Chapter Text
First days are the fucking worst. And no one is an exception.
The studious dread another year of hard work. The unstudious dread another year less to waste.
And yet there’s always this strange exhilaration thrumming through the body. The curiosity to know who your classmates would be that year and which professors you’d have to tolerate. How many alphas and omegas you’d get to court. The incessant need to be remembered always playing at the back of the head. Making the year count, is what you hope to do, especially if you’re in the last year of college.
The first day, usually marks how the rest of the year passes. The studious try to keep up and ahead of classes while the liberal artists usher in the spirit of revolution. The jocks though, they’ve got a whole different game going on. Making an impression on the mass and gaining a fan following is the focus of their day.
Kim Taehyung, better known as V for the uncountable victories he has in his stride, alpha and football team captain was no exception. He gave up on his studies when he realised he was his school’s star player and well, let’s just say all the love he got from omegas did enough to detract his attention, even in college.
Good boy gone bad. That’s pretty much him.
Rich, smart, charming and scandalous. There’s not much he needed to do with that face he carried anyway. And his enigmatic personality was another leverage he misused generously.
He had his mind set. Charm the pants off as many omegas as he could (it’s scary considering none would resist). His beginning? The first day, of course! Dressed in his customary black ripped jeans with a leather jacket hung on his shoulder and a tee that stretched across his firm chest in a way that made everyone stare, even the alphas.
What made them drool? His face obviously! And his half-pushed-back, half-messily styled hair wasn’t helping the audience. At all.
The thing about Taehyung? Everything he did was orchestrated. Every look, every smirk was mastered in a way that nothing ever looked wrong or miscalculated. It was frustrating how perfectly well aware he was of the eyes on him, never failing to make an impression.
Walking down the university hallway with an arm on Jimin’s shoulders, he felt on top of the world. The girls giggled. The boys blushed. And Kim Taehyung scanned the faces to see who would be the next notch on his belt this year. He had a count to keep after all.
The good thing? He never broke a heart. It’s almost like everybody knew nobody was good enough for him. The bad thing? He felt the same.
“Hey Chim, you think Jenna will hang out with me after class today?” The question is accompanied by a nod of the head to the person named and the shy smile that is returned seems enough of an answer, the smirk an ever-present feature on his face.
“Bitch if you just wanna sleep with someone, why are you going for the difficult ones? Go for Becky or Tina. They’d be down for it any minute.” Jimin comically moves his shoulders, hands and eyebrows to emphasize his point which frankly does anything but that.
Chewing on his gum with a slight frown on his face which almost makes Jimin feel like he may be giving it a thought, Taehyung quips back, “Nah. I have this new theory this year. Gonna make the hard ones melt. It’ll feel at least a little more challenging then.”
Jimin rolls his eyes and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Let me guess, your team came up with this new ‘theory’?”
Taehyung shrugs like that was the most obvious thing ever. “Uh, I’m a part of the team, so yeah?”
Jimin looks around once to notice all the eyes on them and as expected, his target could barely look away from him. He hums in understanding. “So you wanna bag the big bitches huh. How’s that gonna work out by the way? You know they won’t wanna fall into your trap. You bad news Tae.” Even as Jimin says it, he knows he’s not convinced himself. Hell, there hasn’t been a single soul born to resist his motherfucker of a best friend’s charm and he knows it.
“Who says I’ll just sleep with them? I’m actually considering giving this a shot.”
Taehyung looks serious for once and that’s strange in itself. But somehow Jimin feels nauseous at the thought of him trying so hard to find the right one. Aren’t those things supposed to happen naturally? Aren’t you supposed to find your perfect mate by fate with a zing to make you realise they’re the one? Because if not, pursuing so many people to find the right fit seems as taxing as pursuing a career and love isn’t supposed to be difficult, it’s supposed to be easy, as easy as a leaf being blown away by the wind because it’s destined to fall and fly.
Seeing Jimin’s furrowed brows and an expression that declares he knows his friend all too well to believe that he’s suddenly transformed from a fuckboy to a romantic lover, Taehyung supplies, “With a lot of them, sure. But my intention is not only to bang.” Taehyung gives him a toothy grin to show he’s all innocent. Jimin just knows better.
“So you’re gonna take it slow, not very, considering the list must be extensive, and then break their hearts. Wow, way to go asshole! And here I thought my bad boy alpha jock bestie was good underneath all that black.” Jimin huffs exaggeratedly. All those drama classes sure were growing on him.
“You’re so dramatic Jimin. I’m serious about it though. I want to love and be loved. Don’t I deserve that much?” Taehyung pouts, trying to evoke an emotional response to his situation.
“When you put it like that…..” Jimin rethinks Taehyung’s reasons, finds merit in them and danger too. He smacks him on his chest and gives him a mischievous smile, “Fuck Kim Taehyung. You’re gonna be a menace this year.”
The friends continue to walk almost lazily, rounding the last corner before entering their classroom. They have a few shared classes this term unlike the last which is already a saving grace for the soulmates considering Jimin is too smart for his own good and can take on the role of Taehyung’s academic saviour among others for this year because Taehyung, for the life of him cannot stay awake in class.
“At least I’ll know I tried.” Taehyung gives him a cheeky grin as he continues to chew his gum and enters class precisely seven minutes late which was only made possible due to Jimin’s perseverance, his arm still on Jimin’s shoulder, head held high as always.
“This isn’t a couples park Mr?” the man sitting at the professor’s desk inquires, subtly inspecting them from head to toe and seeming to arrive at some realisation. He looks in his early twenties, and could almost be confused for one of the students if not for the way he is dressed in a sharp suit and seated with such poise that could only be attained with maturity.
“Park,” Jimin stutters out slightly embarrassed.
“And?” the man, who Jimin could assume was the professor for his Literature class this term, asks pointedly, looking towards Taehyung. Jimin waits for him to answer, knows his best friend will save the day with his characteristic smile and pleasing words but none come.
Jimin turns to look at him and is rendered speechless. Because why is Kim Taehyung standing there, shocked into stillness halfway into chewing his gum and doing nothing but staring at their professor? Jimin is about to nudge him to answer but before he can, he sees it. That spark in his eyes. That gleam that one gets when they’ve finally found what they thought they never would.
An eerie silence pervades the whole class, even Jimin feels the chills. Not much had ever gone the wrong way for the renowned jock and that was the accepted equilibrium in the university ever since he joined. Seeing him floundering and speechless was too strange to be considered a good thing. Because Taehyung could have been a fuckboy but he wasn’t a heartbreaker. He was a charming motherfucker and people loved him. The worried glances shared amongst the classmates were proof enough.
The professor gets up from his seat at the lack of response. He walks towards the duo in long strides, ones that give them enough time to assess his physique. He is almost as tall as Taehyung, his legs long, thighs thick just the way Taehyung likes it. The slim waist and built chest, are areas that take up a lot of time in their scrutiny. The sharp cuts of his jaw, the pout on his lips, the roundness of his cheek, and the tip of his nose are so opposing but delicately delightful that it couldn’t just be called a bonus. The long black hair falling in cascading waves seemed to have the allure of midnight. The eyes though, were so round and piercing, almost like they were looking into the soul.
It's no surprise that he’s well-groomed and smart and Jimin finds someone like that intimidating. So should Taehyung because these are the kinds of professors that don’t fall for the bullshit students spew, especially students who are jocks with heavy bank balance and a killer smile.
He nudges Taehyung for real this time but before he can reply on his behalf the professor speaks again. “Chewing gum that too.” He quirks his brow with a dismissive shake of his head. “Is that the etiquette we advocate here?”
Jimin wants to smack himself and Taehyung as well because why can he just not answer and put an end to their misery? They cannot be going through this ordeal in their first class of the new year! He inwardly groans as he turns to face him and that’s when he sees Taehyung deeply inhaling the heady scent of strawberries and vanilla that must invade his senses. Jimin knows because he breathes in the same. The scent is the catalyst that uncovers what Jimin was hoping for Taehyung to experience. He sees it then.
The zing, flashed in his eyes like lightning. When he looks back at the professor though, he sees no visible reaction.
Taehyung’s own scent is gaining intensity, flowing off of him in tumultuous waves, enough for the omegas in the class to squirm in their seats. The professor brings his legs closer but the movement is very miniscule, the effect of Taehyung’s scent on him well concealed by his composure.
Taehyung continues to stare back at the professor unblinking like he’s trying to take in everything he sees and feels and bottle it up inside to never lose even a second of this moment. Jimin knows this because Jimin knows things Taehyung would never even admit to himself. Like how he’s fed up with being looked at as a profit-making machine for his father or how the absence of a mother has deprived him of any familial love and compelled him to seek it from those giving him scraps. Jimin knows everything Taehyung’s heart desires but brain doesn’t dare comprehend which is why he found his new theory unbelievable. Although he could see that it was meant as a hoax to fuck around more, it was too close to the truth of his needs.
“May I have the good fortune of knowing your name Mr Chewing gum park stroller?” the professor asks again and then licks his lip, proceeding to bite it slightly. Jimin is enamoured. This man is too beautiful to be their professor. And he would keep admiring his beauty had he not been put on the spot by his own best friend. It’s not like he’s in love or anything, he just appreciates art alright, gathered taste for such refinement from his soulmate himself. His soulmate whose eyes are now transfixed on their professor's bottom lip, is no doubt salivating thinking about having the pleasure of using his own teeth on them.
Jimin notices the small mole below his lips too and god, this is just getting worse because why does their professor look like he just walked out of Taehyung’s dream? It’s almost uncanny the way he possesses everything that drives Taehyung insane with lust. Jimin is so not ready for whatever is going to go down this year. He just hopes to live by the day, so he pinches Taehyung on the wrist that is still resting on his shoulder which seems to do the job of jolting him out of his reverie.
“Uh, um Kim. Kim Taehyung.” Taehyung finally speaks and Jimin breathes out a sigh of relief.
“So he speaks,” the professor smirks, and Jimin would feel offended for Taehyung but all he feels is sheer mortification because his friend shamelessly continues to ogle the beautiful man before him, and Jimin fears he can see the smugness coming onto his face. He doesn’t think Taehyung’s brain managed to decode that this professor isn’t one to be messed with while it was busy trying to process the divine perfection it was faced with.
The most concerning thing of all is that Taehyung clearly likes him. This like would develop to want by the end of the class and now that would be a problem. Because he never knows how to behave sincerely and invariably ends up acting way too cocky to build a genuine relationship. Flirting and fucking are all he knows, and well, flying to the next.
This cannot be that though. It can never be anything. The thought almost depresses Jimin but before that can happen, disaster strikes.
“He can do much more than that if you’ll let him.” What? What the fuck did he just say? Why is he using his lower register and why are there sparks of gold in his eyes? And why is he staring at his lips like that oh god! Jimin wishes he could bite off the finger that hangs on his shoulder because why the fuck is his best friend digging his own grave in front of the whole class? He’s hitting on a professor goddamnit! Actually, he can and will bite it off.
The professor takes a step closer and there’s something curious in his eyes, it glints silver challengingly almost and Jimin doesn’t know why he’s trapped here between the two. He would honestly enjoy the show from afar. He has a sense of self-preservation after all, clearly unlike his death-seeking soulmate.
“I’m sure you can Mr Kim,” the teasing smile makes shivers run up his spine but when he looks at Taehyung, he still has the cocky smirk on his face and his eyes never leave the professor’s. Shit, this is gonna end so bad for them, he just knows it.
“Since you now have a whole period to organise the books in the library, I’m sure there’s much you’ll accomplish there and outside this class.” He gives Taehyung a saccharine sweet smile that creeps Jimin out no end and continues, “Mr Park will accompany you there.”
Jimin just wants to vanish into thin air. He could have just apologised and taken a seat had his nutcase of a best friend not decided to be paralysed on spot. Now he’s stuck having to deal with the mess he has created, as always.
Taehyung looks like he’s about to spit out some corny lines and humiliate himself even more in front of their professor but he drags him away with much effort, distracting him from his course of thoughts.
Although he does manage to push him out of the room while the professor walks back to stand in front of his desk to address the class, Taehyung cockily adds, “Come see me later? At the library?” This smooth bastard, hitting on their professor openly is going to be the death of him.
The professor only returns an amused smirk and something about it unsettles Jimin. “You’d wish I hadn’t Mr Kim. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a class to take.”
The professor begins with introductions and the soulmates walk toward the library. As a dreamy Taehyung gazes back till he completely loses sight of the professor through the glass doors, Jimin knows for sure, just like he knows everything else, this year Kim Taehyung is definitely going to be a menace, especially to himself.