Archive of Our Own

Jimin zooms out on his camera as his dark-haired roommate joins him in his makeshift studio, sticking a forearm out. The blond boy swipes his finger across Crushed Pearl, glimmers of pink and silver transferring easily and smoothly onto his skin. He wipes his finger across Taehyung's tanned skin, the two colours a beautiful contrast.

Taehyung all but shrieks. He fixes the camera with a hungry stare. "Jimin was not fucking around. This is incredible, it's gorgeous, look at how it has such a pretty metallic finish, my dick is hard," he states, flashing his forearm.

Jimin holds in his giggles. "You haven't even seen Hard Candy, I have to say, that is my favourite, look, Tae, just look." 

They spend the next 20 minutes swatching the rest of Anastasia Beverly Hills' Gleam Glow Kit, offering their feedback and what they would love to pair it with. Jimin gushes about how his daisy-coloured silken shirt would match Hard Cardy's pink pearls as Taehyung nods his support enthusiastically.  

They finally wrap up the video, Jimin slightly out of breath as he packs his makeup and filming equipment. He'll have a quick shower before settling down at his desk to edit the video; his subscribers would be off their rocket once they saw he'd updated twice this week.

Jimin prides himself on being able to juggle his college life, dance club activities, his yoga elective and duty as a makeup guru on YouTube. He was majoring in dance at the Korea National University of Arts, with Taehyung majoring in theatre. He'd pushed himself this week to complete his dance critique review on Hakyeon's contemporary piece, because he knew that his glow kit was arriving this week. He had already posted a Top 15 Go-To Products on Monday night but he was itching to rip open ABH's highlight palette and when he did, he just knew he had to film it ASAP. 

He has yet to watch one of the La Sylphide pieces that his lecturer had uploaded but he thinks it can wait another day, as he plows through the night editing cuts from his video. Taehyung's awake too, recording his voice over and over as he practices his lines. It's around 1 am that he is finally satisfied with the quality of his video. Jimin queues it to post at 11 am the coming morning and sets about to do his nightly skin care routine. 

As he pats his green tea night cream into his cheeks, he ponders his life choices. 

It all started out five years ago, when he had watched Desi Perkins fill in her brows and clean them up with concealer for 20 minutes. With click after click, Jimin found himself subscribing to Karen O, Estheris, Jeffree Star, Shani Grimmond and Kathleen Lights, just to name a few. The next day, he had dragged Taehyung to their nearest drugstore to buy eyeliners and foundations. 

He didn't really know much about makeup at first and it was all disastrous in the beginning. Taehyung had laughed for 40 minutes straight after seeing his feeble attempt at eyeliner and even has the pictures till this day. But Jimin's come far in years of practice and now, Taehyung tails behind him with a vanity just as large as his. Hoseok was not too far behind, sometimes tagging along on their trips to Sephora and Ulta.  

Jimin had started posting videos at 18 years old, starting off with a couple hundred views. As months passed and he worked extra hard part-time (some of his grades [read: math] had been compromised on), he had gotten himself a better camera, some studio equipment and a few more makeup items (his parents had chipped in some too, upon seeing how much their son enjoyed the art of makeup). Now, he's built a loyal fanbase of over 200,000 subscribers.   

He, alongside Taehyung and Hoseok, had faced jeers from homophobic classmates and judgmental stares from the conservative elderly. But as Jimin falls in love with the art of makeup, he finds that he doesn't really care much. Nikkietutorials had taught him that it was not wrong to love makeup, that it was okay to be barefaced at times and that it was okay he couldn't always depend on concealer to make him seem like a better person. As Jimin doused himself in colours every day, he often thought of what it was like if his life had no colour- if it was all black and white.

 He meets black and white on a Friday night.

Their mid-terms had just ended and Taehyung declared the night to be one of celebration. Jimin spends almost an hour and a half getting ready, Snapchatting his blending and contouring. Namjoon chuckles at how he focused he is, but then commends him when he sees Jimin line his smoky eyes perfectly with one single stroke.  

"Guys, it's almost 11.30, we should head out soon. I was thinking about dropping by Jaehyun's for a round of shots first," Namjoon says, glancing at the clock. 

Jimin lets out a squeal. "I'm almost done, I swear, just let me-" 

He reaches for Gleam and his favourite Morphe M310 fan brush. He had donned his daisy silk shirt and with no hesitation, he dipped the brush into Hard Candy. As he dusted the shimmer over his cheekbones, he couldn't help but think that he looked absolutely. bomb. in that moment.  

"Ugh, guys, it's fucking pretty," he sighs. Namjoon chortles as he gets up and dusts his clothes. 

"Yes, you're fucking pretty. Now, can we please leave?"

(They leave after Jimin drowns himself in 57 spritzes of Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray.)

Jimin's mouth is stinging lightly with the vodka from earlier, but that was all he had. He refused to take more, simply because he knew how shit-faced he'd get if he didn't pace himself that night. He did not want to end up like how he did in junior high, eyeliner running like a tap and his brows gone.  

Their favourite club, Triptych, is filled with strobing lights and he barely makes out the figure of Taehyung in front of him, as they push their way through the crowd. They finally reach the bar and Taehyung screams for margaritas over the pounding music. 

"Tae, we have to PACE OURSELVES!" Jimin yells. His veins are thrumming with excitement and he can't wait to get into the crowd and lose himself. He loved weaving around bodies, he loved rolling his hips and running his hands over his thighs, as people watched on in hunger. It was one thing to be studying dance but another to do it in his leisure time. He loved the attention- after all, that was one of the reasons he wore makeup for.  

In minutes, he and Taehyung find themselves on the podium. Jimin is shameless and he has no fear in showing off his moves. Taehyung cheers him on as Rainism blares out of the speakers. 

Jimin's dancing hard when he catches dark eyes. He stumbles for a moment, shocked by the intensity, before Taehyung catches him. "Are you okay?" The other boy yells. "Do you need a break? I'm thirsty!"

The blond nods and they hop off the podium, winding around bodies before seating themselves at a corner in the bar. Jimin spots Namjoon doing his signature robot soldier dance and almost chokes on his water, laughter escaping from him.  

"That's pretty." 

Jimin's eyes are wide and his mouth drops open. He slowly turns to meet dark eyes.  

The boy is much taller than him, his broad chest clad in a simple black shirt with a Mandarin collar. He's the complete opposite of Jimin, who sports pale blond hair and is wearing his off-white v-neck shirt that dips low. His bright red silk choker wraps around the base of his neck, settling just above his collarbones. He's bright and striking while this boy is black and white. The boy's dark hair barely brushes his eyebrows, under which is intensity like Jimin has never seen before. Except... Except earlier. When he had spun on the podium. 

The boy leans forward, his finger gently brushing against Jimin's cheekbone. When he pulls back, he stares at the golden peach highlight on his finger. 

Jimin sits there, shell-shocked, as Taehyung shakes with giggles. In any other circumstance, he would've strangled anyone who dared to touch his face and even so much as remove one gram of highlight. 

But this boy- This boy was gorgeous and he had called Jimin- or the highlight, WHICHEVER IT WAS- he had called either or pretty and he looked like he meant it as he fixes Jimin with a stare that Jimin could only describe as starving. 

And he had absolutely no makeup on. Jimin was astounded (and mildly offended) someone could look this good without makeup. 

"Wh-wha?" Jimin garbles out, his cheeks flushing even redder under NARS' Orgasm.  

The boy perches himself to sit beside the stunned boy, bringing his stool nearer until his thighs press against Jimin's. He leans until his lips brush the shell of Jimin's ear. "I said, that's very pretty. Whatever it is that sparkles on your cheek. You're pretty," he all but whispers. 

A shiver runs down Jimin's spine. His throat is dry but his water sits forgotten and he turns to look at Taehyung, who winks. "I'll see you later, Jiminnie! Call me when you're ready to go!" 

Taehyung slinks out of sight and Jimin splutters. How dare Taehyung betray him, how dare Taehyung leave him alone with this crazy stranger who had just rocked his entire world.  

He turns to face the stranger again, who's sipping on his whiskey silently. "Are you crazy?" Jimin asks in a high-pitched voice. 

The deep laughter that rumbles from his chest makes the hairs on the back of Jimin's neck stand- but in a weirdly good way. 

"Have you seen yourself?" The boy asks. Jimin's transfixed by his lips, they're perfect. "Anyone who looks at you will have been driven crazy. And-"

For the first time that night, the boy swallows and he seems shaken. "And with the way you move," he whispers, his voice hoarse, his eyes seemingly turning darker than they already are. "You're the crazy one. Crazy gorgeous."

He scans Jimin's shocked expression. "Nobody ever told you that?" 

Jimin breaks out of his reverie and bristles. "Everyone tells me I'm gorgeous, all the time, please." But his voice drops to a whisper and his gaze lowers. His cheeks feel warm and he fidgets under the scrutiny from the stranger. "Just nobody says it like you. Nobody like you has said it to me."

A smug expression takes over his ethereal features. His lips curve into a languid smirk. Once again, he leans forward, his muscled thighs pressing even harder against Jimin's. His eyes trace every line and feature on Jimin's face. They linger on his cheekbones a little longer than they do for the rest.

"It's Hard Candy," Jimin finds himself saying. He can barely breathe, not when this boy is millimetres away from, his sweet breath fanning over Jimin's face. 

"Hard Candy?"

Jimin mentally reprimands himself for finding his curious tone endearing. 

"It's called a highlighter. It makes your face glow in all the right places. Like here-" He points to his cheekbone- "Here-" Above his brow- "Here-" His nose bridge- "And... here." His Cupid's bow. 

The boy follows Jimin's movement and brushes the dip above his lips. His thumb stays and Jimin's heart thrums so fast he swears his chest is going to burst.

"Who are you?" He whispers, frozen in his seat. It doesn't feel like they're at the club- it feels like they've gone onto some distant land, surrounded by nothing but their hazy desires and wanton feelings. 

"Jeon Jeongguk," he answers softly, before pushing his thumb to slip past Jimin's lips, the rest of his cold fingers framing Jimin's jaw.

Jimin allows him to push his thumb into his mouth and he's bewildered by what he's doing. His mouth closes around Jeongguk's cold thumb and his tongue just lightly flicks against it. 

A deep groan erupts from Jeongguk's chest, his body stiffening and pupils dilating. "You're insane," he murmurs but Jimin thinks otherwise. He's the one who came over and touched his face and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

Jeongguk suddenly shakes his head and pulls away, his hand falling away from Jimin's face. "Too fast," he mumbles. "Slow down, you're driving me crazy. Slow down."

Jimin feels like everything's on fire; he's burning up in his cheeks to the depth of his stomach to his very toes. There's something growing in the pit of his stomach and the longer he sits next to Jeongguk, the more he feels like he's about to implode.

"So. Jiminnie." Jeongguk states, a playful smile on his face. His dark demeanour has disappeared and he shifts away from the blond, who draws himself up.

"That's Jimin to you," he says indignantly. His heart totally does not quiver at the playful manner Jeongguk is adopting.

"Or..." He looks at the other boy suspiciously. "How old are you?" He demands. "Are you older than me?"

"I'm 20."

Jimin feels superior, but it only lasts seconds. "I'm your hyung. So that will be Jimin-hyung to you."

"Alright..." Jeongguk leans in again. Every time he does this, Jimin loses all sense of coherent thinking. "Hyung. I'll see you sometime soon, I'm sure," he purrs, before standing up and walking away.  

Jimin's left facing an empty stool, feeling like his entire world just got flipped. He touches his lips again, still in a stupor. Jeon Jeongguk.