"There's no remedy for memory. Your face is like a melody, it won't leave my head."
dark paradise

chapter five : why couldn't it have been mini golf
jungkook's perspective
° ☆.☽*: ° ☆ ☪︎

"Wait, wait, wait," I gasped out through fits of laughter as a stray tear escaped my eye, "you're telling me that even after Seokjin made out with you, you still weren't sure that he had feelings for you? After he initiated it?"

"Yup!" Jin confirmed.

"How can anyone be that dense?"

"I ask myself that every day." Jin sighed in an overdramatic voice that sent me and everyone else, except Namjoon, into another round of ravenous laughter. I clutched my stomach as it started cramping from laughing too much.

We all sat around my living room after having just finished dinner not too long ago. A frowning Namjoon, squeaking Jin, and wheezing Hoseok were occupying the couch. Hana and I were on the loveseat across from where Jimin, Yoongi and Taehyung were sitting. Yoongi leaned against the armchair and Jimin had his head laying down on his stomach while Tae's head laid on his stomach. I watched Tae's head keep bouncing as Jimin laughed under him and the sight only made my own laughter worse.

"It took me, Tae, and Jimin constantly reassuring Joonie that Jin was into him before he finally gathered up some guts to ask him out." Hana giggled, her pixie cut, bubblegum pink hair bouncing in time with her snorts of laughter.

"And we have been together happily for nine years now, thank you very much." Namjoon snapped in an attempt to redeem some part of himself.

"Yes, we have, honey bunches." Jin cooed, gripping either side of his husband's head and bringing him in for a chaste kiss. Everyone cheered the couple, except for Tae who was now taking a sip of his wine glass. What was that, his fourth glass? Fifth? I wasn't quite sure but all I knew was that the lavender haired boy was drunk.

"How about we break out the karaoke?" Jimin suddenly changed the topic.

"Oh my god, yes!" Taehyung shouted, standing up so quickly that I was afraid he would fall. I watched him with an amused expression as he stumbled over to the game console that was stationed to my right. His hands fumbled with the DVD case he snatched up but he eventually succeeded in opening it, taking a few seconds more to get the disk out and then some more to get it into the gaming system.

"What if we split into teams of two? There's finally an even number of us." Hana said with a laugh.

"Yes, but no couples on the same team!" Jimin added. The groans from both Namjoon and Yoongi were ignored as everyone else in the group agreed.

"Alright, how should we split the teams?" Hana asked.

"It needs to be random!"

"No rock-paper-scissors!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's almost as old as you. Let's try something new." Yoongi and Hoseok's bickering continued to fill the silence until Namjoon cleared his throat, causing both males to fall silent.

"How about we do a good old-fashioned draw? Half of us write our names on paper and the other half choose randomly. Couples on the same side so they can't be paired together. Does that sound fair enough?" Everyone agreed to Namjoon's suggestion and soon after Tae dashed over to his desk and brought the necessary supplies.

In the end, Yoongi, Jimin, Hana, and Taehyung wrote their names down on the slips of paper while the rest of us got to choose. Namjoon tossed the four slips of paper into one of Tae's spare hats and I watched as Jin reached his hand out and snatched up a slip of paper, unfolding it and reading it.

"Yes! Hana and I are on a team!"

I released a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

Next up was Namjoon, who quickly grabbed a paper and soon moved to his partner, Yoongi's, side. They both had shit-eating grins and it instantly made my competitive side flare up. I bit my lip and refocused on Hoseok, who was in the middle of choosing. I realized that this would determine whether or not I get to pair with-

"Jiminie! We're a team!"

-fairy boy.

I sidled up next to Tae, who hadn't seemed to notice my presence next to him yet. "Guess we're paired, partner," I whispered in his ear.

Tae jumped and looked at me before he relaxed again, turning his previously frowning face into one of happiness as a giggle escaped his lips. The sound tinkled in my ears and I was disappointed when the sound died down.

"Let's totally crush them, yeah?" I told him, elbowing him lightly on his ribs which earned another round of giggles.

"Yes! We shall destroy them!" Tae shouted loud enough to draw the attention of the other teams. His tiny fists were raised in the air, pumping up and down as if he was celebrating our victory already.

"Don't let him feed you lies, Kookie. Hoseok and I are winning." Jimin tossed back.

"Take that back! Kookie and I will defeat you!" I tried not to smirk at the nickname.

"Sure Tae," Jimin scoffed.

Tae lunged at Jimin with his arm outstretched, making the older shriek and hide behind Hoseok who quickly broke the almost-fight up. Tae eventually wandered back to my side but his lips were forming a pout.

"Just you watch. Me and Kookie will whoop your butts." Tae mumbled under his breath, arms crossing over his chest to complete his pouting look. Suddenly his hands, which were frigid to the touch, latched onto my forearm and his eyes looked into mine pleasingly. "You think we'll win, right, Kookie?"

I couldn't help but smirk at the younger male's appearance, seeming almost like a child, before I managed to say, "Yeah, Tae. I think we'll win."

"Ha! See, Kookie thinks we'll win." Tae announced. I saw Jimin open his mouth, probably to argue, when suddenly the oldest in the group spoke up.

"What about a prize for the winning team?" Jin changed the subject.

"How about whatever team wins, each member gets a bottle of 2011 Sequoia Grove-Cambium? I've got a few bottles of the 1.5-Liter." Tae offered. I raised my eyebrows as I glanced at the lavender hair male who still hadn't released his hold on me. I wondered if he forgot that he was still clutching my arm or if he just didn't care.

"Tae, are you sure? That's some expensive wine..." Namjoon said, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. My grandmother always gets me the good stuff so I've got plenty to share."

"Okay, then. So the rules are, each team gets to pick a duet or a song to perform as a duet from the game list. You can pass it around if you don't have it memorized yet. We will use the game's scoring to determine the winner. Everybody cool with that?" Namjoon asked. Everyone chorused their consent before each team started discussing their plans with each other.

"Okay," Taehyung started as he turned to speak with me, his voice lowered as if we were exchanging secrets, "what song do you think we should do?"

"What are the options?"

"Oh, um..." Tae's eyes darted around until they landed on the empty game sleeve. He jogged over to it and then brought it to me, thrusting it into my hands. "The song choices are on the back of the case."

I scanned the list and noted a few that looked familiar. "How about The Scientist?"

"Too slow. I need something more upbeat."

"Okay, how about..." I dropped my voice a few octaves as I whispered my suggestion to the younger.

"Per-Perfect!" Tae squeaked out, his voice raising a few decibels, making his voice resemble that of a ten-year-old girl. "But I'm not too familiar with it."

"Me neither. Should we just pick another song?" I asked.

"No! Let's keep it. We can just practice beforehand."

"How about we find somewhere quieter?" I asked, cringing as Hana and Hoseok started a shouting match. Although humorous, it did take a toll on my eardrums.

"Yeah, my bedroom will be a lot quieter." Tae then turned to the group saying, "Everyone find a spot to practice in! We get six minutes of practice time before we start."

"We call your bedroom!" Jin shouted, grabbing Hana's hand and flying towards Tae's bedroom before my mind could even comprehend what just happened.

"Fucking jerk," Tae grumbled, my eyebrows raising in shock to hear the curse word slip past his lips. Somehow he just didn't strike me as a curser. "I guess we can go to the bathroom or...-"

"We call the bathroom!" Jimin and Hoseok almost blurred as they dashed for the bathroom. Tae cursed again.

"Or?" I prompted, poking Tae's arm, which was still latched to mine, to regain his attention.

"Oh, uh, I guess that leaves the hallway laundry room," He told me.

"Lead the way."

ello loves. i've decided instead of putting my a/n's in bold imma do italics because it suits my aesthetics better (yes, i'm that girl. sue me) i hope you enjoyed this chapter because currently i'm sick as a dog but i stuck it out so that i could give you new content. stay tuned for the next chapter and stay frosty.

this chapter is dedicated to pocketbangtan for her many inspirational books and just overall amazing-ness (especially her book Blood Ink)