters after all, Jungkook can't say, but she seems in better spirits than she was when they first encountered her, and that feels like enough of a victory. Kids are still a bit of a mystery to Jungkook, not having had all that much interaction with them, but encounters like this remind him that they're not entirely foreign. They're people, too — simpler in world view, perhaps, but just trying to get by like the rest of them.

"You'll have two votes here, and two votes from those parents of yours," Jungkook confirms, giving the girl's hair a slight ruffle once she's settled on her feet. She pulls a slight face at him for the gesture, though she doesn't seem entirely put off by it either, instead blushing lightly and turning towards her parents.

"Don't say you'll vote for me before you hear about the things I'll do! But I'll come for those votes! When I'm bigger," she calls out over her shoulder as she scurries off, giving a half-wave before practically launching herself into her dad's arms.

Jungkook grins, hooking an arm around Yoongi's waist. "Small body, big personality."

Yoongi tucks himself close against Jungkook, hiding his laughter against Jungkook's shoulder. The admonishment is, perhaps, a well-deserved one. For all he knows, she's a little conservative terror. Still, he doesn't feel bad about having promised his vote to her, and he's delighted to see how pleased she looks as she bolts back to her parents. There's something satisfying about having possibly brightened the kid's day. Truthfully, she more than returned the favor.

"Very big," he agrees. "And so cute. I wouldn't be surprised if she is president one day." She's determined enough for it. If she works as hard as he suspects she does and she keeps at it, it doesn't seem impossible for her to achieve her lofty goal. "We should have told her to legalize gay marriage."

God, he hopes it doesn't actually take that long.

"Do you think it'll really take that long?" Jungkook asks, slightly taken aback as he turns towards Yoongi with a look of dismay. On some level, Jungkook knows it doesn't matter when the country decides to take the plunge and actually legalize gay marriage — he knows that they'll have a ceremony regardless, make their vows regardless. But legalization comes with a whole host of perks as well. It seems unlikely that they'll be able to adopt unless they're married, and they won't be able to be in each other's family registries without legally tying the knot.

And should either of them end up in the hospital for whatever reason, it'll be harder to push their way through and visit one another or claim any type of medical proxy without being married.

Typically, Jungkook isn't the type to worry too much about such details, but that's changed in the few months they've been together. It's all too easy to think about the years ahead, the lives that they'll build together.

"Maybe I should run for office," Jungkook mumbles, dumbfounded as he shakes his head, nudging Yoongi to the side, making room for some of the other visitors to slip in.

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