Bargain (Not Met) (JungHope)

Interlude - Lesson

He changed his work hours because of course his manager was nice enough to let him do that. Now he might actually bump into Namjoon since his transfer last year.

Technicalities of work aside, Hoseok was trying not to lose his shit as he sat in the center of the studio, Begin blasting from his phone's speaker. It had become a piece of comfort for Hoseok, something to reassure him of the old Jungkook—the Jungkook he would get back if he worked hard enough.

The studio's door opened, and Hoseok hastily paused the song and looked toward the intruder.

Jungkook looked mildly surprised to see him, like he hadn't believed he would keep his word—of either actually attending his lesson or arriving before him.

"Huh," was all Jungkook had to say, and, really, Hoseok missed the chatty Jungkook. The Jungkook that didn't know how to shut the fuck up no matter how many times Hoseok begged him to; the Jungkook that teased and prodded him about every little word or action he'd pondered and labored over.

He missed his Jungkook.

"I never got your name," Jungkook said, startling Hoseok from his lamenting.

"Jung Hoseok, but you can just call me hyung, Jungkook-ah." This was okay, right? It was best to become as familiar as possible with each other to bring memories back quicker, right?

Jungkook blinked owlishly at him.

Damn. Maybe he had been too forward.

"Or, whatever you're more comfortable with," Hoseok stammered, the heat of shame licking at the back of his neck.

"Ah, no, it's fine." Jungkook hesitated over his words, a visible battle warring in his mind. "Hyung." Jungkook nodded, assured in his choice. "Hoseok-hyung."

Hoseok felt something like affection flutter in his chest, and he hastily averted his gaze to the shoe-scuffed floor to keep himself from doing something stupid, like cry from being called hyung.

The rest of the students showed up shortly after, some of them looking more than surprised by Hoseok's attendance. Hoseok decided to take offense to that and sized them up by leaving them breathless with his (extremely rusty) freestyle skills. It was enough to shut them up, and Hoseok didn't miss the almost proud gaze Jungkook sent him. He pointedly ignored him—for the sake of his own mental health.

The lesson itself was...nostalgic. It reminded Hoseok why he had been so desperately in love with dancing when he was younger and dumber than he would ever hope to be now. The thrill of learning new techniques and skills to potentially show in front of a crowd—big or small—and gain traction from the public. That slim chance at small-town fame constantly caused Hoseok to see stars behind his eyes, blinded by the endless possibilities of getting to show his love to even the smallest of audience.

However, Hoseok was no longer the one leading the crew to their collective dream: Jungkook was. He took reign of the choreography and assisted in the smallest of details, to fine-tune the slightest of mistakes. He charged through with the routine when it was patted down into everyone's head and slammed the rhythm to a grinding halt if even one of them was off-kilter.

It made Hoseok proud. Seeing that desperate fifteen-year-old grow into a man of confidence was startling, but it was a dearly beloved sight. Because Hoseok well and truly believed that Jungkook loved nothing more than dancing.

"Good work today!" Jungkook finally, finally called, and Hoseok collapsed onto the ground beside another student. He hadn't been maintaining his stamina for the better part of a decade, and he could feel it in the bruising aches that already formed themselves across every nook and cranny of his body. "I'm surprised," Jungkook said as he crouched down beside Hoseok, and Hoseok could do nothing more than stare up at him with heaving gasps. "I didn't think you had such an extensive background in dancing."

Hoseok swallowed away the drought in his mouth, tried to say something, coughed out the retort, and accepted the bottled water Jungkook passed him.

"I'm surprised," Hoseok said after downing the entire bottle in one shot, "that I remembered anything at all."

Jungkook tilted his head, innocently curious. "How long has it been since you last danced?"

"A decade."

The student that lay beside him choked on his water.

Jungkook blinked owlishly. "You're, uh..."

Hoseok grinned. "Old? Yeah, I know."

Jungkook smiled sheepishly. "I was going to say experienced."

"Just you wait, Kook. Three years from now, you're gonna be on the threshold of the thirties, and you're gonna feel the pain I'm feeling."

Jungkook's mouth opened and closed, but before he could get a word out, the rest of the students swarmed Hoseok upon learning he was their technical senior in dancing. Word traveled fast in a ten-by-fifteen room, he supposed.

A/N - HAPPY JUNGKOOK DAY