fic: boys boys boys (they love me)
boys boys boys (they love me)
PG. Jr-centric gen, JJ Project throwback. 2816 words. AO3 mirror.
Five roommates Jinyoung didn't have and one he did.
1.
“Moving day,” Noyoung-hyung says, cutting off Jackson and Youngjae's cheers about having a few hours free. He’d come by fifteen minutes into morning hair and makeup to brief them on their schedule; everyone’s excitement over getting let out of dance practice early that night was cut short when they realized it was just so they could go to their new dorm and unpack the combined luggage that had been slowly accumulating over the past week. “Think carefully about roommates,” he warns ominously before slipping back out to the van.
"I call biggest room," Jackson says automatically from the bench where he’s waiting his turn, and next to him, Yugyeom lets out a snort of protest. "Who wants the honor of being my roommate?" he continues, now over the back track of Yugyeom's "stop! Stop, please!" as Jackson pulls his head down by the scruff of the neck to give him a noogie.
Jinyoung winces at the crick of Yugyeom's neck as it's forced down a good eight centimeters to Jackson's eye level, audible even through the hiss of hairspray and hair stylist chatter around him. He casts a look around for someone to commiserate with. Unfortunately, Youngjae and Kunpimook are snickering next to him, their heads held fast by their stylists, and Jaebum, earphones in and eyes closed, has evidently decided to become temporarily blind and deaf. All Jinyoung is left with is Mark, done and curled up in his salon chair, mouthing at a water bottle and watching Jackson through his red fringe with an absentminded indulgence.
"Indoor voices," their manager reminds them from the corner in English with the rote, practiced tone of someone who's repeated it too often in a short period of time. It's been his favorite phrase ever since he heard Mark say it to Jackson, everyone watching in surprise as - and there was no better way to explain this - Jackson bristled, then heeled. It was a miracle quick-fix solution no one could explain, though fast losing its effectiveness.
Pete-hyung runs a tiny comb through Jinyoung’s left eyebrow, which makes no discernible difference as far as Jinyoung can tell. He stands back, studying Jinyoung’s face for a second, then nods, satisfied. “Your turn, Jackson,” he says, tapping Jinyoung out. Then he turns around, gets a better look at what Jackson’s doing to Yugyeom. “Please don’t do that to Yugyeom’s hair.”
"Sorry, hyung," Jackson says. He lets go of Yugyeom, who tugs at his now-waywards bangs with a pout. Jinyoung wouldn't be surprised if Jackson manhandled Yugyeom's head off his shoulders one of these days.
Jinyoung tries to slide past Jackson without moving his head too much, all the product making him feel top-heavy. He meets Jackson’s eyes just in time to see the sudden and ingratiating smile slide onto his face. It’s the same smile Jackson uses on Heewon-noona or Seunghoon-hyung when he knows he’s done wrong, as well as any female host over 28 - sometimes any male host over 28, too.
"Ah, Jinyoungie," Jackson begins as he settles down into the salon chair, sickeningly sweet, just as Pete-hyung settles a cape over his shoulders.
Yugyeom, clever maknae, figures it out and beats him to the punch. He tugs at Jinyoung’s arm so that he tumbles into the seat Jackson just vacated. Yugyeom steadies him, careful not to mess up his hair. “Jinyoungie-hyung,” Yugyeom says, blinking cutely, “want to room with me?”
2.
Jackson scowls at them through the mirror, but Pete-hyung has a hand clamped to the top of his head and waves his water spritz bottle in his face as warning. “Not fair,” Jackson mutters, grimace-smiling up at Pete-hyung. “You better not say yes, Jinyoung.”
“Whoa,” Jinyoung says. “No need to fight over me. There’s plenty of Park Jinyoung to go around.” But he’s grinning broadly, not-so-secretly delighted. Years of being the youngest brother to two older sisters had given him both a disposition charming enough win over even the worst of their moods, and an ability to give out affection as good as he’d gotten it growing up. It had served him well with Jaebum, and was turning out to serve him even better when there were five more personalities to juggle. Still, Jinyoung’s no saint. Just because thoughtfulness has become second nature to him doesn’t mean he isn’t happy to be recognized for it.
Kunpimook and Youngjae are let go with a final minute tweak, and they gingerly take seats next to Jinyoung on the bench. Kunpimook leans across Jinyoung to glare at Yugyeom as he gets up, beckoned by the stylists. “Hey, Yugyeom! What happened to being roommates forever?” he asks, mouth pulled into an exaggerated pout.
A look of sincere guilt crosses Yugyeom’s face, making Kunpimook laugh and Jinyoung pat his butt fondly as he passes.
“Well, I guess that settles it,” Jinyoung says, shrugging. “I could never break up the maknae dream team.” Kunpimook and Yugyeom flash matching dorky V-signs at each other, Yugyeom’s transgression forgiven, and Jackson fist-pumps in his chair, whooping. Pete-hyung narrowly avoids getting his nose broken, and Jackson gets a spritz of water in the face for his excitement. Jackson starts violently, staring up at Pete-hyung with a look of utter betrayal on his face.
This inspires even Mark into laughter, and Jaebum sits up, taking out his earphones. He looks at Jackson, sulking, a little soggy, and thoroughly subdued, then over at Seunghoon-hyung.
“Can we…?” he starts hopefully, miming a spraying action.
Seunghoon-hyung looks at Jackson, then Jaebum, then sighs, looking regretful. “I’m afraid not.”
3.
It’s a short ride to the studio where they’re shooting their official debut teaser pictures, so Jinyoung agrees easily enough to take the back middle seat. After a few furious rounds of rock, paper, scissors in the doorway of the salon, winter cold seeping through the automatic door, Jinyoung is bustled outside with the rest of his future groupmates. He climbs into the back with Youngjae and Kunpimook, who promptly passes out on Jinyoung’s shoulder. Jinyoung’s still in his civilian clothes, and can feel the slickness of Kunpimook’s hair gel against his neck through the centimeter between jacket collar and scarf. But it’s not like they won’t go through another round of touch-ups once they reach the studio anyway, so Jinyoung doesn’t say anything, just slides down a bit so Kunpimook’s head is pillowed more comfortably on the puff of Jinyoung’s jacket.
Mark, Yugyeom, and Jackson fill in the middle row, and Jaebum gets in up front next to Seunghoon-hyung. In front of them, Jackson passes one earbud to Mark, reaching over Yugyeom, who sighs and points out, “You know, this would be easier if I just switched with one of you.”
“No way,” Jackson shoots back immediately, pulling out his iPod. “You lost, tough luck.”
Next to Jinyoung, Youngjae laughs, a full-body reaction that vibrates into Jinyoung. Thanks to Jackson and Noyoung-hyung, Jinyoung’s got roommates on the mind. He thinks suddenly about Youngjae’s easygoing personality, his ability to sleep like the dead, his unfussy character, and how it’s reflected in his equally unfussy wardrobe. Youngjae, Jinyoung concludes, might just be the perfect roommate. “Hey, Youngjae,” he says, pitching his voice low so he doesn’t wake Kunpimook. “Do you want to room together? I can help you study for entrance exams. You want to go to Howon too, right?”
Seunghoon-hyung starts the car after reminding everyone to buckle up and checking his mirrors three times. Youngjae turns to look at him, mouth twisting. “Sorry,” he says, sounding genuinely regretful, “I already asked Jaebum-hyung.” He bites his lip, looking worried. “You’ll still help me study though, right?”
Jinyoung leans into Youngjae, sighing dramatically. “Ah, Jaebum-hyung’s so lucky. But I won’t hold it against you, Youngjae-yah.”
4.
Jinyoung wanders back to the shooting area after being scrubbed free of makeup and product by a team of determined coordi-noonas. He sits down in a folding chair beside the computer to watch the constant marquee of Mark's photos as they're taken, each barely different from the previous one. Mark has a good face and the confidence to wear it, making it boring to watch. After a string of identical photos, Jinyoung looks around for other entertainment. Thankfully, Jackson comes through, as Jinyoung glances to the left and finds that he is, inexplicably, doing pushups. Jinyoung waits for Jackson to get to twenty before finally saying something. “Jackson, what the hell are you doing?”
Jackson jumps to his feet, like he’s been waiting for someone to ask him that question all day. “Toning my muscles before my photos,” he says, like it should be obvious. Maybe in his deranged world, it is.
Miae-noona from styling rushes forward from behind to take advantage of the opening, pressing a napkin to his forehead. “Jackson, please stop doing unnecessary things. Think about your makeup,” she says. “Think about who has to do your makeup.” Jackson automatically turns sheepish, rounding his eyes at her and pushing his lip out.
“If you keep doing that, your face is going to look stupid forever,” Mark says to him as he approaches, just in time to catch Miae-noona roll her eyes and swat at Jackson. He says it in English, but Jinyoung knows enough to pick up ‘face,’ ‘stupid,’ and ‘forever,’ so he gives Mark a thumbs-up as Jackson sticks his tongue out at them.
Jackson is bustled off to do his photos before he can do more damage to himself. In lieu of a free chair, Mark drops his bony ass right onto Jinyoung’s thighs, sitting sideways so he can look as the director scrolls through his film. He makes a face as a particularly unflattering one goes by and settles more comfortably in Jinyoung's lap, surprisingly uncumbersome. Mark manages himself so well that Jinyoung always forgets he has a good five centimeters and six kilos on his hyung. He drops an arm to curl around Mark's thin waist, guided by the sudden rush of affection. When he leans in close, he can detect underneath the hive of hairspray in Mark's perm the not-entirely-unpleasant scent of his sweat. Jinyoung rests his cheek against the bony jut of Mark's exposed shoulder, laughing when the director clicks onto a picture of Mark tangled in his own sleeves, slightly cross-eyed as he works to extract himself.
They sit like that for a while, making noncommittal noises at Mark's pictures, then chuckling at Jackson's, until Jinyoung can no longer feel his legs and Mark's proximity has raised their collective body temperature by at least a few degrees. The sweat is starting to collect at the small of Jinyoung’s back. "Alright, you gotta go," he says, pushing at the thigh jammed uncomfortably against his bladder.
Mark pouts at him, then laughs when Jinyoung all but dumps him out of his lap. His teeth flash white when he says, "Jinyoungie, you're unbelievable."
5.
Jackson is uncharacteristically subdued when he finishes his shoot, eyebrows drawn together in an expression so thoughtful it's suspicious. Jinyoung catches him mouthing something to himself while he gets his makeup removed, though he quickly clams up when he sees Jinyoung looking.
Jackson’s strange behavior continues through most of lunch. While he’s usually trying to wheedle away the best parts of everyone else's meal, today he's got his earphones in and his head bent over a notebook, looking like he's working on lyrics. It's remarkable enough that even Seunghoon-hyung looks impressed when he walks by to make sure they’re all sticking to their diets.
Of course, good things never last.
Jinyoung makes the mistake of pulling out Jackson’s left earphone and asking, “I never thought I’d see the day. What’s got you so quiet?” He glances over Jackson’s shoulder at his notebook, open to a clean page. At the very top of the page, Jackson has written in his sloping hangul, ♥ FOR JINYOUNG ♥. It is underlined twice. Unfortunately, the rest is in English.
There are a lot of reasons for this, probably. Jinyoung goes for the safest one. “Are you - writing me a song?” Jinyoung asks slowly.
Jackson looks up at him, wide-eyed. “Yeah,” he says, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s an American song. I was thinking it could be our roommate theme song. Would you say you have the brains or the looks? At first, I thought: brains, definitely, since I’m the sexy one, but hey, I’m not bad either and I guess you’re taller, or something - ”
Jinyoung flicks Jackson between the eyes so hard, Yugyeom flinches from across the table. “You dumbass,” Jinyoung says, grabbing and twisting a patch of skin off the back of Jackson’s neck for good measure. He’s laughing so hard at the angle of Jackson’s pout, he almost drops his chopsticks. “Both. I have both.”
1.
It’s been three hours since they were dropped them off at their new home with the threat that they wouldn’t get to eat until they’d satisfactorily unpacked, and Jinyoung’s almost done. Through the partially open door that connects his room to Yugyeom and Kunpimook’s, he can see both of them laid out on their beds napping, suitcases in various states of unpacked-ness open around them. Typical, not that he’d been expecting anything else when they said they’d be rooming together.
Jinyoung is hanging up the last of his sweaters when Jaebum steps into the room after a perfunctory knock on Yugyeom and Kunpimook’s door. He wrinkles his nose at the mess, though the effect is softened when he tugs a blanket to cover Yugyeom’s exposed stomach.
“What are we going to do with these kids,” he sighs, throwing himself onto Jinyoung’s bed.
Jinyoung tsks in agreement, sliding his closet door shut. “Don’t ask me. You’re in charge of discipline. I’m the nice one.”
Jaebum, facedown in the stomach of a stuffed bear Jinyoung’s had since grade school, flips him off. His next words are muffled around a mouthful of felt. “Lucky you, though. Getting the single room.”
“Not really,” Jinyoung says, pulling his desk chair out so he can sit in it backwards and watch Jaebum try to become one with his stuffed animals. In the chaos of exploring their new dorm and trying to claim the best possible room, all previous allegiances had been abandoned. Jackson switched from Jinyoung, who’d finally given in, to Jaebum, before the split-second hurt on Youngjae’s face made Mark grab Jackson’s shoulder and shove him forcibly into the nearest room. Youngjae and Jaebum had something of a showdown with Yugyeom and Kunpimook over the bigger room before Jaebum’s leader instincts took over just as Yugyeom pulled the still-growing-maknaes card on him. By the time anyone thought about Jinyoung again, he had already laid down roots. “Besides, if you think about it, I’m just third-wheel to Yugyeom and Kunpimook.”
Jaebum laughs, rolling onto his side to face Jinyoung, but doesn’t say anything. They lapse into the companionable silence Jinyoung’s long gotten used to with Jaebum. When it was just the two of them alone in the JJ Project dorm, it had sometimes gotten out of hand, inviting in all sorts of doubts and worries. In the half-year before they were sure they would be promoting again, this time as seven and not two, it had gotten especially unwieldy. They had more free time than they knew what to do with, in their line of work. Despite their determination that it was just the calm before the storm, that their time would come again, soon, there ran a deep current of uncertainty. It was especially hard for Jaebum, whose natural inclination to push himself warred constantly with his dogged belief that the company that gave him a chance once would give him a chance again.
“It would’ve been nice,” Jaebum says finally, “if we could’ve roomed together again. I liked our dorm.”
He’s right; it would’ve been nice. On the fast-track to a second debut, they never really had the chance to talk about what it would mean for them, for JJ Project. It’s probably as grand a gesture Jinyoung will ever get from Jaebum. Still, there are some things that are an undeniable upgrade: the occasional shouts and hysterical bursts of laughter from the direction of Mark and Jackson’s room; Youngjae’s plaintive “Jaebum-hyung, I really need your help right now,” floating all the way into Jinyoung’s small corner of the apartment; Yugyeom jerking awake and accidentally jostling Kunpimook’s funny bone, and Kunpimook’s resulting high-pitched shriek.
Jinyoung and Jaebum wince in tandem at that, before laughing. Jaebum gets up, dragging his reluctant, tired limbs out of Jinyoung’s bed. It’s time to do damage control - Jaebum, to see what Youngjae’s gotten himself into this time, and Jinyoung, to help Yugyeom and Kunpimook unpack so they won’t be stuck having dinner at midnight again.
He catches Jaebum’s elbow as he passes, tightening his hand around the familiar warmth. “I liked it too,” he says, squeezing in reassurance. “But it’s better now. We’re better now.”
- Based off this extremely fun, super illuminating, way too short interview.
- Names of managers/stylists were taken from the album thanks-to's, but in retrospective they're probably not completely correct u__u; it's okay, please let me live in delusion~
- Questions I've been asking myself since getting into Got7 three weeks ago: how did this happen to me? Is Mark Tuan even that cute?? Who let Park Jinyoung look like this? How did this happen to me?
- Sorry, this is actually way more boring than the title/summary might suggest...
- Many thanks to yellow highlighter E-unni for all the edits and suggestions, and V for reading it over.
PG. Jr-centric gen, JJ Project throwback. 2816 words. AO3 mirror.
Five roommates Jinyoung didn't have and one he did.
1.
“Moving day,” Noyoung-hyung says, cutting off Jackson and Youngjae's cheers about having a few hours free. He’d come by fifteen minutes into morning hair and makeup to brief them on their schedule; everyone’s excitement over getting let out of dance practice early that night was cut short when they realized it was just so they could go to their new dorm and unpack the combined luggage that had been slowly accumulating over the past week. “Think carefully about roommates,” he warns ominously before slipping back out to the van.
"I call biggest room," Jackson says automatically from the bench where he’s waiting his turn, and next to him, Yugyeom lets out a snort of protest. "Who wants the honor of being my roommate?" he continues, now over the back track of Yugyeom's "stop! Stop, please!" as Jackson pulls his head down by the scruff of the neck to give him a noogie.
Jinyoung winces at the crick of Yugyeom's neck as it's forced down a good eight centimeters to Jackson's eye level, audible even through the hiss of hairspray and hair stylist chatter around him. He casts a look around for someone to commiserate with. Unfortunately, Youngjae and Kunpimook are snickering next to him, their heads held fast by their stylists, and Jaebum, earphones in and eyes closed, has evidently decided to become temporarily blind and deaf. All Jinyoung is left with is Mark, done and curled up in his salon chair, mouthing at a water bottle and watching Jackson through his red fringe with an absentminded indulgence.
"Indoor voices," their manager reminds them from the corner in English with the rote, practiced tone of someone who's repeated it too often in a short period of time. It's been his favorite phrase ever since he heard Mark say it to Jackson, everyone watching in surprise as - and there was no better way to explain this - Jackson bristled, then heeled. It was a miracle quick-fix solution no one could explain, though fast losing its effectiveness.
Pete-hyung runs a tiny comb through Jinyoung’s left eyebrow, which makes no discernible difference as far as Jinyoung can tell. He stands back, studying Jinyoung’s face for a second, then nods, satisfied. “Your turn, Jackson,” he says, tapping Jinyoung out. Then he turns around, gets a better look at what Jackson’s doing to Yugyeom. “Please don’t do that to Yugyeom’s hair.”
"Sorry, hyung," Jackson says. He lets go of Yugyeom, who tugs at his now-waywards bangs with a pout. Jinyoung wouldn't be surprised if Jackson manhandled Yugyeom's head off his shoulders one of these days.
Jinyoung tries to slide past Jackson without moving his head too much, all the product making him feel top-heavy. He meets Jackson’s eyes just in time to see the sudden and ingratiating smile slide onto his face. It’s the same smile Jackson uses on Heewon-noona or Seunghoon-hyung when he knows he’s done wrong, as well as any female host over 28 - sometimes any male host over 28, too.
"Ah, Jinyoungie," Jackson begins as he settles down into the salon chair, sickeningly sweet, just as Pete-hyung settles a cape over his shoulders.
Yugyeom, clever maknae, figures it out and beats him to the punch. He tugs at Jinyoung’s arm so that he tumbles into the seat Jackson just vacated. Yugyeom steadies him, careful not to mess up his hair. “Jinyoungie-hyung,” Yugyeom says, blinking cutely, “want to room with me?”
2.
Jackson scowls at them through the mirror, but Pete-hyung has a hand clamped to the top of his head and waves his water spritz bottle in his face as warning. “Not fair,” Jackson mutters, grimace-smiling up at Pete-hyung. “You better not say yes, Jinyoung.”
“Whoa,” Jinyoung says. “No need to fight over me. There’s plenty of Park Jinyoung to go around.” But he’s grinning broadly, not-so-secretly delighted. Years of being the youngest brother to two older sisters had given him both a disposition charming enough win over even the worst of their moods, and an ability to give out affection as good as he’d gotten it growing up. It had served him well with Jaebum, and was turning out to serve him even better when there were five more personalities to juggle. Still, Jinyoung’s no saint. Just because thoughtfulness has become second nature to him doesn’t mean he isn’t happy to be recognized for it.
Kunpimook and Youngjae are let go with a final minute tweak, and they gingerly take seats next to Jinyoung on the bench. Kunpimook leans across Jinyoung to glare at Yugyeom as he gets up, beckoned by the stylists. “Hey, Yugyeom! What happened to being roommates forever?” he asks, mouth pulled into an exaggerated pout.
A look of sincere guilt crosses Yugyeom’s face, making Kunpimook laugh and Jinyoung pat his butt fondly as he passes.
“Well, I guess that settles it,” Jinyoung says, shrugging. “I could never break up the maknae dream team.” Kunpimook and Yugyeom flash matching dorky V-signs at each other, Yugyeom’s transgression forgiven, and Jackson fist-pumps in his chair, whooping. Pete-hyung narrowly avoids getting his nose broken, and Jackson gets a spritz of water in the face for his excitement. Jackson starts violently, staring up at Pete-hyung with a look of utter betrayal on his face.
This inspires even Mark into laughter, and Jaebum sits up, taking out his earphones. He looks at Jackson, sulking, a little soggy, and thoroughly subdued, then over at Seunghoon-hyung.
“Can we…?” he starts hopefully, miming a spraying action.
Seunghoon-hyung looks at Jackson, then Jaebum, then sighs, looking regretful. “I’m afraid not.”
3.
It’s a short ride to the studio where they’re shooting their official debut teaser pictures, so Jinyoung agrees easily enough to take the back middle seat. After a few furious rounds of rock, paper, scissors in the doorway of the salon, winter cold seeping through the automatic door, Jinyoung is bustled outside with the rest of his future groupmates. He climbs into the back with Youngjae and Kunpimook, who promptly passes out on Jinyoung’s shoulder. Jinyoung’s still in his civilian clothes, and can feel the slickness of Kunpimook’s hair gel against his neck through the centimeter between jacket collar and scarf. But it’s not like they won’t go through another round of touch-ups once they reach the studio anyway, so Jinyoung doesn’t say anything, just slides down a bit so Kunpimook’s head is pillowed more comfortably on the puff of Jinyoung’s jacket.
Mark, Yugyeom, and Jackson fill in the middle row, and Jaebum gets in up front next to Seunghoon-hyung. In front of them, Jackson passes one earbud to Mark, reaching over Yugyeom, who sighs and points out, “You know, this would be easier if I just switched with one of you.”
“No way,” Jackson shoots back immediately, pulling out his iPod. “You lost, tough luck.”
Next to Jinyoung, Youngjae laughs, a full-body reaction that vibrates into Jinyoung. Thanks to Jackson and Noyoung-hyung, Jinyoung’s got roommates on the mind. He thinks suddenly about Youngjae’s easygoing personality, his ability to sleep like the dead, his unfussy character, and how it’s reflected in his equally unfussy wardrobe. Youngjae, Jinyoung concludes, might just be the perfect roommate. “Hey, Youngjae,” he says, pitching his voice low so he doesn’t wake Kunpimook. “Do you want to room together? I can help you study for entrance exams. You want to go to Howon too, right?”
Seunghoon-hyung starts the car after reminding everyone to buckle up and checking his mirrors three times. Youngjae turns to look at him, mouth twisting. “Sorry,” he says, sounding genuinely regretful, “I already asked Jaebum-hyung.” He bites his lip, looking worried. “You’ll still help me study though, right?”
Jinyoung leans into Youngjae, sighing dramatically. “Ah, Jaebum-hyung’s so lucky. But I won’t hold it against you, Youngjae-yah.”
4.
Jinyoung wanders back to the shooting area after being scrubbed free of makeup and product by a team of determined coordi-noonas. He sits down in a folding chair beside the computer to watch the constant marquee of Mark's photos as they're taken, each barely different from the previous one. Mark has a good face and the confidence to wear it, making it boring to watch. After a string of identical photos, Jinyoung looks around for other entertainment. Thankfully, Jackson comes through, as Jinyoung glances to the left and finds that he is, inexplicably, doing pushups. Jinyoung waits for Jackson to get to twenty before finally saying something. “Jackson, what the hell are you doing?”
Jackson jumps to his feet, like he’s been waiting for someone to ask him that question all day. “Toning my muscles before my photos,” he says, like it should be obvious. Maybe in his deranged world, it is.
Miae-noona from styling rushes forward from behind to take advantage of the opening, pressing a napkin to his forehead. “Jackson, please stop doing unnecessary things. Think about your makeup,” she says. “Think about who has to do your makeup.” Jackson automatically turns sheepish, rounding his eyes at her and pushing his lip out.
“If you keep doing that, your face is going to look stupid forever,” Mark says to him as he approaches, just in time to catch Miae-noona roll her eyes and swat at Jackson. He says it in English, but Jinyoung knows enough to pick up ‘face,’ ‘stupid,’ and ‘forever,’ so he gives Mark a thumbs-up as Jackson sticks his tongue out at them.
Jackson is bustled off to do his photos before he can do more damage to himself. In lieu of a free chair, Mark drops his bony ass right onto Jinyoung’s thighs, sitting sideways so he can look as the director scrolls through his film. He makes a face as a particularly unflattering one goes by and settles more comfortably in Jinyoung's lap, surprisingly uncumbersome. Mark manages himself so well that Jinyoung always forgets he has a good five centimeters and six kilos on his hyung. He drops an arm to curl around Mark's thin waist, guided by the sudden rush of affection. When he leans in close, he can detect underneath the hive of hairspray in Mark's perm the not-entirely-unpleasant scent of his sweat. Jinyoung rests his cheek against the bony jut of Mark's exposed shoulder, laughing when the director clicks onto a picture of Mark tangled in his own sleeves, slightly cross-eyed as he works to extract himself.
They sit like that for a while, making noncommittal noises at Mark's pictures, then chuckling at Jackson's, until Jinyoung can no longer feel his legs and Mark's proximity has raised their collective body temperature by at least a few degrees. The sweat is starting to collect at the small of Jinyoung’s back. "Alright, you gotta go," he says, pushing at the thigh jammed uncomfortably against his bladder.
Mark pouts at him, then laughs when Jinyoung all but dumps him out of his lap. His teeth flash white when he says, "Jinyoungie, you're unbelievable."
5.
Jackson is uncharacteristically subdued when he finishes his shoot, eyebrows drawn together in an expression so thoughtful it's suspicious. Jinyoung catches him mouthing something to himself while he gets his makeup removed, though he quickly clams up when he sees Jinyoung looking.
Jackson’s strange behavior continues through most of lunch. While he’s usually trying to wheedle away the best parts of everyone else's meal, today he's got his earphones in and his head bent over a notebook, looking like he's working on lyrics. It's remarkable enough that even Seunghoon-hyung looks impressed when he walks by to make sure they’re all sticking to their diets.
Of course, good things never last.
Jinyoung makes the mistake of pulling out Jackson’s left earphone and asking, “I never thought I’d see the day. What’s got you so quiet?” He glances over Jackson’s shoulder at his notebook, open to a clean page. At the very top of the page, Jackson has written in his sloping hangul, ♥ FOR JINYOUNG ♥. It is underlined twice. Unfortunately, the rest is in English.
There are a lot of reasons for this, probably. Jinyoung goes for the safest one. “Are you - writing me a song?” Jinyoung asks slowly.
Jackson looks up at him, wide-eyed. “Yeah,” he says, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s an American song. I was thinking it could be our roommate theme song. Would you say you have the brains or the looks? At first, I thought: brains, definitely, since I’m the sexy one, but hey, I’m not bad either and I guess you’re taller, or something - ”
Jinyoung flicks Jackson between the eyes so hard, Yugyeom flinches from across the table. “You dumbass,” Jinyoung says, grabbing and twisting a patch of skin off the back of Jackson’s neck for good measure. He’s laughing so hard at the angle of Jackson’s pout, he almost drops his chopsticks. “Both. I have both.”
1.
It’s been three hours since they were dropped them off at their new home with the threat that they wouldn’t get to eat until they’d satisfactorily unpacked, and Jinyoung’s almost done. Through the partially open door that connects his room to Yugyeom and Kunpimook’s, he can see both of them laid out on their beds napping, suitcases in various states of unpacked-ness open around them. Typical, not that he’d been expecting anything else when they said they’d be rooming together.
Jinyoung is hanging up the last of his sweaters when Jaebum steps into the room after a perfunctory knock on Yugyeom and Kunpimook’s door. He wrinkles his nose at the mess, though the effect is softened when he tugs a blanket to cover Yugyeom’s exposed stomach.
“What are we going to do with these kids,” he sighs, throwing himself onto Jinyoung’s bed.
Jinyoung tsks in agreement, sliding his closet door shut. “Don’t ask me. You’re in charge of discipline. I’m the nice one.”
Jaebum, facedown in the stomach of a stuffed bear Jinyoung’s had since grade school, flips him off. His next words are muffled around a mouthful of felt. “Lucky you, though. Getting the single room.”
“Not really,” Jinyoung says, pulling his desk chair out so he can sit in it backwards and watch Jaebum try to become one with his stuffed animals. In the chaos of exploring their new dorm and trying to claim the best possible room, all previous allegiances had been abandoned. Jackson switched from Jinyoung, who’d finally given in, to Jaebum, before the split-second hurt on Youngjae’s face made Mark grab Jackson’s shoulder and shove him forcibly into the nearest room. Youngjae and Jaebum had something of a showdown with Yugyeom and Kunpimook over the bigger room before Jaebum’s leader instincts took over just as Yugyeom pulled the still-growing-maknaes card on him. By the time anyone thought about Jinyoung again, he had already laid down roots. “Besides, if you think about it, I’m just third-wheel to Yugyeom and Kunpimook.”
Jaebum laughs, rolling onto his side to face Jinyoung, but doesn’t say anything. They lapse into the companionable silence Jinyoung’s long gotten used to with Jaebum. When it was just the two of them alone in the JJ Project dorm, it had sometimes gotten out of hand, inviting in all sorts of doubts and worries. In the half-year before they were sure they would be promoting again, this time as seven and not two, it had gotten especially unwieldy. They had more free time than they knew what to do with, in their line of work. Despite their determination that it was just the calm before the storm, that their time would come again, soon, there ran a deep current of uncertainty. It was especially hard for Jaebum, whose natural inclination to push himself warred constantly with his dogged belief that the company that gave him a chance once would give him a chance again.
“It would’ve been nice,” Jaebum says finally, “if we could’ve roomed together again. I liked our dorm.”
He’s right; it would’ve been nice. On the fast-track to a second debut, they never really had the chance to talk about what it would mean for them, for JJ Project. It’s probably as grand a gesture Jinyoung will ever get from Jaebum. Still, there are some things that are an undeniable upgrade: the occasional shouts and hysterical bursts of laughter from the direction of Mark and Jackson’s room; Youngjae’s plaintive “Jaebum-hyung, I really need your help right now,” floating all the way into Jinyoung’s small corner of the apartment; Yugyeom jerking awake and accidentally jostling Kunpimook’s funny bone, and Kunpimook’s resulting high-pitched shriek.
Jinyoung and Jaebum wince in tandem at that, before laughing. Jaebum gets up, dragging his reluctant, tired limbs out of Jinyoung’s bed. It’s time to do damage control - Jaebum, to see what Youngjae’s gotten himself into this time, and Jinyoung, to help Yugyeom and Kunpimook unpack so they won’t be stuck having dinner at midnight again.
He catches Jaebum’s elbow as he passes, tightening his hand around the familiar warmth. “I liked it too,” he says, squeezing in reassurance. “But it’s better now. We’re better now.”
- Based off this extremely fun, super illuminating, way too short interview.
- Names of managers/stylists were taken from the album thanks-to's, but in retrospective they're probably not completely correct u__u; it's okay, please let me live in delusion~
- Questions I've been asking myself since getting into Got7 three weeks ago: how did this happen to me? Is Mark Tuan even that cute?? Who let Park Jinyoung look like this? How did this happen to me?
- Sorry, this is actually way more boring than the title/summary might suggest...
- Many thanks to yellow highlighter E-unni for all the edits and suggestions, and V for reading it over.